Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - Nov. 14

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Obama and Independents: The Micro, the Macro, and the Forest (Jacqueline Salit, Huffington Post) The Democrats have settled on an electoral strategy based on appealing to Americans on the basis of identity (ethnicity, gender, etc.) and the fear that the Republicans will shred the safety net. But sheer demographics and maintaining the status quo is not enough. Creative and innovative approaches to social and economic problems that are desperately needed, and are being worked on in the nonprofit sector, outside the party dominated governmental apparatus, can only thrive in the fresh air of a non-partisan political culture.
• Google Founder Calls U.S. A 'Bonfire of Partisanship' (By AMIR EFRATI, Wall Street Journal) Supported Obama. As a result, he called the government a "bonfire of partisanship" and urged Tuesday's winners to go independent "in name and in spirit." He concluded: "It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country."
• Why Winning The Independent Vote Can Actually Be A Bad Thing (Brett LoGiurato, Business Insider) In fact, what the Independent vote is often more telling of is a lack of commitment among "leaners" to the party.
• First Thoughts: Lessons learned? (NBC News/First Read) So now twice in the last three elections -- in 2004 and 2012 -- the winner has lost the indie vote. What does this mean? Well, party ID appears to matter much more...
• Editorial: Wisconsin remains proudly independent (The Northwestern) Religion, race and sexual orientation are increasingly non-factors.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Let's review redistricting, primary rules (Asheville NC Citizen Times) Now that there are no immediate election pressures, this would be a good time to reform the process. A nonpartisan redistricting commission would do worlds of good, and open primaries are an idea worth exploring… North Carolina ought to wait for more data before making any commitment to open primaries. There is, however, no reason to hold up on the redistricting commission. Salamanders are good in nature but not in politics.
• Proposition 121 - Voters shut door on open primary proposition (Sean Peick, Cronkite News Service, Tucson Sentinel) Voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure to do away with Arizona's partisan primary system in favor of open primaries advancing top vote-getters regardless of party. Unofficial returns showed Proposition 121 trailing by a wide margin.
• Koch Brothers Defeat Prop 121 “Top-Two” Open Primary in AZ (By Chad Peace, IVN) The Koch brothers funneled more than half a million dollars to fund the partisan attack on Proposition 121. The money powered an aggressive “No” campaign, led in a bipartisan manner by the leaders of the Republican, Democrat, and even third parties in Arizona.
• Editorial: GOP risks becoming irrelevant - Party must broaden its base (Statesman Journal) Being a Republican, or a Democrat, isn’t enough to win election in Oregon. Candidates must take clearly defined, well-articulated positions instead of relying on personality or party affiliation.