Happy Independence Day!

Hey hey Hanksteristas! I'll be out slogging around in the neighborhood tomorrow petitioning to put Mike Bloomberg on the ballot (as an independent, of course!) on the NYC Independence Party line.

Then, I invite you to join me online for a special Fourth of July Hankster Friday Nite Chat when I'll be blogging around the sphere between 6 and 8pm NY time.

Post a comment, email me at hanks_nancy@msn.com, or tweet at http://twitter.com/NancyHanks or you could also FaceBook me!

Tell me what Independence Day 2009 means to you and how you're celebrating!

-NH

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM: More on the Washington primary and the Oregon referendum Measure 65 for "Top Two" primaries

• Washington State Primary Turnout Worse in 2008 than in 2004 (Ballot Access News)
• New poll won't sway GOP on top two (Politicker WA) The Olympian reports that the Elway poll found 76 percent of respondents approved of the new system
• Washington State Elections Division poll on Top Two (The Olympian) 76% like it
• Top-two primary voting worked well (Daily Astorian) Real choice consists of voting for whomever you like, without the parties avidly pulling the strings. This system does that.
• Constitution Party activist points to Democratic and Republican cooperation to limit democracy (Independent Political Report (Austin Cassidy's blog)

CAMPAIGN

• A party united-Galvanized by Palin pick, GOP's conservative base ready to fight (Boston Globe) But Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist in Boston, said Palin will not appeal to moderate and independent voters, and said she is almost purely as an instrument "to fire up the base" of the Republican Party.
• Will GOP Ticket’s ‘Values’ Appeal Reach Swing Voters? (CQ Politics) “It’s a conundrum.”
• McCain Is Everyone's Maverick -- For Now (by Ronald Brownstein, National Journal) But through this campaign McCain has transformed into a more conventional Republican.
• Hillsman Gives Mixed Review to Republican Efforts-But Adman Says Obama Won't Convince Independents That McCain Is Just Like Bush (AdAge) The job that has to be done for Obama to win ... is to convince independents that this John McCain is a hell of a lot different from the John McCain in 2000."
• Poll: Palin's Speech Reassured Independents About Her (Talking Points Memo) A solid 57% of independents give her speech an "A" grade, and 56% say she is an asset to the campaign while only 27% call her a liability.
• Will Palin's tough talk win over undecideds? (CNN) John Avlon says: Instead of running a "NoBama" campaign, McCain and Palin need to remind independents why they liked McCain so much during his 2000 presidential run.
• Political Theater (By Political Realm (on Donklephant) Great description of the GOP convention
• What McCain Must Do Tonight (Taegan Goddard, CQ Politics/Political Insider) If he cannot connect with independents on the key issues -- in particular, the economy and health care -- it doesn't matter how good Sarah Palin was last night.
• The Morning After Palin (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)
• Free Press voter panel reacts to Palin's speech (Detroit Free Press) Independents completely underwhelmed.
• Second Night of the Republican Convention (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire) relentless mocking of Democrats will not appeal to moderates and independents
• The woman from nowhere (The Economist) John McCain’s choice of running-mate raises serious questions about his judgment
• It's all about the independents, GOP pollster says (The Birmingham News)
• Does Palin Have Independent Appeal? (RealClearPolitics) Richard Viguerie declared "Sarah Palin is the next Ronald Reagan."

LAST WORD
Alaska: the Un-American State (Huffington Post/Billy Kimball) When asked by her constituents, "Can I have my allowance early, Mom?" Sarah Palin has always answered yes and thus became the most popular mom in America.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Arizona Democrats narrow gap with GOP in latest voter-registration count (White Mountain Independent) "The other thing that's taking place in this country is long-term partisanship means less than it once did, so we're becoming more independent," Solop said. "We're not as linked to political parties as we once were."
• New Mexico voters show Independent streak (KOB News 4) "I think it's a continuation of a long term trend of the two parties - being replaced by very independent voters who won't want to be identified with either of these brands," Monahan said.

CAMPAIGN

• Schwarzenegger on Sidelines as RNC Begins (Capitol Public Radio KPBS, San Diego State University)
• McCain Must Add Democrats To Make Math Work (by Ronald Brownstein, National Journal) In 2004, And Bush won the election while narrowly losing independent voters, also a first for a Republican president.
• Last Man Standing (The Hill) John McCain's maverickness

SARAH PALIN AND THE ALASKA INDEPENDENCE PARTY

• Palin And The Alaska Independence Party (Marc Ambinder/The Atlantic)
• McCain's Palin Problem (The Nation/Campaign '08)
• Was McCain's VP Pick Ever An AIP Member? (Daily Kos)
• ABC News attacks Sarah Palin for ties to Alaska Independence Party (Libertarian Republican)
• Sarah Palin Debated Her Minor Party Opponents in 2006 (Ballot Access News) Perhaps there will be an opportunity for “Rock the Debates” activists to ask Sarah Palin if she will debate any of her minor party opponents for vice-president, when she debates Joe Biden.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• CUIP Wins the Right to Intervene in Idaho Republican Case (Ballot Access News) Independents have legal standing as defendants in effort to exclude independents from primary
• Democrats gain ground, but GOP still rules in AZ (Arizona Star) And the number and share of those not interested in affiliating with any of the recognized parties went up by nearly 94,000. They now total more than 27.1 percent of eligible voters, and they will be eligible to vote in Tuesday's primary, under a state law that allows them to select which party's primary they want to participate in.

REFORM
Gerrymandering a key culprit in California budget mess-Proposition 11, which would strip the Legislature of its power to draw state Senate and Assembly district lines, is desperately needed. (George Skelton, Capitol Journal, LA Times)


THIRD PARTY NEWS

• Alaskan Independence Party Does Well in Blanket Primary (Ballot Access News)
• What happened to Pat in 2000?-Third Partyism (NorCal Council of Concervative Citizens) Russ Verney once chaired the New Hampshire Democratic Party and secretary Jim Mangia was a (albeit fairly moderate and low-key) gay-rights activist..... He also should have not have gotten involved with Lenora Fulani.
• Fuuniest News of the Election Season (Riley Dad's Weblog) In 1988, the Democratic and Republican Parties missed a similar Indiana deadline. Lenora Fulani sued the State Election Board to force the Board to enforce the deadline.... This year, the Texas Libertarian Party and Bob Barr are the only ballot-listed presidential candidates on the Texas ballot, so the Texas Libertarian Party could, if it wished, bring a lawsuit. However, the result of the lawsuit would probably be to get the deadline declared unconstitutional; no court would order that Obama and McCain be kept off the ballot.

CAMPAIGN
Golisano Goes National, Backs Obama (NY Daily News/Daily Politics)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Poll Finds Independent Voters Split Between McCain, Obama (Washington Post)
• Poll indicates rising Obama electability (UPI) A Gallup Poll released Monday indicates most U.S. independent voters said likely Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will win the White House.

UTAH
Semanko promises unity as Idaho GOP leader (Magic Valley Times News) A separate 199-192 vote among delegates in Sandpoint that supported retaining the state's open primary is indicative of just how divided this convention was.

REFORM

• FL: City Strips Penalties From Nonpartisan Election Rule (THE LEDGER Lakeland FL)
• PA: Democrats blocking vital legislative reform (Towanda Daily and Sunday Review - PA)
• PA: Redistricting = Democracy (Philadelphia Daily News)
• CA: Gray Davis Endorses California Redistricting Initiative (Rose Report)
• Florida: Redistricting Reform Efforts (Rose Report)
• FL: Group Files Suit to put growth vote on ballot (Orlando Business Journal) Blackner has hired Gary Sinowski, a noted ballot access attorney, to serve as the group's lead counsel in the lawsuit.
• N.C.: Libertarian runs for serious attention By Mark Binker (News Record - Greensboro)
• US: Should we eliminate the Electoral College and count only popular votes? (OpEdNews)

INDEPENDENCE PARTIES
ALASKA: Important Case on Political Party Control Over Nominations May be Heard by 9th Circuit in August (Ballot Access News)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN * PA: Today, voters in Pa. will have their say (Philadelphia Inquirer) Obama ground organization: The most unusual touch will be criers boarding SEPTA buses and giving riders a brief pitch and some Obama literature.

WEST VIRGINIA

• Today is last day to register for primary (Bluefield Daily Telegraph) For the first time, independent voters and voters who marked “no party affiliation” on their voter registration form will be able to vote in the Republican or the Democrat or the Mountain Party’s primary on May 13.
• Dems seek independent voters (Parkersburg News and Sentinel) Since the 2006 elections, roughly 18,600 people have registered as independents, double the number of new Democrats and triple the number of new Republicans.
• Today is last day to register for primary (Charleston Daily Mail) Unaffiliated voters have increased by 19 percent since November 2006, and now make up more than 13 percent of all registered voters.

NORTH CAROLINA * Conflict resolved, gubernatorial debate is go (News Observer) So far, 36,011 registered Democrats have voted early, as have 1,741 registered Republicans and 9,794 unaffiliated voters.

ALASKA * Anchorage Mayor Enters Alaska Senate Race (CQ Politics) Alaskans typically vote Republican, but candidates in Alaska also must appeal to unaffiliated voters and third-party supporters who make up 60 percent of the registration rolls.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Democrats Making Big Inroads In Party Identification (CQ Politics)

OPEN PRIMARIES: Ohio crossover voters not at fault; fix rules (Columbus Dispatch) **** Phil Keisling's 'Blanket' primary bid in Oregon (Statesman Journal)

ALASKA INDEPENDENCE PARTY: Alaskan Independence Party Will Choose a Presidential Nominee (Ballot Access News)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: McCaskill: ‘Big state’ argument is bogus (Columbia Tribune Politics Blog)
FLORIDA: Counting every vote (Tampa Bays 10) **** Primary Independents (WMBB TV-Gulf Coast West Florida)
VERMONT: VT House approves instant runoff voting (VPR)
ALASKA: AIP preps for national election (News Miner)
WASHINGTON: A political convention that actually decides? (The News Tribune - Tacoma)

Calling all Interior Alaskans

The Alaskan Independence Party is "calling all Interior Alaskans" to gathering at noon, Wednesday Mar. 21, at Debi's Café, off Van Horn Road at Industrial Ave. The AIP agenda will include two main topics, reviewing the Attorney General's recent decision on the 07AKIN petition and a presentation regarding the Party's "Joe was Right" oral history project. The 07 AKIN petition was expected to be approved by Lt. Governor Sean Parnell's office later this month, but was recently denied by the Attorney General's Office, and thus, the Lt Governor's office. Attempts to vote on this issue have been denied by previous Lt. Governor's Ulmer and Leman. Chairman of the AIP, Lynette Clark, said, "I still consider this Initiative to be one of the most important works for Alaska and her people since the convening of the Alaska Statehood Commission." A full report on the "Joe was Right" project will be presented, along with the first "airing" of the projects first production "Remembering Joe" on CD. Come and hear Joe again. This CD is the first of a series from the extensive cassette archives of his thoughts, knowledge, and speeches that will be made available to the public and those who remember Joe Vogler. This project with the permission of the Joe and Doris Vogler Estate. Lynette Clark, Chairman, Alaskan Independence Party For contact or additional information: Call 457-1884 or email: lclark@akip.org

Alaska IP will meet March 21

The next Alaskan Independence Party meeting for general membership is on March 21st at Deb's Cafe on Van Horn Road for a noon luncheon. Guest Speaker will be Dexter Clark discussing the production of Joe Voglers' speeches on CD's and their planned release. For further information call Lynette Clark at 457-1884 or www.akip.org.

Alaskan Independence Party general membership meeting.

Fairbanks Daily News-MinerCalendar - Monday:6:30 p.m.–Alaskan Independence Party general membership meeting. Refreshments will be served. 510 Noble St. Information: 457-1884. (Fairbanks Daily News - Miner)