Hankster News of the Day for Independents - July 14

"CIVIL POLITICS"
SHERMAN: Film explores civility in politics (By LOLA SHERMAN For the North County Times) Last year, the college staged a public-issues symposium on the subject of "Civility in Our Civic Discourse." It explored what often has become a lack of civility, both in politics and media. A guest speaker was former U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards, R-Okla., who spoke to a full house at the college's Community Learning Center in Oceanside.

OBAMA AND THE INDEPENDENT VOTE

• Clear And ‘Independent’ Danger (The Note) (By MICHAEL FALCONE and AMY WALTER) Digging into the crosstabs of this week’s ABC News-Washington Post poll it’s clear that Obama has a significant problem with independent voters. On every measure, independents are significantly more disappointed with the President and more open to a Romney message.
• Obama holds ‘significant lead’ over Romney in new national poll (By Paul West, Boston Herald/Tribune) A similar shift was reflected among independent voters, a prized target for both candidates, who are now almost evenly divided on who would best improve the economy. In June, Romney enjoyed a 13-point edge among independents on that question. The latest survey, like most polling at this stage of the campaign, did not attempt to narrow the contest down to likely voters. Obama’s lead, Pew found, stemmed from the fact that more voters currently identify themselves as Democrats than Republicans, and that virtually identical proportions of each say they will back their party’s nominee. Put another way, the results of the survey are yet a further indication that voter mobilization will be crucial in determining the winner of this year’s election.

FLORIDA
Judge holds off on ruling in Miami-Dade State Attorney election write-in issue (By DAVID OVALLE, Miami Herald) A federal judge said he will decide Friday whether to force Miami-Dade County to open up the State Attorney’s Aug. 14 primary election to more than 700,000 Republican and independent voters. U.S. Judge William Zloch heard arguments Thursday, but stopped short of deciding immediately. Two voters are suing Miami-Dade’s election supervisor, saying that a “loophole” in the state’s election law that allows write-in candidates to close primary elections is disenfranchising thousands of voters.

ARIZONA
BREAKING: Independent voters surge while Democratic voters in Arizona drop by 52,000 in 2011. (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen/Hispanic Politico) On the other hand, this is good news for the independent voters — and despite fraudulent misconceptions that are out there, indeed independent Arizona voters are able to vote and participate in the Arizona primary election process. As an independent voter, I left the Republican party for good due to their extremism, however, the Democratic Party leadership is also turning off Latino Democratic voters, too, because they are walking a dangerous line.

OHIO
Attempt to Overturn GOP Redistricting Moves Forward  - Organization submits 450,000 petition signatures to Ohio Secretary of State (City Beat - Cincinnati) On July 3, Voters First, a coalition established after HB-369's inception to combat the bill's Republican-led efforts to deliberately have congressional and legislative districts drawn in their favor, submitted 450,000 petition signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State — significantly more than the 385,000 signatures necessary to obtain a spot on the November ballot. At the end of the month, the Secretary of State will review the signatures and determine which are eligible, after which the coalition will have another set period to obtain more signatures, should the 385,000 not be met.

COLORADO
Unaffiliated candidate running for Colorado House (LETTER Snowmass Sun by Kathleen Curry) The overwhelming positive response and encouragement I received while completing the ballot petition process has energized the campaign and convinced me that voters are ready for the current political system to be reformed and improved.