TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 9/7/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Independent voters (The Michael Eric Dyson Show) AUDIO - Dr. Omar Ali, first guest
• Both parties had hand in wrecking economy (LETTER Jacksonville Daily News - Freedom Communications) I wish that there were a political party that we could trust. Unfortunately, we cannot depend on any political party. We need a country of independent voters who study the issues and shy away from incendiary political commentary from such political hacks as Rush Limbaugh and Chris Matthews.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• HERE'S THE POINT: Primaries not just for parties – unfortunately (By Republican State Committeeman Richard Greeley, Wicked Local Kingston - Plymouth MA) Here’s the point: Unenrolled voters, loyal to one particular party, tarnish and defile the First Amendment and the electoral process by voting for the perceived weaker candidate in the party primary which they oppose, Democrat or Republican.
• In Oklahoma and elsewhere, election costs under scrutiny (The Oklahoman) State law allows parties to open primaries to independents. In November of odd-numbered years, the parties declare whether primaries and runoffs over the next two years will be open. For competitive reasons, neither party will do so unless the other does. This is why no independents could participate in the Aug. 24 runoff that determined the GOP nominee for state insurance commissioner.

MIDTERMS

• Stu Rothenberg predicts 37-42 House seat gain for GOP (Chris Cillizza, Washington Post/The Fix)
• Midterms 2010: What you need to know (Washington Post) In 2008, Barack Obama won independent voters, who made up nearly 30 percent of the electorate, by eight percentage points -- a critical piece of his national victory. Two years later, however, Obama's appeal among independents has faded badly, with most -- 57 percent -- now disapproving of the job he is doing, according to the new Post-ABC poll.
• District Polls Are Troubling Signs for Democrats (By Stuart Rothenberg, CQ Politics)
• Get Ready for an Anti-Incumbent Wave (By GERALD F. SEIB, Wall Street Journal) Amid all its woes, the Democratic Party is viewed positively by 36% of those surveyed, higher than the 30% with a positive view of Republicans. Fully a quarter said they'd vote for an independent or third-party candidate if they had the chance; a similar share said they were interested in voting for someone in the tea-party movement.
• Poll show Mass gov. race may come down to wire (By Suzanne Schiavone, Daily Free Press - Boston University) Only 28 percent of Cahill’s supporters said they will definitely vote for him in the election. Third party candidates like Cahill typically have a decline in support as Election Day approaches, according to Rasmussen.

THIRD PARTIES

• Contested Minor Party Primaries this year in at Least Twelve States (Ballot Access News)

CHECK IT OUT

• The Courage Campaign (California) 
• No Labels  ( will launch in 97 days)