MSM Confusion About Independent Voters

When it comes to independent voters (now 38% of the electorate) all parties are confused, especially the MSM which makes its living these days by making up stories about indies. Rush Limbaugh is no exception! And apparently this confusion is seeping into Jon Huntsman's nascent presidential campaign - he is skipping Iowa, going heavy into New Hampshire and worried but optimistic about South Carolina, all because of his perception of indies and ideology... For a good read on this confusion, see Sarah Lyons' article "Independent Voter" Does Not Mean Moderate.

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Complaint from an Independent (TRANSCRIPT The Rush Limbaugh Show) RUSH: I can understand why you would think that, and I said earlier in the program long before taking your call that my real complaint is not so much with the independents. I mean, you're who you are. My real beef is how you are portrayed; it is how you are characterized. You are characterized as unique and special. You're the smartest voters around.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• OPEN PRIMARY PRE-CLEARED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (by Damon Eris, CAIVN) The Department of Justice pre-cleared California’s top two open primary under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, thereby opening the way for the implementation of the new primary system statewide in next year’s elections. 
• In work on recalls, elections chief Kevin Kennedy battles charges of partisanship (JESSICA VANEGERENThe Capital Times: Your Progressive Voice - Madison WI) KK: People want to know how it is legal. But in Wisconsin, we don’t require that voters register by political party so you don’t have a mechanism for tying a candidate to a political party. The political parties really don’t control who runs on their ballot. There is no requirement that you have to be a member of a political party to run. And that goes back to the Bob La Follette era and the creation of open primaries.

2012

• Poll: 3 in 10 sure they'll vote Obama According to a new poll, 3 in 10 Americans say they are certain they will vote for Obama. (By JENNIFER EPSTEIN, Politico) Among likely independent voters, 23 percent say they are certain they will vote for Obama, while 36 percent say they are sure they will seek out another candidate.
• Indy voters bailing on O in new poll (POLITICO in Seattle Post Intelligencer)
• Soft-Spoken Huntsman Enters the GOP Race (By JONATHAN WEISMAN, Wall Street Journal) He won't contest the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, traditionally dominated by social conservatives. Instead, Mr. Huntsman will vie for the New Hampshire primary, where he believes independent voters will flood the polls for him.
• Mr. Independent (POLITICO in Seattle Post Intelligencer) In an interview with POLITICO, Huntsman made clear that he plans to capitalize on election rules in New Hampshire and South Carolina that allow independent voters to cast ballots in the GOP presidential primary.
• Huntsman sees independents as key (By: Kasie Hunt, Politico) But Huntsman’s focus on South Carolina puts a twist on that state’s primary, where the winner has gone on to be the GOP nominee in every presidential year since 1980. With its large number of social conservatives, South Carolina could prove to be hostile to Huntsman, whose moderate record and Mormon roots might prove difficult to overcome among evangelical Christian activists. His focus on independents who can vote there, however, could blunt both disadvantages at once, particularly if he can make inroads into the Low Country region around Charleston—the area targeted by both McCain and Romney in 2008.