TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/13/10

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Trial About to Begin in Idaho Republican Party Lawsuit to Create a Closed Republican Primary (Ballot Access News)

THIRD PARTY

• Cokie and Steve Roberts: Voter discontent could result in a third party (Muskegon Chronicle - MI) Will a third party emerge and play a major role in the elections of 2012? History says the answer is no, and that’s probably a good thing. 

BLOOMBERG

• NYC mayor to campaign for redistricting in Fla. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Miami Herald)

TEA PARTY

• Poll examines Tea Party faith values - Nearly Half of Tea Party Movement also identify with Christian Conservative Movement (By Public Religion Research Institute) They are largely Republican partisans. More than three-quarters say they identify with (48%) or lean towards (28%) the Republican Party. More than 8-in-10 (83%) say they are voting for or leaning towards Republican candidates in their districts, and nearly three-quarters (74%) of this group report usually supporting Republican candidates.
• Tea party convention hears congressional hopefuls (By TYLER WHITLEY, Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH) Asked at the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Convention whom he would support for Speaker of the House, Golden answered "Ron Paul."

FLORIDA

• Q Poll Shows a Dead Heat in Governor's Race; Independents Shift? (Sunshine State News/KENRIC WARD'S BLOG) Independent voters appear to be shifting the race. Independents, who backed Scott 46-40 at the start of the month, now support Sink 51-34.
•  QUINNIPIAC POLL
• Wild swings in Florida gov. race (By: CNN's Jeff Simon)

CALIFORNIA

• Maldonado, Bowen should keep jobs (BY San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD) Maldonado is highly unconventional by California political standards, a Republican willing to buck the GOP establishment and work with moderates and across party lines.

COLORADO

• 527 equals sleaze (LETTER The Aspen Times) One canvasser came to my door and told me — incorrectly — that I might as well vote for Wilson because there is no way independent candidate Kathleen Curry, who is running for re-election as our House District 61 state representative, can win as a write-in candidate.
• In fact, as a widely respected legislator and the only candidate in the race with actual elected experience, Kathleen is clearly the leading contender.
• Curry sees tough fight for the election (by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News) Curry was a democrat until dis-affiliating in December, citing frustration with the increasing bitterness of the two-party system. She is attempting to do what many political observers say is impossible: Win as a write-in candidate.
• Curry's dedication should earn votes (LETTER Glenwood Springs CO Post Independent) I encourage other citizens of the Roaring Fork Valley in joining me in demonstrating our support for rational centrist policies by writing-in Kathleen Curry for State Representative. Let's lead Colorado in making this election day Independent's Day as a rejection of political extremism and partisan gridlock!
• Korkowski sticks to conservative principles (by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News) “It didn’t look like there was a solid conservative candidate in the race ... so I decided to do it,” said Korkowski, who is in a three-way race to represent House District 61 with democrat Roger Wilson of Missouri Heights and unaffiliated candidate Kathleen Curry of Gunnison.

FLORIDA

• Meet Charlie Crist's unconventional U.S. Senate campaign team (By Adam C. Smith, Times Political Editor, St. Petersburg Times)

MAINE

• Race for Maine Governor 2010: Who the candidates are, and what they stand for (By Steve Mistler, Lewiston Sun Journal) Maine voters this November will have five distinct options for governor, along with five declared write-in candidates.

SOUTH DAKOTA

• Other View: Shutting out independent voters sends bad message - Every vote counts. That phrase is tossed about whenever an election is so close, a single vote can determine the outcome. It rarely happens, but that doesn’t diminish the value of each vote cast in every election. (Mitchell Daily Republic)

NEW YORK

• New York’s Debate Gap (NY Times) Mr. Paladino’s insistence that any debates include the minor candidates, and that excluding the African-American and female candidates would be unfair, has given the front-running Mr. Cuomo cover to avoid a two-candidate debate.
• Poll: 58 % of Voters Say a 3rd Political Party is Needed (Reported by: Jane Flasch, WHAM Channel 13 ABC Rochester) Barron is a New York City Councilman.  He broke with the Democratic Party over Andrew Cuomo’s choice of Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy for a running mate. “The Democratic Party has taken us for granted,” he said in announcing his run.  “The Republican Party has ignored us.”  Barron is seeking 50 thousand votes to make his “all Black” Freedom Party a recognized party on the state ballot.
• Avella lands teachers union nod (BY LISA L. COLANGELO, NY Daily News) RECENT POLLS may show former Councilman and Democratic state Senate candidate Tony Avella lagging behind Republican incumbent Frank Padavan. But last week, Avella unveiled an endorsement he thinks is key to winning in the Democratic-leaning 10th Senate District.
• AG candidate Dan Donovan believes opponent Eric Schiderman is part of the problem in Albany (Tom Wrobleski, SI Advance)
• New Yorkers’ Anger at Politicians Doesn’t Fuel a Surge in Voter Registration (By SAM ROBERTS, NY Times) Despite professed outrage over dysfunctional politicians, few unregistered New Yorkers have been motivated enough to register to vote in November, according to election officials.
• Dan Donovan Clears Independence Party Chief In Loan Probe (BY CELESTE KATZ
• Daily News/Daily Politics)
• Real Estate Flexes Muscle - Industry Backing Both Democrats and Republicans in Aggressive Campaign Push (By ELIOT BROWN, Wall Street Journal)
• Freedom Party event launches election campaign (By Dee Knight, Bronx, N.Y., Workers World) An exciting event launched the Freedom Party campaign on Oct. 3 at the Church of the Resurrection, which also serves as home to the South Bronx Community Congress. Charles Barron and Ramon Jimenez, candidates for governor and attorney general, respectively, both spoke eloquently about the emerging Black and Latino/a alliance that sees well beyond the Nov. 2 elections to a new “people’s power bloc” that can genuinely fight for and protect the interests of working people in the city and state of New York.
• 'General' mayhem - AG debate bares 'party' animals (By BRENDAN SCOTT NY Post Correspondent) The Rev. Al Sharpton, Pedro Espada Jr. and Carl Paladino unexpectedly took center stage in yesterday's testy attorney-general debate, as both candidates sought to force the other to carry his party's baggage.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES FOR INDEPENDENT VOTERS 9/21/10

POVERTY

• Surprising number of Americans believe government programs increase poverty level (Access News) There is a fundamental difference of opinion on this topic between the nation's Political Class and Mainstream Americans. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the Political Class believe that government programs reduce poverty. But 56% of those in the Mainstream think government programs actually increase the amount of poverty in the United States.

MIDTERMS

• Diamondstone, Newton run on socialist ticket (By CHRIS GAROFOLO / Brattleboro Reformer Staff) Brattleboro resident and longtime Liberty Union Party member Peter Diamondstone has appeared on numerous Vermont ballots in the last four decades. But for the first time, the party he helped found will not appear next to his name. Diamondstone is seeking public office on the socialist ticket, campaigning for Vermont’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by longtime Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy.
• Under Fire from Kendrick Meek and Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist Runs TV Ad Targeting Rubio (BY: KEVIN DERBY, Sunshine State News) Mired in third place in most polls, the Meek camp hopes to win over Democrats and liberal independent voters who may be backing Crist as the best option to defeat Rubio.
• Our view: We'll find out - Senator stakes career on claim that she's Alaska's choice (Anchorage Daily News) With a cry of "Let's make history," and a Dena'ina center rally, she launched an independent, write-in campaign to keep her seat in the United States Senate. Reactions range from "sore loser" to "thank heaven," from the view that Murkowski is putting herself above the party process and breaking her word, to the view that she's defying the party process for the sake of Alaska.
• Blue strongholds are becoming Democratic graveyards (By Michael Gerson, Washington Post) The Quinnipiac poll produced the single-most startling figure of the midterm election so far: 65 percent of Ohio's likely independent voters now disapprove of Obama's job performance -- a 2 to 1 rejection. Obama has lost the center of the electorate in the center of America.
• Pennsylvania Voters May Toss Out Dems In Nov. Midterms (By JED GRAHAM, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY) The GOP rebound reflects both the depths to which the party had fallen and an apparent rejection by independent voters of Democratic rule, at least of the one-party type.

NEW YORK

• A Tea Party Gov Candidate Not Named Paladino (By Azi Paybarah, WNYC/The Empire)
• Election 2010: New York Governor: Cuomo (D) 54%, Paladino (R) 38% (Rasmussen Reports)
• Bloomberg on Obama, a White House Bid and Bloggers (By MICHAEL BARBARO, NY Times/City Room)
• O'Malley gets nod from NYC mayor (Baltimore Sun/Maryland Politics) Gov. Martin O’Malley Sunday obtained a blessing from an increasingly rare national political creature: A self-proclaimed moderate.
• Freedom Party pushes Black, Latino power and politics (BY FINALCALL.COM NEWS) In an open letter to the Black and Latino community, the Freedom Party said, “We are asking you to think differently about the political process. Like all other groups, Blacks must play to win, symbolic victories will no longer suffice. Consider this, other leaders want immigration reform in return for 68 percent of the Latino vote, a woman Supreme Court judge who is committed to woman's rights, and more attention given to protect the rights of gay Americans. However, in the absence of a strident Black voice, the legitimate unresolved issues still confronting Black Americans become obscured.”
• Second Circuit Upholds Restrictive New York Law on When Voters Can Switch from One Party to Another (Ballot Access News)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/3010

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• NEWSWEEK Poll: Democrats May Not Be Headed for Midterm Bloodbath - Obama's approval continues to slide, but Bush's legacy still haunts the GOP. (Newsweek) Democratic voters appear just as willing as Republicans to vote for their party. But independents skew heavily toward the GOP. Forty-five percent of independents say they’ll vote for Republican candidates, compared with just 33 percent for Democrats.
• Poll: Nevada voters unhappy with Senate candidates (By Associated Press, Boston Herald) Two-thirds of Angle’s supporters said they would have preferred another GOP nominee, and nearly 80 percent of registered voters who are undecided or don’t like Angle or Reid said they would have preferred a moderate rather than the conservative, according to the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey.... Independent voters and those who say they don’t prefer Reid or Angle said they might vote for "none of these candidates."
• Most N.M. Voters Give Congress Poor Ratings (By Michael Coleman, Albuquerque Journal) A majority of independent voters in New Mexico — 57 percent — said they disapprove of the job Congress is doing, with 20 percent voicing approval. Twenty-three percent of those independents responding to the Journal poll said they were either undecided, had mixed feelings, didn't know or were unsure of their opinion of the current Congress.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Hasten: Say goodbye to party primaries (BY MIKE HASTEN, The Town Talk - Central Louisiana) In most states, party primaries really thin out the crowd of candidates and often only the party winners are on the ballot in the general election.
• Debate Over Primary Elections Heats Up (Memphis Daily News) Wiseman: Our community is not well served by partisan primaries. … We have enough divisions in the community. Creating these further divisions does not serve our community well.”

FLORIDA

• FL: Candidates put faith in No Party Affiliation voters (BY DEREK CATRON, Daytona Beach News Journal) They were the fastest-growing segment of registered voters, even before Gov. Charlie Crist bolted the Republican Party for an NPA designation in his run for the U.S. Senate. Now, nearly 1 in 5 voters in Florida carries the NPA designation, making it the third-most popular "party," behind Democrats (41.5 percent) and Republicans (36 percent). And, while the major parties have been watching their percentages decline, NPAs have been on the rise, their percentages increasing almost 2.5 times since 1994.
• Crist looks for middle ground between two opponents (From CNN's Jeff Simon) According to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted August 11-16, Crist, who is running as an independent candidate, holds a 39 percent to 32 percent lead over Republican candidate Marco Rubio. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, trails the two front-runners with 16 percent.
• District 3 candidate supports open primaries (Submitted by Matt Dixon, Florida Times Union/Death, Taxes & Politics) Martin Terry-Back, an independent candidate running against Corrine Brown, has signed a pledge to support an open primary system.
• Open primary could heal Florida's low voter turnout (By Matt Dixon, Florida Times Union - Jacksonville) "I think clearly [an open primary] would improve voter turnout," said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. "It just seems like the best way to [increase turnout]."

WFP

• Working Families Has Nominees This Year in Six States (Ballot Access News)

NEW YORK

• DAs expanding probe of Independence haul (David Seifman, NY Post)
• Lew Fidler Challenges Charles Barron's "Freedom Party" Petitions (BY CELESTE KATZ, Daily News/Daily Politics)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Lauder Won’t Bankroll New Term-Limits Campaign (By Michael Howard Saul, Wall Street Journal/Metropolis) According to Rubenstein, Lauder is mostly “pleased” with the commission’s decision on term limits, though he disagrees with the panel’s decision to allow all incumbents to serve three four-year terms, no matter what the voters decide in November.
• Voters will weigh in on term limits in November (By Howard Koplowitz, Your Nabe Queens)
• Getting Your Say on Charter Revision (Gotham Gazette) The Campaign Finance Board is asking for pro and con submissions on the charter reform proposals to include in its voter guide.

Independent Voters: Pass the Open Primaries, Please!

OPEN PRIMARIES
Arizona and Washington DC

• 'Top 2' open primary a moderate solution (EDITORIAL Arizona Daily Sun) What if they gave a primary and everybody came?
• Arizonans like open system of primary voting (EDITORIAL Yuma Sun) Results of a survey released just prior to Tuesday's primary election indicate strong support for a nonpartisan approach to primary voting.
• D.C.'s unaffiliated voters, left out in the cold (EDITORIAL Washington Post) More perplexing is why D.C. Council members such as Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who have championed reforms to increase voting participation, would reject such sensible proposals as those of council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) to allow independents to vote in the primary election of a political party if the party permitted or to change party affiliation on the day of an election. Ms. Cheh told us that she's not necessarily opposed but that those issues hadn't been fully studied when the law was changed.
• Fenty Loses Bid to Recruit Extra Voters (by G'town Saucer, Georgetown Dish)
• Fenty's bid for independents: A sign of desperation? (By Bruce DePuyt, TBD Washington DC)
• Fenty maneuver rejected by voting board (By: FREEMAN KLOPOTT, Washington Examiner)
• Independent voters kept out of Democratic primary (By: FREEMAN KLOPOTT, Washington Examiner)
• BOEE Denies Petition To Allow Independent Voters To Change Parties (DCist)
• D.C. ruling to keep 'closed primary' system deals blow to Fenty campaign (By Mike DeBonis, Washington Post)
• DCBOEE blocks last minute rule change (By Tom Bridge, We Love DC) The difficult matter here has to do with the fact that in order to participate in the crucial elections in the District, you have to be registered as a Democrat. I don’t share much in common with the national party (though, truthfully, more in recent years than with Republicans), but here I am having to register as one in order to take part in the city’s biggest decision. This seems to me to be an odd choice that people would have to make in order to participate in a city’s governance.
• Loose Lips Daily: It’s BOEE Time Edition (Posted by Alan Suderman, Washington City Paper/LooseLips) Team Fenty took a big old swing and a miss at this morning’s Board of Elections and Ethics hearing on their petition to open up the Democratic primary to the 70,000+ unaffiliated voters on the city’s voter registration rolls. New Chairman Togo West ran a mostly tight ship during the morning’s testimony, which featured Fenty’s lawyers and two other dudes on one side, and the Gray campaign with down-ballot candidates, the D.C. Democratic Party, the AFL-CIO,  and a whole lot of people on the other side.
• DC Independent Voters Can't Vote On Primary Day (WUSA 9)

THIRD PARTIES

• LA: Libertarians on Aug. 28 ballot (By MELINDA DESLATTE, Tri-Parish Times)

TEA PARTY

• Is the Tea Party Ready For Its November Close-Up? (By Rhodes Cook, Wall Street Journal/Capital Journal) Roughly 20% to 30% of Americans sympathize with the views of the Tea Party, according to polls taken over the course of this year. But a basic question is whether it is an independent political movement truly disgusted with both parties, or a very vocal and conservative subset of the GOP? Data tend to point to the latter.

FLORIDA

• DeFede: Primary Night 2010 Winners And Losers (Jim DeFede, MIAMI (CBS4) In order to win a three way Senate race, Crist needs to not only collect moderate Republican and independent voters, he absolutely has to peel away Democratic voters as well. If Jeff Greene had won, there would have been a stampede of Democratic officials lining up to endorse Crist. 
• Three-way Fla. Senate race begins without a clear favorite (By Dan Balz, Washington Post) Whether Crist has damaged himself by the decision to run as an independent or whether he has cleverly found the route to political survival is the central issue that voters will decide.
• Washington Veterans Take Senate Primaries (By DAMIEN CAVE, Washington Post) Mr. Crist released a statement on Tuesday night calling Washington “a swamp of partisan bickering, finger-pointing and destructive political games” and saying “we need independent leadership.”

GEORGIA

• Roy Barnes' campaign of contrition (By Melissa Maynard, Stateline) “Amazingly, Roy Barnes remains in contention despite the fact that the head of his party nationally, Barack Obama, has reached a phenomenally low level of support in Georgia,” says Matt Towery, the CEO of InsideAdvantage, the firm that conducted the poll. Virtually as many Georgia voters identify as independents as identify with either party, Towery notes, and “the race really boils down to independent voters.”

NEW YORK

• State Sen. Joe Addabbo Loses Bid For Working Families Party Line (BY GLENN BLAIN, Daily News/Daily Politics) With the Democrats holding only a one seat majority in the Senate, the Addabbo-Como contest is likely to be among the most-closely watched races this year and could determine whether the GOP retains control of the chamber.

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• NYC Charter Revision Proposals: A Hobson’s Choice (Citypragmatist) Ballot Access: Generally reduce the number of petition signatures needed by candidates for city elective office to appear on a ballot; This would make it easier for newcomers to challenge party regulars, and for third-party candidates to unseat Democrats and Republicans. Several critics, including Jim Brennan, who heads up the State Assembly committee that oversees municipal charter revisions, have cautioned against it. Yes, he’s a Democrat.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 5/7/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Utah League of Independent Voters Launches Online Debate for Candidates in 3rd Congressional District (Damon Eris, Poli-Tea)
• Will The Youth Vote Trump Tea Party In Midterm Elections? (Bakari Kitwana/NewsOne, Huffington Post)
• Court: Idaho's election law unfair to independents (By REBECCA BOONE (AP)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Washington State Open Legislative Seat Reveals Flaw in “Top-Two” Process (Ballot Access News)
• GOP strives to make numbers work in its favor for 18th District seat (By Kathie Durbin, The Columbian)
• Notes, quotes from the La. Legislature (The Associated Press) The leaders of the Louisiana Democratic Party are opposing a bill that would return the state to an "open primary" system for congressional elections
• Huntsman says open primary could be way to engage - Party conventions » He urges more political involvement, especially from younger voters. (By Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Fixing elections - Utah's caucus system is broken (Salt Lake City Tribune Editorial)

PROP 14

• Open primary good for state (San Bernardino Sun Editorial)
• PROPOSITION 14 OFFERS CALIFORNIA VOTERS A DISTINCT, NONPARTISAN PRIMARY SYSTEM (by Greg Lucas, CAIVN)
• OPEN PRIMARY PROPONENTS FIRE BACK AT DETRACTORS (by Ryan Jaroncyk. CAIVN)

FLORIDA

• Poll gives Charlie Crist 6-point lead over Rubio (By Jim Stratton, Orlando Sentinel) Independent voters support Crist over Rubio 55-19, with Meek getting 13 percent.
• Poll: Charlie Crist holds lead in U.S. Senate race -- for now (BY BETH REINHARD, Miami Herald)

LAST WORD

• Tea party groups battling perceptions of racism (By Amy Gardner and Krissah Thompson, Washington Post)l

Independents Fight for Political Reform!

Who are the "real independents"? Randy Miller is one of them, and you can meet plenty more grassroots activists who are working overtime (for no pay) fighting for political reforms like open primaries and nonpartisan elections all over the country! Let's hope that Charlie Crist seeks some of us out in his new independent run for gov of Florida...
INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Utah LIV Randy Miller: Why I’m an Independent (The Moderate Voice)  NOTE: Randy's post prompted the response below from a "right-leaning centrist" Jason Arvak on TMV called 'Real “Independents”' 
• Haley: Independents' day? (By Dan Haley, The Denver Post)
• Brian Armstrong: Rise of the independent will benefit our system (Brian Armstrong, Tallahassee Democrat)

OPEN PRIMARIES - WEST VIRGINIA

• County Clerk Offers Advice for Independent Voters - Independent voters have to ask for a specific ballot. (Story by Chris Marrs, State Journal, Barbour County WV)
• Voter registration trend toward unaffiliated (By PAMELA BRUST, News & Sentinel WV) Since both political parties have opened their primaries, the number of voters not affiliated with either party has steadily increased.
• Live ire: Primary voting rules differ by state (Catherine Pritchard, Fayetteville Observer)

CALIFORNIA PROP 14

• GOLIS: What if both candidates were Democrats? (PETE GOLIS, Press Democrat)
• Center for Governmental Studies Issues Neutral Report on Prop. 14 (Ballot Access News)
• Our View: Bring back the open primary (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
• A year for desperate measures (Debra J. Saunders, SF Chronicle)
• Our View: Prop. 14 a win for democracy - It wouldn't wipe out the clout of the state's two major parties, but it would empower candidates. (Merced Sun Star)

WHAT ABOUT CHARLIE CRIST?

• What Charlie Crist's indie bid says about GOP – and Crist himself - Gov. Charlie Crist suddenly appears competitive as a political independent in his Senate race. Was his departure from the GOP a sign of turmoil in the party, or are there other factors at play? (By Linda Feldmann, Washington, Christian Science Monitor) “He’ll receive support among independent voters and moderate Democrats,” said Justin Sayfie, ex-aide to former Gov. Jeb Bush (R), in an interview with Politico. “That’s his strength.”
• The second coming of Charlie Crist - Four years ago, most Republicans did not expect then Attorney General Crist to successfully replace the outgoing, term-limited Governor Jeb Bush. (RICHARD HERSHATTER, Longboat Keys News) In a three-candidate race, the odd man out, or independent candidate, is always the dark horse. Charlie Crist, however, is too good a candidate to waste. Abe Lincoln would have approved of his candidacy, with or without the backing of old line politicos.
• Sunshine Circus - Charlie Crist is just the clown in the Center Ring. (John Fund, Wall Street Journal)
• Parties Snipe at Crist, but May Court Him Later (By JEFF ZELENY, NY Times) How will the all-important independent voters along the state’s I-4 corridor, stretching across the middle of the state, view Mr. Crist?
• Charlie Crist, Independent (By W. James Antle, III, American Spectator)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Remember term limits? They're back - Review of City Charter could reshape NYC's government, politics (Crains New York)

NEW YORK

• Liberal challenge to Dems on health care falters (By BEN EVANS, Washington Post) In New York, the labor-backed Working Families Party is exploring challenges against Reps. Michael Arcuri and Michael McMahon, but again the movement has yet to name viable contenders.