Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - June 18

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Obama Could Lose Independent Voters This Time (Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief, The Moderate Voice) So Obama has to win these voters back — and the issue is clearly the economy. There’s an opening, too, for Romney if he can build on the general impression voters have of him as a good businessman, and “make voters feel comfortable that he’s not going to dismantle everything we have,” says Hart, when it comes to health care and other social support programs. And this anecdotal finding has to be the most utterly devastating one at all for Obama — something he’ll need to fix soon (if he can)
• As Oklahoma’s June 26 primary nears, GOP and Independents surge, Democrats’ registration advantage continues to erode (Patrick B. McGuigan, CapitolBeatOK) Ziriax’s staff has unveiled new data for the Sooner State’s 2,030,073 registered voters. In all 46.45 percent of voters are Democrats, 46.45 percent of the total. Republican strength is now nearly 42 percent of the electorate – 851,759 voters, or 41.96 percent of the total. Independents are 11.59 percent of voters, a total of 235,321.
• In Focus Group, Independent Voters Souring on Obama (by Eleanor Clift, The Daily Beast) “The whole platform was hope—I don’t feel any more hope today,” he said. Pressed by Hart as to which candidate he was leaning toward, Jeffrey said the tenor of the campaign turned him off, that he felt like he was in the middle of a weird argument between a husband and wife, and all he wanted to do was leave the room. “I don’t even know if I’m going to vote this time,” he said glumly.
• Politics over democracy (By the Sierra Vista Herald) Once again we find the Arizona Legislature at odds with both the principles of the Republican party and putting its priority on political power over democratic representation...
• Redistricting Primer: Why New Lines Matter in Battle for House Control (By: Christina Bellantoni, PBS News Hour) The decennial redistricting phenomenon might sound boring, but it's not. Roll Call's longtime politics editor Lauren Whittington tried to convince me of that when I first joined the paper as her deputy in 2010. I was doubtful at first, but it turned out she was right.
• Let voters have a say in redistricting reform (By DICK DADEY, Commentary, Albany Times Union) Opportunities to enact redistricting reform have been squandered time and again, regardless of which party controlled the state Senate. Despite 184 legislators claiming to support an independent process for 2012, we learned that for too many legislators, where they stood on the issue of redistricting reform depended more on where they sat — in the majority or the minority — than on any true desire for reform. Had an independent redistricting commission been in place before lines were drawn, with appointees balanced among the four legislative leaders, we might not have seen the partisan action of the state Senate increasing its size to 63 seats or drawing lines that divide minority communities on Long Island.
• The Wrong Way to Fix California (Steven Greenhut, Bloomberg/View) California desperately needs courageous leaders with innovative ideas. Unfortunately, the new “top two” primary system, which went into effect for the June 5 election, is a step toward rewarding careerist politicians who tout the same old status-quo solutions.
• INDEPENDENT SPARK FLARES AT BALLOT BOX (By Ted Waitt,UT- San Diego NOTE: This article ran on IVN 6/14/12) A vote for an independent candidate is no longer mere symbolism. icPurple.org congratulates California’s courageous independent candidates Linda Parks, Chad Condit, Chad Walsh and Nathan Fletcher. Through each of their campaigns, these leaders proved one common reality: Independent, nonparty candidates are now legitimate competitors in American politics. The “centrist majority” has been awakened, and the match has been struck. Each race from California’s June 5 primary election tells this story in a different way: In the case of Chad Walsh for California Assembly, Walsh will advance to the November general election by pulling a truly remarkable showing of 45 percent of votes against his entrenched party opponent, a longtime politician with enormous name identification.
• King wants pledge against superPACS - Other candidates give cool response (By Tom Bell, Kennebec Journal) Maine's U.S. Senate candidates apparently won't follow the example being set in Massachusetts' high-profile Senate race for diminishing the influence of third-party groups. Independent candidate Angus King sent a letter to his five opponents Wednesday morning asking them to forgo the benefit of expenditures made by outside organizations on their behalf.
• DSCC chairwoman won’t say which Maine Senate candidate she backs (By Josh Lederman, The Hill/Ballot Box) Democrats continue to play coy about their plans in Maine, where former Gov. Angus King — an independent — is the early front-runner in the race. Snowe’s unexpected announcement in February that she would retire created Democrats’ strongest pickup opportunity — until King jumped into the race. Both parties suspect King will caucus with Democrats if elected, but King has adamantly refused to telegraph his intentions. His decision could determine the balance of power in a closely divided Senate in 2013.
• Candidate Steve Woods Offers Endorsement to Angus King (By Steve Woods For US Senate, Sac Bee) teve Woods, an Independent candidate now certified to appear on the November 6th, election ballot for the United States Senate representing Maine, announced today that he will be joining Angus King in publically stating that he will not play the "spoiler" in the November election.
• Maine Senate Race Scrambled by Strong Independent Candidate (ABC News, Elizabeth Hartfield) Two candidates emerged victorious from a crowded field in Maine’s Senate primary on Tuesday. Republicans nominated Charlie Summers, the Secretary of State, from a group of six potential candidates, and Democrats nominated Cynthia Dill, a state Senator from the South Portland area, from a group of four potential candidates. But the frontrunner is generally considered to be Angus King, a former governor who is running as an Independent.
• Independent voters on the rise nationwide (The Oklahoman Editorial) However, in Oklahoma voters are moving to the Republican Party more than they are to independent status. Democrat numbers are declining. As of June 1, around 46 percent of Oklahoma voters were Democrats, nearly 42 percent were Republicans and 11 percent were independents.