Independents Shut Out of Pennsylvania Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Independents shut out of primaries (Stephen Hambric, Centre Daily Times - State College PA) It’s time for an independent category in our political system. The two reigning parties have not been serving us well and do not deserve to continue their monopoly on public service.
• Contact Independent Pennsylvanians to join the fight for open primaries. "Independent Pennsylvanians is an association of independent and independent-minded voters. We support issues and campaigns at the local, state and national level designed to increase the visibility and power of independent voters in Pennsylvania—now the fastest growing political force in America."
• Obama can't win without Pa. (Tom Bevan, Philadelphia Inquirer) G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, says Obama's demeanor and perceived lack of empathy might also be creating a disconnect with the state's independent voters. "Like Obama or not," says Madonna, "he just doesn't relate very well. He hasn't been very good or very sensitive on matters of the recession." Obama's trouble with independents in Pennsylvania is no small matter, because most experts believe he can't win the state without them.The bulk of Pennsylvania's independent voters are clustered in the four counties surrounding Philadelphia and two counties in the Lehigh Valley (Berks and Lehigh).

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES
Independent plans to mount serious campaign for mayor (Niki Kelly and Benjamin Lanka, Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne IN) Haley Ahrendt on Friday filed the required 1,213 voter signatures to be an independent candidate for Fort Wayne mayor – in fact, he filed more than 2,000.

2012
A Requiem for Huckabee (By ROSS DOUTHAT, NY Times) He’ll be missed because he embodied a political persuasion that’s common in American life but rare in America’s political class. This worldview mixes cultural conservatism with economic populism: it’s tax-sensitive without being stridently antigovernment, skeptical of Wall Street as well as Washington, and as concerned about immigration, family breakdown and public morals as it is about the debt ceiling… You can find it among independent voters, particularly in what a recent Pew report calls the “disaffected” demographic, whose hostility to big government coexists with anxieties about corporate power and support for redistribution of wealth.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Polls: Clinton, Obama in tight race in Indiana (CNN) Obama owes his victories throughout the nomination battle to African-Americans, young voters, upscale whites and independent voters.
• GOP Seeds Of Dissent? (The Bulletin, Philadelphia's Family Newspaper) Mr. Huckabee and Dr. Paul collected 11 percent (91,423 votes) and 16 percent (128,467 votes), of the vote, respectively, at a time the GOP race is all but over.
• Obama Plans May General Election Organizing Launch (Washington Post/The Trail) New registrations have hit 165,000 in North Carolina and topped 150,000 in Indiana -- and unlike in Pennsylvania, both of those May 6 states open the primaries to unaffiliated voters (and Republicans too in Indiana)
• North Carolina: By The Numbers (RealClearPolitics) There are more than 2.6 million Democrats and 1.2 million unaffiliated registered voters in the state
• FOX TV Rasmussen Reports: Obama Trails McCain by 1 Point (RasmussenReports.com) Among unaffiliated voters in the state, McCain leads Clinton by twelve and Obama by five.

Potomac Primary: Obama leading Hillary in polls

Independents will be allowed to vote with either party in Virginia's primary. That could be a boon for Obama, who has scored well among independent voters in previous open primaries.
(Obama favored in Potomac primaries, LA Times)

Obama, who has trailed Clinton in every USA TODAY poll over the past year, edged ahead by 47%-44% — within the survey's margin of error..... Among Republicans, McCain has consolidated his front-runner status, leading former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee 53%-27% among Republicans and independents who "lean" Republican.

Maryland holds a closed primary, meaning you have to vote in the party you're affiliated with. But, in Virginia, it's an open primary, meaning you can vote in either party, but not both. (WMDT)

As former governor Doug Wilder wrote in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, "Virginia is neither a red state nor a blue state. Its citizens are too independent-minded. Having been elected first lieutenant governor and then governor some years ago as a Democrat here, I can tell you that voter support depends more on a particular candidate than it does on party affiliation." (Washington Post)

"Well, let me tell you something: I'm skinny, but I'm tough, too. I'm looking forward to mixing it up with John McCain," Obama said the day before voters in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., would have a chance to vote in the presidential primary. (US News & World Report)

NOTE: 17% of DC voters are independent; Virginia has nonpartisan registration; 16% of Maryland voters are unaffiliated.

What to watch for today: Turnout and independent voters

Thing to watch today from Political CommenTerry:

• First, turnout: High is good for Barack Obama. Low is good for establishment candidates.


• Second, watch where the independent voters are going.


• Third, watch the battle between McCain and Mitt Romney. New Hampshire will be a virtual elimination round.


• Fourth, watch the Ron Paul factor. If Paul were to garner 15% or more of the New Hampshire GOP primary vote, I believe it will be difficult for McCain to win.


• Finally, watch Mike Huckabee's order of finish. He doesn't need to win, but he does need to finish third, ahead of Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Ron Paul, to retain the momentum from his Iowa win.....

Independents' Day in New Hampshire

It's not just the sheer numbers of independents that makes them a pivotal group to watch in New Hampshire. Historically, they have often been decisive. (AP)

In a CNN/WMUR poll of New Hampshire voters released Sunday night, Senator Obama opened up a 10-point lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in large part because of support from independents. (Christian Science Monitor)

Barack Obama is being joined on the campaign trail today in New Hampshire by Bill Bradley. (The Trail/Washington Post)

“Independents sitting in New Hampshire are saying, “Where can my vote matter most?' ” he says. “People are determined to politically leverage their vote by saying, ‘My vote has more “oomph” in this primary rather than that primary.' ” (WZZM 13)

On the Republican side -- John McCain is surging to the top of the pack with 34 percent support. Mitt Romney had been leading, but now stands at 30 percent. Iowa winner Mike Huckabee is in third, while Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul are tied for fourth. (Christian Broadcasting Network)

There are probably enough Independents to go around to both John McCain and Barack Obama. (Jim Geraghty - National Review) [Good point!!!]

Repub establishment vs. Independents in New Hampshire

The Repubs are already thinking about how to get rid of Mike Huckabee. This from Andrew Sullivan's "The GOP's "Jesse Jackson Moment" on The Daily Dish quoting from Mitt Romney's advisor Mark Falcoff "In spite of itself, the party might end up with him as its nominee, and with it, heading down the shortest road to disaster since the Goldwater debacle of 1964....."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

What do Mike Huckabee, Jackie Salit, George Farah, and Walter Cronkite have in common? They all want to Rock The Debates! (THIRD PARTY WATCH)

Obama follows other African-American presidential hopefuls (AFP-Google) including independent Lenora Fulani, who is the only woman and only African American to have ever been on the ballot for president in all 50 states in the history of our country...

DNC boycott, closed primaries, lock-down in black establishment..... What's a Florida independent to do??? (By Lloyd Dunkelberger, The Ledger)

Polls show surge of young voters, independents carried Obama, while conservative Christians propelled Huckabee (By JONATHAN ROOS and JENNIFER JACOBS, DES MOINES REGISTER)

Obama counts on independents in N.H. (Examiner)

Paul counting on independent voters (By JIM KOZUBEK, New Hampshire Union )

Kucinich contests debate exclusion by ABC (Seattle Times)

Paul left out in the cold in NH--Fox News say their studio isn't big enough.... (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Hillary, Rudy wounded, turn attention to N.H. (Newsday)

Most NJ voters will be on sidelines on primary day (Newsday)

NH Primary 2008 (D): Hillary 39.2%, Obama 31.7% (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Iowa voters say it loud: it's a shake-up! (The United States of America could actually produce a black president....)

• Obama Wins Iowa, Bolstering Bid for New Hampshire Independents-RECORD TURNOUT: The number of Democrats participating in the caucuses jumped to almost 240,000, close to double the 124,181 who voted in 2004. (Bloomberg.com)
• Analysis: Obama Ahead; GOP A Headache-Obama Attains Front-Runner Status; Huckabee Win Roils GOP Race (CBS News)
• Focus Turns to the Independent Voters In New Hampshire, Unaffiliated Are Key For McCain, Obama (By MARY JACOBY Wall Street Journal)
• A Whiff of Revolution From Iowa (By E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post)

And now on to New Hampshire....


And on a side note: CIA confirms Ventura meeting occurred--CIA was (is?) apparently monitoring the independent movement..... (by Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Jason Olson of Independent Voice in California, an advocacy group that helped launch IndependentPrimary.com, says open primaries result in more voters going to the polls--something the major parties don't care for... (Amador Ledger Dispatch)
• "Too Independent To Vote" -- Arizona independents can vote in the primaries unless it's a presidential election (KOLD News 13- AZ)
• Mike Huckabee makes Wall Street nervous (Bloomberg News)
• It's true that the Lieberman endorsement will help McCain - but with conservatives more than independents. (BY JAMES KIRCHICK, Be Our Guest column - NY Daily News)
• Clarence Page says Andy Young should stay away from microphones... (Daily Journal - Kankakee IL)
• Texas Independence Party tells Secretary of State it will try to qualify (Ballot Access News)
• Maine Green Party WANTS YOU! (Ellsworth American)
• "Just say maybe" -- I think, therefore I punditize... (By John Brummett, Arkansas News)
• Who's Wrong On Race? -- interesting discussion of Dem and Repub history relative to race (By Steve Benen, CBS News)
• "If you want to pull the major party to what you're thinking, YOU MUST, YOU MUST show them that you're capable of not voting for them..." - Lawrence O'Donnell from "Gitlin, Alterman and the Anti-Nader Democrats - Two Unreasonable Men" (By JOHN WALSH, CounterPunch)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Fed up with politics as usual and government paralysis, 60% of the electorate is open to a 3rd party presidential run (Mercury News)
• Huckabee's upsurge helped by religious conservatives and independent voters (Bloomberg.com)
• Democratic New Hampshire Primary Too Close to Call (Associated Content)
• Raw Fisher has a cleverly worded poll (Washington Post Raw Fisher)
• Obama's ground plan in Iowa (Time Magazine)
• Bloomberg: will he? won't he? OR WHEN will he....? (Wall Street Journal)
• Check out 411mania.com for the blogtalkradio discussion of the need for a third party party

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• On-Line Presidential Primary Poll Features 3 Sets of Presidential Primaries (Ballot Access News)
• IFC Poll: 49% independents dissatisfied with current candidates (Multichannel News)
• Somthing the Media doesn't get: Lou Dobbs (like Mike Bloomberg) is an advocate, not an independent candidate for president -- oh, wait, Lou Dobbs IS the Media! (DETROIT FREE PRESS)
• Costa Mesa mayor says he’ll endorse Ron Paul--74 comments by libertarians and independents (Daily Pilot)
• Jim Mangia of Committee for an Independent Voice is holding a fundraiser for Kucinich today (Reuters Press Release)
• "Civil Rights Icon Andrew Young", according to MyFox Atlanta, says Obama is too young. Or too black. No, that's Bill -- Andy says "Bill is every bit as black as Barack." Hmmm... That's mighty white of you, Andy. And what's the cost of staying Forever Young?
• Huckabee is the Republican Obama (By FRANK RICH, NY Times) and Obama is closing in on Hillary in South Carolina (The State) while Oprah and Chelsea Clinton Hit Iowa (Washington Post The Trail)
• Challenges to all Green and all Democratic Presidential Primary Candidates Defeated in Illinois (Ballot Access News)
• Virginia 1st Congressional District special election on Tuesday includes independent Lucky Narain (Washington Post)
• Reactionary Loyalist Party plans run against popular Queens Democrat State Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza. The Loyalist platform contains anti-Islamic and stringently anti-illegal immigration ideals. 36 percent of the population here is foreign-born. (Queens Chronicle)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Third Party Run From The Right? (Horserace 08 - CBS News blog)
• Beating the Odds - John McCain to win New Hampshire independents? (Truthdig)
• RoboClinton calling independents in Illinois (Clout Street - Chicago Tribune blog)
• Zogby Poll: Clinton winning independents who plan to vote in the New Hampshire Dem Primary (BBSNews)
• Obama at $19 million for the primaries (The Caucus - New York Times blog)
• Rudy: 3rd party not the answer (Newsday)
• Huckabee Gets Nod of Clinton (NY Sun)
• Citizen Georges-After years of corporate success and civic involvement, John Georges is spending millions in his bid to become Louisiana’s next governor-as an independent (The Independent Weekly)