Extra! Extra! 2016 Presidential Breaking News!

Apparently we are so bored with the 2012 Presidential election, the media is now pushing the 2016 election! Wow, the 24 hour news cycle + 5 year presidential campaign cycle = sorry, I gotta go to work now...

Last Word: The Re-Formation of Hillary Clinton

LAST WORD
How Hillary Became Likable (Alana Goodman, Commentary) Once seen as a divisive far-left opportunist, Clinton owes a lot of her newfound respect to her position as secretary of state. Before she took office, Clinton was mainly known for her domestic policy views. But foreign policy tends to be less visibly partisan, which likely helped soften her image with Republicans and independent voters.

Talk Talk: Bill's Back

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Every week CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist/philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogues compiled on Sunday, August 9, 2009 after watching selections from "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," and several Charlie Rose interviews. Salit: Yes. So, on to the Clinton hostage release. Newman: Good job, Bill. Salit: Bill goes over, meets with the North Korean leader. Newman: Smiles only when off-camera. Salit: Smiles only off-camera, exactly. And brings the women home. Newman: Exactly. Salit: It was really a good play. Newman: He was the obvious person to go to resolve this. Read Talk Talk in its entirety here.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

POLITISOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS

• Increasingly Centrist Obama Ruffles Left And Right Feathers (By JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice) It’s not unusual for centrists to get it from both sides. As many on this site, Avlon and others have noted, anyone who chooses a centrist path will get it from some on the right (you MUST be a secret leftist masking yourself as a centrist and you’re mushy) and some on the left (you MUST be a secret Republican and you’re mushy).
• 60 Is Not a Magic Number for Democrats, Party's Failure to Win a Filibuster-Proof Majority in Senate Isn't the End of the World (By Mike Lillis, Washington Independent) Many of the experts contend that the Democrats’ belief that securing 60 seats would have been the key to legislative success ignores the regional and ideological nuances that influence voting patterns on both sides of the aisle.
• Don't Blame Obama For Disappointing Liberals (Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Huffington Post) He is what he's always been, namely a pragmatic, centrist, Democrat who when circumstances dictate will conciliate moderates and conservatives on a hot button issue that might cause political trouble.

LOCAL NEWS OF INTEREST

• Minorities boost Dems' numbers-Party sees big gains in Brevard (BY JOHN McCARTHY • FLORIDA TODAY) Overall, there were 23,850 more people who cast ballots in Brevard this year than in 2004. More than 10,000 of those were Democrats, while fewer than 4,000 were Republicans. The rest had no party affiliation or membership in minor political parties.
• Senator Clinton, 2001-2008: Smart, Hardworking, Unextraordinary (by Jason Horowitz, NY Observer)
• Is Anh Cao A Model For A New Republican Party? (By Justin Gardner, Donklephant)

Talk/Talk: It Won't Be Hillary

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Below are excerpts from this week's Talk Talk, It Won't Be Hillary. Every Sunday CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogue on Sunday, August 24, 2008 after watching "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and "The McLaughlin Group".

Newman: The choice of Joe Biden resembles John Kennedy's choice of Lyndon Johnson. And that's a key thing with Obama trying to project a Kennedy image, which would be a big plus.

Salit: Not to mention that Caroline Kennedy was on Obama's VP search committee. OK, here's the counter attack: Yes, Biden brings all those things, but the choice highlights Obama's weaknesses. He had to go to somebody like Biden, a six-term senator who's experienced in foreign affairs, etc. and while he brings those plusses to the ticket, the minus is that it shines a light on Obama's weakness in that area. So, effectively, it's a negative for Obama.

Newman: Obama's going to have the light shone on his weaknesses in any event. Another spotlight isn't going to add a whole lot more light. If you're lit, you're lit.

Read Talk Talk in its entirety here.

It's Showtime in Denver!!!!

Chris Matthews has kicked off the NBC coverage of the Dem convention in Denver tonight with a little Jerry Springer action . Matthews says he likes (and in fact appears to genuinely revel in) talking with the "real" people.

The "real" people Matthews is reveling in are rabid partisans who are either pro-Hillary and/or anti-Obama (at this point, what's the difference???) Many of these folks will vote for John McCain because they support conservative triangulating party politics.

But hey, it's "exciting" tv. The pundits are talking fast and furious, lest they lose their audience. And who cares about the country anyway?

After all, the MSM has decided that Americans are into the excitement. In spite of the fact that 40% of the electorate now identifies as independent -- and seemingly NOT part of the partisan divide.

Hmmmm..... my money's on the independents and independent-minded voters in the country.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Blog Relations and Independent Politics

As I prepare to participate as a panelist on today's Bulldog Reporter audio conference, “Blog Relations Update for PR: Top Online Influencers Show How to Break into Blogs,” I realize I have a near-perfect example of what PR campaigns should NOT do to "reach and influence" blogs.

Barack Obama sent me a letter this week. I am on his email list and get those regular weekly or semi-weekly emails. I made a couple of small donations during the heat of the primaries, primarily to support and encourage Barack's valiant and successful attempt to take on the Clinton machine.

As an independent activist in New York City for the past 15 years, I can tell you that there is no love lost between independents in New York and our junior Senator Clinton. Hillary has personally attacked the preeminent Black independent in New York and the nation, Lenora Fulani, and has tried to strong-arm the Independence Party here in New York. Hillary is an independent-buster par excellence. As the Secretary of the Queens County Independence Party representing more than 21,000 party members (23 percent of voters in Queens are independent) this is no small matter.

The pitch from the Obama campaign to me in this letter states midway down on the first page:

"Together, we can change the way business is done in Washington. We can end the undue influence of special interests, bring Democrats and Republicans together to ge things done and finally solve the problems facing hardworking families across this country."

Ok, who is he talking to? Couldn't be me -- I'm not a Democrat nor am I a Republican.... Hmmm.....

"This has been a long campaign. and we've traveled this road with one of the most formidable candidates to ever run for President. In her 35 years of public service, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has never given up on her fight for the American people. Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the Aermica in which my daughters and your daughters and granddaughers will come of age."

Screeching halt. I didn't really read the rest of it....


Here's the problem: Yes, I'm a woman. Yes, I live in New York City. According to this letter, however, the only thing I have in common with Barack is that I have two daughters.

In spite of the fact that independents make up 40% of the electorate nationally, in spite of the fact that independents were responsible for boosting Barack (AND John McCain for that matter) to his current position of presumptive nominee, in spite of the probably tens if not hundreds of thousands of independent voters that Barack has spoken to and with during the course of his campaign to date, he/his campaign still doesn't "get it."

I suspect that the Obama campaign thinks that independents are middle-of-the-road centrists who are "critical" of their parties, be they Democrats or Republicans.

Independents are not centrist Republicans unhappy that their party has lost its way. Independents are not centrist Democrats hoping to get back into power this term. Independents are people who don't like partisan politics. We are NOT THE CLUBHOUSE! We are people who don't choose to align ourselves with either major party because we don't fit in those categories. In fact we are anti-partisans, in the tradition of the Founding Fathers (and mothers, sisters, brothers, etc....)

But this is not a failure on the part of the Obama campaign. Barack after all is a Democrat and is doing what he knows how to do to win the nomination of the Democratic Party and the White House. And he's doing it pretty well.

The Obama campaign's slight to independents -- their continued ignoring of 40% of the electorate -- is a failure on the part of independent voters. We are not yet sufficiently organized, and therefore powerful enough, to make our statement in a way that can be heard by the powers that be.

To the Obama campaign: You could call Lenora Fulani and Jackie Salit to get some advice on how to approach independent voters in New York City. [That's what you do to win elections in New York City... but hey, who's counting...?]

To independent voters: Keep organizing!!

--NH

PS -- Barack, I have a blog..... http://grassrootsindependent.blogspot.com/ Check it out....

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• What do New York Voters Want Hillary Clinton to do? (Political Lore) And with the all important independent voters, 19% want her to be the candidate, 43% want her to remain in the Senate, 4% want her to run for Governor. 2% want her to run for Mayor and 33% want her to go away...
• Overview of Black Presidential Candidacy (Black Voice News)
• Nader submits petitions for Nevada presidential ballot (Reno Gazette Journal)

REFORM
Oregon "top two" primary; Connecticut constitutional convention for initiative and referendum; Michigan -- who's really behind the reform efforts?

• Oregon ballot could see 10 initiative proposals (The Oregonian)
• Power Mustn't Fall Into The Wrong Hands (Hartford Courant)
• Tyranny Masked As Populism (LETTER Hardford Courant)
• Coalition pushes for constitutional convention (Hartford Courant)
• Michigan group fighting to change state constitution (Toledo Blade)

Talk/Talk: New Guard Politics

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Below are excerpts from this week's Talk Talk, New Guard Politics . Every Sunday CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogue on Sunday, June 8, 2008 after watching "The Chris Matthews Show" and "This Week with George Stephanopoulos".

Salit: The debate now turns to Obama vs. McCain and the general election campaign. McCain's play is to distance himself from Bush. McCain says the only thing I have in common with George Bush is that I support the tax cuts and I'll keep the tax cuts going. But I've gone up against my party. I've gone up against them on immigration, on torture, on energy independence, etc. So, says the McCain campaign, name me one example of Obama going up against the orthodoxy of his own party.

Newman: He got the nomination.

Salit: Good answer.

Newman: If you're running a generational change campaign, that's the only credential that you can have. And it's the only one that you need. You haven't been in power, so how do you have a resume of bucking your party? No, Obama took on his own party establishment and won.

Read Talk Talk in its entirety here.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• “18 Million Cracks” (The Rutherford Lawson Blog) It can also be said that Braun, Shirley Chisolm, Lenora Fulani and Elizabeth Dole, each in their own way paved the road for Hillary.
• November Election in the Hands of the Independents (KCBS) California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein told ABC's "This Week," that the race won't come down to color. It will be in the hands of independent voters.
• Lieberman’s transformation from Dems’ VP pick to McCain mouthpiece (Muckety News) None of the talk of retribution and betrayal fazes Lieberman. He said “the post-2006 chapter of my life” has freed him from “tribal partisanship.”
• Sunday Snapshot -- Don't Cry For Me, America (Hotline blog/National Journal) Talk show round-up-NBC's Gregory: "I think independent voters are going to be so interesting to watch in this cycle because you've got two candidates who have demonstrated success among independent voters, notably John McCain.
• Rasmussen: Obama Leads McCain By 6 (By Justin Gardner, Donkelephant)

REFORM
Mississippians want options at the polls (By The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal) Mississippians clearly want the option to vote in any primary they wish. If anything, they want an even more open system like Louisiana's, where all the candidates are on the same ballot, regardless of party.

LOCAL CAMPAIGNS

• GEORGIA: Faye Coffield, Georgia Independent Candidate for Congress (Ballot Access News)
• PENNSYLVANIA: PRESS RELEASE: Dissatisfied Clinton Supporters Flock to Third Party in Droves (Gather.com)
• WASHINGTON: New ballot option on nonpartisan offices (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• S.D. keeps gaining independent voters (Argus Leader) Republicans have lost some of their edge in voter registration since 1970 in South Dakota, but the shift largely has gone to independents, not Democrats, election records suggest.
• Iowa expected to be electoral battleground (Waterloo and Cedar Falls Iowa News) One of the reasons Iowa is considered a battleground state is its large group of independent voters.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• CALIFORNIA: David Little: Protest vote cast in primary (Chico Enterprise-Record) Blindly going to the polls because the politicians tell us to only makes them believe we lemmings will do anything they say.
• OREGON: Petitioner scarcity-Voters will still consider as many as 10 initiatives on the ballot this fall (The Register-Guard)
• IDAHO: Beck, Ron Paul supporter join in bid to oust ID's GOP head (Idaho Press)

SOUTH CAROLINA FUSION
Obama Could Conceivably Be Listed Four Times on South Carolina Ballot (Ballot Access News) Probably Dems, SC Working Families Party, United Citizens Party, and possibly SC Independence Party...

CAMPAIGN
Black Americans mark mileston of Obama campaign (StarNewsOnline - Wilmington DE)

POLITICS AND RELIGION
On politics and faith/Let's face it: Religion looms large (Boulder Daily Camera) The Pew Forum reports that only about 16 percent of Americans define themselves as "unaffiliated" with any organized religion.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Poll finds electorate split between Obama, McCain (CNN) Independent candidate Ralph Nader and Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr are vying with the two major-party candidates for independent voters.
• Obama will visit Raleigh on Monday (Raleigh News & Observer) one goal of Obama's visit is to reach out to the 20 percent of the electorate that is registered as unaffiliated.
• Obama, McCain look west - 2008 battleground states include Colo, N.M., Nevada (Rocky Mountain News) Democrats also made huge gains in registration and the breakdown of party affiliation in Colorado could be a cause for concern among Republicans. The percentages still favor Republicans, who lead with 34.6 percent compared to 30.6 percent for Democrats. Unaffiliated voters account for 34.4 percent of the totals.

Conversations on Obama Accomplishment

And what happens to those independent voters who want nothing to do with the Clintons? (Gloria Borger, "It's Not About You, Hillary")

A Barack Obama presidency would not be a continuation of any long and noble crusade by the political Left against racism. If anything, it would atone for the Left’s history of participation in the distant travesties that it now, in such cowardly fashion, blames on others. (Daniel J. Flynn, "America's Racist Left")

The muted euphoria stands in stark contrast to the raw, public elation displayed by black Americans in historic moments past: When Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in 1938, or when the Supreme Court said in 1954 that segregation in public education could not stand. (Errin Haines, "Stifled joy from blacks on Obama win")

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Obamamania Has Become A Full-Blown Obsession (WCBS-TV) Shirley Chisholm blazed a trail in 1972. Jesse Jackson and Dr. Lenora Fulani each ran twice, as did Alan Keyes.
• Lenora Fulani Statement About Obama’s Success (Ballot Access News)
• CBS Poll: Obama Leads McCain (CBS) McCain leads Obama by 8 points among registered independent voters, considered a key voting block in November
• McCain no lock in Arizona (The Hill) The state has always been quirkily independent
• McCain and Obama: a stark matchup-They're both mavericks, but they differ sharply on issues and how to govern. (Christian Science Monitor) Both men hold appeal among independent voters – about a third of the electorate – and whoever wins a majority of them wins in November.
• Democrats' primary shows how far we've come (Newsday) It's not just about him, and it's not just about race. It's about us, too. Democrats - and the independents and Republican open primary voters who joined them - ventured well beyond the usual boundaries in supporting Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
• Don't Miss The Moment (This is Me) The setup by Jesse Jackson, Sr. and Lenora Fulani. The spike by Barack Obama.

OREGON OPEN PRIMARY

• Re-booting democracy in Oregon (The Oregonian)
• Voters Want Choices. And They Want to Be Heard. That's why Ranked Choice Voting makes so much sense. (Seattle Weekly)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Former Hopeful Lenora Fulani Among Those Thrilled as Obama Becomes First Black Nominee (BlackAmericaWeb.com)
• Barack Obama Wins Montana Primary, Clinches the Democratic Nomination for President (BlackAmericaWeb.com) "What is especially exciting about Senator Obama's candidacy is its attraction to young and independent voters," Clyburn said.
• Her first steps set stage for fall-Campaign wasted momentum, money, analysts say (Boston Globe) Obama, however, picked up on the physical and emotional exhaustion many Americans felt after the bitterly partisan Bush and Clinton years, and built a new Democratic coalition among young, educated, and independent voters.
• War. Economy. Health care. And through it all: Race. (Chicago Tribune) On the surface, the campaign between Obama and McCain will be fought over the traditional subjects of a presidential campaign, peace and prosperity. This is unlikely to be a campaign in which the candidates blur their differences to court the broad pool of independent voters.
• It's Your Party Now: Obama and the death of Clintonism. (Slate) Coalition-building or triangulation?
• Obama’s comfort level at the non-existent Applebee’s salad bar (The Carpetbagger Report) As for the focus group that apparently hadn’t heard much from the media other than news about Jeremiah Wright, this might be a clue to Brooks and his colleagues that the coverage of the campaign is not serving the voters especially well.
• Pew: Steep Drop in Obama Support Among White Women, Independents (National Review Online/The Campaign Spot)
• Hey Democrats - Don't Bash Young Voters in the Press (The Nation/Passing Through)

OPEN PRIMARIES:

• History of Ranked Choice Voting (Seattle Daily Weekly)
• South Dakota Symbolizes Obama's Lingering Woes (Wall Street Journal) One positive sign for Sen. Obama was that he did well with independent voters, particularly in Montana, which had an open primary, compared with South Dakota, which limited voting to Democrats. About one-third of voters in Montana said they aren't aligned with any party -- and just below two-thirds of that group voted for Sen. Obama. In South Dakota, about 15% of voters called themselves independent, and that group was about evenly split between the two candidates.
• Top Two: Bad for voter choice, bad for grassroots politics (Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog) That solution is to restore the open primary and do away with the horriby misguided Top Two - permanently.
• Report from On The Ground in Montana... (Cafe Talk/Talking Points Memo) There is a VERY vigorous and vocal group of Ron Paul activists who are REALLY trying to get him across the finish line ahead of McCain.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Clinton 'storms' into Vermillion to support Hillary (Sioux City Journal) Some, like Vermillion resident Gretchen Burbach, are independent voters who are still trying to make up their minds.
• Obama angles for showcase win in Montana (AP Google) The primary is open to all voters, and the Democratic race is expected to attract crossover Republicans and independent voters.
• Poll: Wash. voters favor any Dem over McCain (Seattle Post Intelligencer) Obama had a higher proportion of Independent voters than both McCain and Clinton.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• California's Democrats shift into Obama's camp, Field Poll finds (Sacramento Bee)
• The Conversation (By David Brooks and Gail Collins, New York Times/The Caucus) they debate the primary rules and which party’s approach to the nomination process works best.
• Obama’s Favorability Ratings Take a Hit (Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire)
• Western Voters Value Independence, Looking Ahead (CBS4)

REFORM

• Mississippi: Voter ID: Court ruling returns sanity to debate (The Clarion-Ledger) *** Mississippi Democratic Party Loses Open Primary Case on Ripeness (Ballot Access News)
• Oregon: Editorial: Turnout, while better, still low (Albany Democrat Herald) Open primary/one ballot

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Allow independents to vote (Kim A. Wright, Argus Leader) South Dakota independents should be allowed to vote in primaries
• Where Are The "Big" Issues? (CBS) It’s among Independent voters where the war issue could matter most.

CAMPAIGN

• Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before (Spot On) And if you buy the notion that independent voters, frozen out of the Democrat primary in Florida, may have registered as Republicans in significant numbers, consider that McCain's thin margin of victory over Romney (36 percent to 31 percent) in the winner-take-all Sunshine State contest might have instead been an thin Romney win...
• West might be where it's won (The Denver Post) One of the reasons the candidates have targeted the region is the very same reason their strategists will find it particularly difficult to get a clear bead on the place: unaffiliated voters.
• Questions of how much Obama can redo the map (Boston Globe) Colorado: If the state does tip to Obama, it will be because of unaffiliated voters.
• 2008 hopefuls focus on West (By Susan Page, USA TODAY) Among the factors reshaping the battlegrounds: a prospective flood of young voters in the West, growing numbers of Hispanic voters in the Southwest and the serendipity of popular candidates running for the Senate or governorship in Virginia, Oregon and elsewhere.
• N.J. adds 500,000 new Democrats in '08 (Politicker NJ) Although some of those previously unaffiliated voters would have probably already wound up targeted by Democratic campaigns, Reed said this could make them easier to identify.
• Ron Paul Tattoo in Jeopardy (Political Machine) Chance for Ron Paul supporters and Dems to work together

COMMENTARY * A kosher guide to pork and politics (Daily Freeman NY)

Talk/Talk: The Rove View

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Below are excerpts from this week's Talk Talk, The Rove View. Every Sunday CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogue on Sunday, May 25, 2008 after watching "The Chris Matthews Show" and "This Week with George Stephanopoulos".

Salit: Stephanopoulos asked Rove to give some free advice to the Obama campaign. Rove says: 'Here's how I look at it. There are two main pillars of the Obama campaign. One is the appeal for a bipartisan coming together to solve the country's problems. And the other is his appeal to the Dr. King concept of the "fierce urgency of now."' Rove says: 'If he wants to move the ball down the field for himself, he's got to find a way to link those two things for real, not just in speeches. Consequently, what he has to do is take some initiatives now that show that he can really produce that kind of bipartisanship.'

Newman: And Stephanopoulos correctly says, 'Wait. He can't do that. There's no time.' I think that was somewhat disingenuous advice on Rove's part.

Read Talk Talk in its entirety here.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Attention Oklahoma Independent voters! (jmbzine.com) Jacqueline Salit, founder and political director of the national organization, Committee for a Unified Independent Party, commented, “With 70% of Americans saying that the country is on the wrong track, the problem is not just that our policies have gone wrong. It’s that our political process isn’t working.


• Independents are pivotal to both McCain, Obama (NY Newsday)


• Permanent early voting list confusing some voters (Prescott Daily Courier) some voters on the list are confused about having to declare a party affiliation before they can receive an early ballot.


• The White Working Class: Forgotten Voters No More (by John Harwood, NY Times The Caucus)


• Republican candidates dwindle in Massachusetts races (by The Republican Newsroom) Voters not affiliated with either party make up slightly more than 50 percent of registered voters. These unaffiliated voters helped elect Weld and two other Republican governors and could again tilt toward the GOP, according to party leaders.

MONTANA

• Poll: State is on track, country isn't (The Missoulian) 92 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of independents saying they felt the country was headed in the wrong direction.


• Obama Holds Big Lead in Montana Poll (New West Network) It’s probably true that an Obama loss here would do some serious damage, calling into question his appeal to independent voters and his ability to redraw the electoral map in the fall by winning in at least some Mountain West states.

LIBERTARIANS * Dogfight in Denver (The American Spectator)