Independents, Swing Voters, and Open Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Swing voters: Diverse, misunderstood and crucial in 2012 - Far from a uniform band of centrists, swing voters include anti-corporate pacifists, tea party activists and many shades of political gray in between. (By David Lauter, Washington Bureau, LA Times)
• Kill the American Primary to Save American Politics: Ezra Klein (By Ezra Klein, Bloomberg.com)
• Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election - Here are three ways Obama and Romney can woo them. (Nick Gillespie, reason.com) If independent voters are the key to the presidency, what are the keys to independent voters? In its summary of 2011 attitudes toward government and political parties, Gallup concluded that the surge in independents stems from the “sluggish economy, record levels of distrust in government, and unfavorable views of both parties.” Indeed, a “historic” 81 percent of Americans overall are “dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed” and 53 percent of us have negative views of the Republican Party and 55 percent of us have negative views of the Democratic Party. NOTE:  LOTS OF LINKS HERE