TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 9/5/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• INDEPENDENTS WILL DECIDE CALIFORNIA'S NEXT GOVERNOR (by Greg Lucas, CAIVN) Recently, the Whitman campaign says it plans to reach out to Bay Area Independent voters – about one quarter of decline-to-state voters statewide.  So far, Independents - who are not a homogeneous bloc of voters to begin with -- remain evenly divided between Brown and Whitman.  As of July, among likely Independent voters, Brown is favored by 30 percent and Whitman by 28 percent, according to polling by the Public Policy Institute of California. Another 12 percent back other candidates. Thirty percent remain undecided. 
• Anti-war groups battle for survival (By: Abby Phillip, Politico) As Obama catapulted to the front of a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates, his criticism of the Iraq war motivated thousands of volunteers to hit the streets for him. In turn, Democrats and war-weary independent voters surged to the polls, pushing Obama, as well as down-ticket Democrats, into office.
• President Obama is unlikely to face a Democratic foe in 2012 primary (BY KENNETH R. BAZINET, NY Daily News) The left's grievance list is long. They believe Obama is infatuated with centrist, independent voters at the expense of the liberal agenda. Many want U.S. forces out of Afghanistan.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Minnesota pushes back at partisan extremes (By KEVIN DIAZ, Star Tribune) From a ranked choice initiative in Minnesota to a single open primary plan in California, the search is on for ways to rein in the influence of major party primary elections that seem to be drifting toward the extremes of the electorate.... But under a California-style "Top Two" primary system, Horner and the rest of the gubernatorial field would be left off the ballot. To critics, therein lies the hitch.... Instead, Massey and others are pushing for a statewide ranked choice voting system, similar to one pioneered in Minneapolis, where Mayor R.T. Rybak is a big supporter. "It's not about helping one ideology as much as helping more people to vote," he said.
• Consider an independent for 31B (By AL HEIN | Mabel, Minn., Winona Daily News) Al Hein independent candidate, pro-open primaries: In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.”

GOV RACES

• Despite uphill climb, Haynes still trying to run for governor (Wyoming News, By Michelle Dynes) The Cheyenne rancher and retired surgeon's petition to get onto the Nov. 2 ballot fell short by about 600 signatures. He needed 4,988 registered voters to meet the requirements for an independent nomination. (Running as a write-in, has support of Constitution Party of Wyoming)

BIPARTISANSHIP

• Our View: Maine's moderates should use their clout (Maine Sunday Telegram) As Americans, however, we have to question whether this kind of highly partisan legislative process is healthy for our republic. Pulling a couple of votes from an atypical state is not the same thing as building a national consensus. We need more than just Maine's senators to build a moderate coalition that can govern.

NEW YORK

• New York Times Endorses Johnson Over Rangel (By Lauren W. Whittington, CQ-Roll Call) The other candidates running against Rangel are state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, banker Vince Morgan and labor activist Jonathan Tasini. A fifth Democrat, Craig Schley, is running on the Independence Party line.
• Endorsements for New York (NY Times) The biggest name in the race is Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, whose father was a political superstar in that area. Mr. Powell, however, has done little in Albany, even by Albany’s do-little standards. He has shown no reason for voters to promote him.