American Voters Need Open Primary to Overcome Partisan Destructiveness

OPEN PRIMARY
Randy's Ramblings: Recent shenanigans aren’t a reason to abandon the open primary - Some conservative bloggers are gloating over the Republican Party’s use of Wisconsin’s open primary system to play shenanigans with the upcoming state Senate recall elections. (By: Randy Hanson, Hudson Star-Observer)

PENNSYLVANIA
Third Parties Face Stiff Hurdles in PA (By Judith Ayers, Politics PA) Libertarian Lou Jasikoff stated that they were approached by the Republicans lawyers and told that their signatures to get on the ballot were “no good.” “You have an hour to drop out voluntary or we will sue you for the cost to look up the challenges,” he says he was told... The Green Party has had its own ballot access problems. In 2006 Carl Romanelli ran for the U.S. Senate against Rick Santorum and Bob Casey. Fearing he could siphon votes from Casey, Democrats filed a challenge to his petitions with Commonwealth Court. Romanelli is still facing more than $80,000 in court costs over the matter.

EDUCATION REFORM

• Joel Klein vs. those status quo apologists (By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post/The Answer Sheet) The rhetoric here is, to my ear, quite remarkable. It doesn’t place children and their development in the foreground; rather, the emphasis is on what schools can extract from kids. It’s a dangerous rhetorical twist, because it points to accountability systems that can decouple school-performance measures from student learning. There’s little persuasive evidence that such systems can promote lasting achievement.
• Theater on W. 42nd Street Holds Free Day of Classes - Students can take improv, hip-hop, or even meet with "development coaches" during the All Stars Project's Opening Day Saturday. (By Meredith Hoffman, DNAinfo.com Manhattan Local News)
• ESEA Reauthorization: A Crucial Step to Improve Schools - CAP Event Looks at How to Strengthen American Education Through ESEA (Center for American Progress Action Fund) Two expert panel discussions followed, the first featuring Rep. George Miller; U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; former U.S. Secretary of Education and current president and CEO of her eponymous company Margaret Spellings; as well as moderator John Podesta. The second expert panel featured Rep. George Miller; American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten; Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications of the Education Trust Amy Wilkins; and moderator Cynthia Brown, the Vice President for Education Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.