Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 23

Today's Hankster picks for independent activists. The title of the article contains the link to the original, followed by the author and publication, and then a snipit from the article. You can subscribe to this briefing by email at FeedBlitz or choose your favorite newsreader... 

• The Texan (Semi-) Open Primary (By Shawn M. Griffiths, IVN) If all of the candidates in a race were on one ballot and the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, go on to the general election then it doesn’t disenfranchise any demographics. Republicans would vote for the Republican candidate they want. Democrats would vote for Democratic candidate they want, and independent voters would be able to vote for whoever they want.
• California's Ballot Experiment (Chris Weigant, Huffington Post) While the option will still exist to vote for a Libertarian or Green presidential candidate in November, they'll likely be the only representatives from their respective parties on the entire ballot, which, as I said, doesn't really sit right with me, because it smacks of second-class status for anyone not a member of the Democratic Party or Republican Party.
  Obama up 8 in Pennsylvania (Public Policy Polling) In a state where Democrats have a large registration advantage Obama wins if that holds true. It's a departure from some past polls that found him under even 70% of the Democratic vote, but conservative whites seem to be moving back toward him just as they did after supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary. Obama's also up 48-24 with Pennsylvania's small contingent of independent voters.
• Poll: Obama up big in swing-state Pennsylvania (By Jonathan Easley, The Hill) Independent voters have helped buoy Romney in recent national polls, but that’s not the case in Pennsylvania, where Obama leads 48 to 24. Obama also th edge among two of his most important constituent groups — women, with whom he leads 56 to 36, and young voters, with whom he leads 64 to 28.
• Pennylvania Poll: Obama Up 8, Doubles Romney With Independent Voters (TPM) A new poll of Pennsylvania from Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling shows President Obama with an 8-point overall lead, 50 percent to 42 percent, built on large leads with women and independent voters.

Check out Independent Pennsylvanians!

Independents couldn't care less about red-blue fights -- want problems solved.

Independent redistricting is high on the list of reforms that independent voters want. Apparently the Texas state legislature has missed that boat -- and we'll see what Gov-elect Cuomo stirs up in Albany....

REDISTRICTING

• Editorial: Bush draws a point Texas GOP, Obama should heed (Dallas Morning News) As they start this chore, legislators should recall that the country just finished an upheaval of an election, where voters stated clearly that they're tired of politics as usual. Independents, in particular, signaled that they couldn't care less about red-blue fights and want problems solved.

NEW YORK

• Public Advocate hires Maloney Challenger (By Azi Paybarah, WNYC/The Empire) De Blasio – whose ties to the Working Families Party and labor movement – make him a contender for the 2013 mayor’s race, now, conceivably, has a bit more access to the Wall Street crowd...
• Nation's worst Legislature must mend its evil ways and follow Cuomo's reforms (EDITORIAL NY Daily News) Those same brief weeks must also bring dramatic reforms in Albany itself - to ensure that lawmakers stop shilling for special interests, stop grubbing for perks and protecting privileges and start putting the public first.
  

EDUCATION REFORM

• School reform: A chance for bipartisan governing (Arne Duncan, Washington Post) This common-sense agenda also reflects the quiet bipartisan revolution underway at the state and local level. With the incentive of the Race to the Top program, governors, states and districts across America are implementing comprehensive plans to reform education systems and boost student achievement.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• NORTH CAROLINA: Superdelegates and the will of voters (News & Observer)
• MISSISSIPPI: Clinton or Obama? Mississippi's time (Clarion Ledger) *** Can Clinton Make Mississippi a Race? (Time)
• PENNSYLVANIA: Clinton, Obama Campaigns Gear Up For Pa.(PITTSBURGH-KDKA)
• TEXAS: Bill Clinton Went On Rush Limbaugh’s Show Day Of Texas Primary (JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)
• DELAWARE: Closed primary leaves some voters with no choice (Cape Gazette)
• WYOMING: Obama wins caucus in nation's least populous state (Tufts Daily)
• NEW YORK POLITICS: Calls For Spitzer's Resignation Begin (Elizabeth Benjamin, Daily Politics/Daily News)

Women For President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns, By Erika Falk, University of Illinois Press (Feminist Review)

CLINTON/OBAMA: Over the Top (Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• OH: Democrats came out in droves on Tuesday (The Chronicle-Telegram)
• The Two-Party Mass O’ Junk: My Hope! (The Moderate Voice by T-Steel) Independent voter T-Steel wants Obama to run independent -- he's probably not the only voter who does!
• McCain Must Attract Independents to Beat Clinton or Obama (By Liz Halloran, US News & World Report)
  

PENNSYLVANIA:

• Voters rush to switch political sides (Wilkes-Barre News Times Leader)
• Large numbers changing party registration for April 22 primary (Public Radio Capitol News)

MISSISSIPPI:

• Obama Slightly Ahead Of Clinton In Mississippi (All Headline News)
• Mississippi Going Obama, But Clinton Faring Stronger Than Expected (InsiderAdvantage and Southern Political Report)

TEXAS: Footnotes From the Texas Primary - One gay voter's change of heart leads him to a change of party. (Advocate)

WYOMING: STAT OF THE DAY (AP) Unaffiliated voters = 10% of electorate

NORTH CAROLINA: We’re in play (Blue Ridge Now)

OBAMA CAMPAIGN:

• Downside of Obama Strategy - Losses in Big States Spur General-Election Fears (Washington Post) NOTE: Spur General Election fears among WHOM?
• Playing by Clinton Rules (David Brooks, New York Times) "A candidate should never betray the core theory of his campaign, or head down a road that leads to that betrayal. Barack Obama doesn’t have an impressive record of experience or a unique policy profile. New politics is all he’s got. He loses that, and he loses everything. Every day that he looks conventional is a bad day for him."

HANKSTER two cents: David Brooks' point is well made. If you play by Clinton rules, Clinton rules. The ability to set the agenda is critical to any political campaign. If Barack Obama goes back to the issue of the war, he has a better shot at winning the Dem nomination. Forget her experience. Forget national security. Forget the economy (and apparently the establishment has forgotten about the economy in any serious way.... This is a political football now.)

This is a partisan election about the war in Iraq. The American people have turned against the war. Independent voters lead the charge in 2006. We are anti-war. This is the deciding factor of the election.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

UPCOMING DEM PRIMARIES here

PENNSYLVANIA: Independents have until March 24 to re-register to vote in the Dem primary -- 92,000 indies in Philadelphia alone... (Philadelphia Daily News) and here (Elmira Star-Gazette) and here (Allentown Morning Call)

TEXAS: Obama may win the delegate count from the caucuses (Houston Chronicle) * Obama camp claims TX delegate victory (MSNBC)

MARYLAND: Obama beats McCain in Maryland by 14 points, twice Clinton's predicted margin, courtesy of independents and Republicans.... (Southern Maryland Headline News)

INDIANA: Open primary on May 6 -- independents vote here (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)

NEW COALITION: Obama poised to forge new coalition of Blacks and Hispanics (Chicago Defender)

FLORIDA INDEPENDENCE PARTY: Peter Allen started in 1988 with Write to Secede - a local fight over septic tanks.... (Observer News Tampa Bay)

CALIFORNIA: Sinister initiative plan by right-wing activists in California to win votes for McCain (Sacramento News Review)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES: House panel rejects open-primary plan (Springfield State Journal Register)

SUPER TUESDAY II:

• Exit Polls Reveal Obama's Weaknesses (The Plank/The New Republic) Obama won independents in Ohio by 54 to 46 percent--nothing like his two-to-one margins in other states.
• Change Trumps Experience . . . For the Moment (By Tobin Harshaw, Opinionator/New York Times)

OHIO:

• Shortage of ballots leads to extended voting hours in Ohio (TOLEDO BLADE)
• Ohio Primary: Exit Poll Results & Election Coverage - The Independent Effect (WSAZ - WV)
• McCain, Clinton dominate Ohio, area (Central Ohio Gazette) Lanning said she believes many Republicans went to the polls to vote against Obama because race is still an issue.
• Crossovers use all the ballots-Some are told to wait - or come back later (Cincinnati Enquirer)

TEXAS:

• How Bell County voted: Obama has the numbers (Temple Daily Telegram)
• Upset in the Lone Star State (Trail Watch/Forbes) Republicans, knowing that McCain’s comfortable lead in the delegate count gives him a lock on the Republican nomination, may very well cross over to the Democratic primary and vote for the candidate against whom they think McCain has a better chance of winning in November.

VERMONT: Obama Wins the Green Mountains (The Trail/Washington Post)

NADER: Nader simply doesn't see two-party value (Sac Bee)

WASHINGTON DC: Catania Wants to Give Independents Primary Vote (Washington City Paper)

Live-blogging CNN and msnbc coverage of Super Tuesday II for independent voters

Hi everyone. I'll be live-blogging the coverage tonight of the primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. All four primaries are "open primaries" and allow independent voters to have a say. I'm mostly watching CNN and MSNBC commentary. I'm watching for how independent voters are impacting and how the media is relating to us.

The most current post will be at the top of the blog, so you'll have to scroll down to see what I said earlier in the evening.... (It's a blog thing.....) Thanks for tuning in!
The Hankster (Call me Nancy)

9:07pm: Texas Two-Step still in motion.... more party party talk.... Now 59% Clinton in Ohio, 56% Obama in Texas.... So the pundits are talking about what that means, the endlessness of this campaign bec. Hillary intends to go on.... the superdelegates.... the convention.... etc. etc. etc.

It's clear that there will be no clear outcome tonight.

9:00pm: Texas is too close to call, as is Rhode Island, as is Ohio, with Hillary ahead but with little results in... Vermont called for Obama....

8:53pm: Well, I have to say, the results from Super Tuesday in February, and the other primaries have been called really early. Not so this Super Tuesday II. The pundits are yacking... The pundits are endlessly facinating to themselves...

Texas totals now show a closer Obama/Hillary outcome: 55/43..

8:28pm: Texas -- Suzanne Malveauex is reporting from the floor of a Texas caucus where voters are gathering after voting in the primary... The lines in Texas are phenomenal... A long night.... Clinton is winning the Ohio primary by 62% to Obama's 36%.... What's happening in Ohio?

As Wolf Blitzer reminds us, you can to to CNN.com and get all this info! Good idea!

As well, go to msnbc to get voting results....

8:22pm: It appear that Barack Obama will win the Texas primary (though the networks have not called it!). This could change throughout the night, however, The Hankster is calling Texas for Obama. (Oh, I just bought The Man's game... ooops!)

8:14PM: Texas Obama 60%, Clinton 39% with one percent of the vote in.

8:10:pm: Obama seems to have a good lead in Texas with 61% to Clinton's 39%... INDEPENDENTS NO DOUBT MAKE A DIFFERENCE...

8:01pm: Ohio projections 42% for Obama and 56% for Hillary, very very early, not an indication... Here is the ABC News article.

Campbell Brown at CNN: Gloria Borger, pivot, no the people need to decide....

Obama is holding at 60% in Vermont; in Ohio, Clinton has 56% and Obama has 42%

Donna Brazille is talking about superdelegates needing to commit...

7:53pm: Here's what Wonkette is saying, who is also live-blogging this event. She's a clever one.... And just to back the whole thing up is Marc Ambinder.... Hmmm.... I getting the feeling that this has now become a desperate intra-partisan fight. Fortunately the voters in Ohio and Texas (and Rhode Island) will have a voice. Independent voters are still voting. Texans are going to the caucuses... Life is good!

7:49pm: 22% independents aligning with Hillary (Chris Matthews)

7:42pm: Ron Paul has 4% of the Vermont vote, which has been concluded by the media... msnbc is running polls as if it's news.... did the 3 am ad have an impact? Obama is seen as having a lower negative impact index than Hillary.... hmmmm.... huh????

7:39pm: Ok, we're back -- if you haven't already, please check out Linda Curtis of Independent Texans on this pro-Obama video. Good luck to you guys in Texas!!

7:24pm: Well, CNN and msnbc are really chompin' at the bit, but cannot make predictions bec. it's such a close race, but here's something from KXMC North Dakota: Early exit polls show independents are a big chunk of the electorate in today's presidential primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. Surveys find that self-described independents were about one in five voters in Ohio's Democratic primary, one in four in Texas, a third in Rhode Island and four in 10 in Vermont. Thanks, KXMC!

7:10pm: msnbc with Joe Scarborough has Eugene Robinson, Pat Buchanan, and a woman I'm not familiar with....

Ok, here's some kind of exit poll from Vermont: 74% of anti-war vote went to Obama...

On CNN, The Map! where we've come to expect John King drawing on a map and showing us all kinds of demographic information... Everyone wants to talk about what will happen if Hillary, if Democrats, if Obama... Pennsylvania will also be critical for working people's vote....

Polls will remain open in Sandusky County OHIO until 9pm because of bad weather.

7:03pm: Polls close in Ohio at 7:30pm. CNN is doing a sort of man-on-the-street exit poll, but they're not showing us anything yet...

Back to msnbc -- Hillary didn't expect to win Vermont -- they're too liberal up there, too many anti-war votes.... (this is being reported by Andrea Mitchell in the field and Keith Olberman in the office)

Chris Matthews on the spot with more speculation on Hillary in Texas and Ohio....

7:00pm: msnbc just announced Obama as winner in Vermont; McCain in the Repub contest...

6:51pm: John Kerry, the last Dem presidential candidate is on MSNBC repsponding to the attacks on Obama about his "lack" of experience vs. Hillary's ... ummm... experience....

At this moment, we're looking for people to talk about the insider/outsider dynamic. Kerry is talking about Obama's ability to win delegates.

There's also the issue of spin -- Joe Scarborough (of Morning Joe) is posing the question of at what point does Hillary get out of the race. Pat Buchanan thinks Hillary should keep going. He says the superdelegates will freeze if Hillary wins Ohio and Texas....

6:31pm: Michelle Bernard, a black conservative and president of the Washington, DC-based Independent Women’s Voice, is a John McCain supporter, saying that McCain doesn't mean that we will be at war in Iraq for 100 years....

[Incidentally, many independent voters are Ron Paul supporters. Independent Texans endorsed Ron Paul in the Repub primary there. There's almost no media coverage, and certainly no MSM coverage of Ron Paul's campaign, which has been an outspoken anti-war campaign and deserves more attention.]

6:22pm: Fortunately there are a lot of commercial breaks, so just as in sports, we have a chance to get a snack, go to the bathroom, call a friend, etc. Come to think of it, politics IS a sport.

CNN -- Wolf Blitzer is already getting exit poll results.... Huh? Do they know something we don't know???
MSNBC is parsing the Obama/Clinton contest over and over, but I can't tear myself away.... Chris Matthews is holding forth. Lots of in-depth reporting with black leaders..... Oooops they also have exit polling....






6:20pm
AT THE GATE:
Texas has nonpartisan registration so everyone votes for whoever they want to and Democrats have early voting (people have voted for the past 30 days in droves!) and will also hold caucuses tonight which will be worth a third of the vote. So if you voted in the Dem primary, be sure to go to your local caucus to make your vote worth more.... (Independent voters in Texas should call Linda Curtis for help at (512) 535-0989.)

Ohio independent voters need to ASK for a party ballot to vote for presidential candidates. If you want to vote for Barack Obama, you will need to ask for a Democratic Party ballot.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• DEMOCRATIC TOSSUP: Ohio polls differ on possible winner. Obama on rise, but seniors, women a plus for Clinton (Akron Beacon Journal)
• A guide to primary day (Providence Journal)
• Presidential Hopefuls Not Courting the Muslim Vote (Crosswalk - VA) The survey of 1,000 registered American Muslim voters showed that 49 percent consider themselves Democrats and 36 percent said they are independent.
• Democrats expect no knockouts (Houston Chronicle)
• Clinton, Obama face crucial test (Detroit News)
• Early voters line up (Tribune Chronicle) 52% turnout expected in Ohio
• Shifting weekend polls prompt sudden pro-Clinton Texas ad buy (LA Times blog)
• Mike and Barack: The winning ticket? (Staten Island Advance)
• Editorial: Blue vote in Collin County? (Dallas Morning News) "Something is happening"

Texas Primary: Top down or bottom up?

Will Clinton's top-down or Obama's ground-up approach win state? (Dallas Morning News) Today, Texas voters decide who had the winning strategy: Mrs. Clinton's traditional top-down approach that allowed her to cash in on decades of political capital in Texas – or the ground-up grassroots movement from Obama enthusiasts that's garnered praise across the political spectrum. ....

Be sure to see Linda Curtis' comments on the video at the top of The Hankster....

Independent Texans go Obama

Independent Texans has endorsed Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary. The Hankster received this video posted on Barack Obama's website from Texas Independents founder Linda Curtis -- Linda's the first person interviewed here (and she has more to say throughout the video, like "I don't think he ever uses the word I -- it's always "we" or "you".... There is no white hope/black hope any kind of hope in ONE person to change this country)...

I liked it so much I embeded it at the top of The Hankster.

And I must say, as someone who attended Abilene High School (that's out in the panhandle...) in 1968 (I was there when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated), for the first time in my adult life, I'm really proud to be a Texan. Thanks, Linda! Love you!

You can reach Linda here and Independent Texans here....

What do New Yorkers think about the Obama/Clinton contest?

45 percent of New Yorkers think Clinton should shut down her historic effort if she's running behind Obama after Democratic primaries that include contests in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont.... (Capital News 9)

Tomorrow's Texas Two-Step Primary-Caucus

Here's what happens:

1. Texas registered voters vote in the primary either early or on Tuesday March 4 (tomorrow)
2. Voters who voted in the primary are then allowed to vote in the Tuesday Caucus at 7pm after the polls close

Texas uses a "primacus" system brought about after the 1968 Dem convention in Chicago as a reform called the "McGovern rules".

• Texas will send 228 delegates to this year's Democratic National Convention in Denver. Of those delegates, 126 will be assigned to vote for candidates based on election results.
• An additional 35 will be superdelegates, made up mostly of high-ranking officials, who may back whichever candidate they choose.
• The remaining 67 delegates will be chosen through the caucus system -- with 42 being rank-and-file Democrats and 25 being party leaders and elected officials, according to a Lone Star Project report.

If a precinct has 10 delegates and 50 people show up -- with 30 for Clinton and 20 for Barack Obama -- then six delegates for Clinton and four for Obama will move on to the senatorial convention. That's why volunteers for Clinton and Obama will not only be pushing locals to vote -- but also to show up for the caucus on election night. "There are thousands of precinct conventions that will elect 25 percent of the delegates without respect to the primary results," said Jason Smith, a Clinton volunteer in Tarrant County.... (Star Telegram)

If you are an independent voter in Texas and would like to connect with other independents, go to Independent Texans or independentvoting.org -- Tell them The Hankster sent you!

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  So far, election breaks conventional wisdom (Detroit Free Press editorial)
• Urban Perspectives: Obama's success taking this skeptic by surprise (By Acel Moore, Philadelphia Inquirer)
• The Tin-Eared Talk Show Wing's Declining Influence (Pajamas Media) Independent voters hold the balance of power in American politics, now and even more so in the future.

OHIO
'Cross-over' voting has baggage (Cincinnati Enquirer) Local African American talk show host Lincoln Ware switched from Repub to Dem to vote for Obama... Dems and independents can vote in the Ohio Dem primary with no questions asked, but Repubs have to say they want to become Dems.... but who cares?

TEXAS TWO-STEP -- Vote Early, Vote Twice!
The Texas Democratic Primary is a two-step process: 1) vote in the Primary -- vote early anytime before and including Tuesday, March 4 and then, 2) go to your local caucus site and vote again. This is important because your primary vote is worth 2/3 of your vote, and the caucus vote is worth another 1/3.

• East Texas may hold key to Democratic primary (Houston Chronicle) independents favored Obama by at least 13 percentage points.
• Dem Voting and Caucus Problems in Texas on March 4th (OpEdNews)
• Clinton’s fate in hands of Texas, Ohio (News Tribune Tacoma WA)
• Why are voters confused about Texas primary-caucus system? (The Beaumont Enterprise)

RHODE ISLAND

• 10,000 turn out at a campaign rally for Sen. Barack Obama in Warwick (Providence Journal) Lincoln Chaffee endorsed Obama
• In R.I., Obama Makes Inroads/Tiny State Seen as Clinton Stronghold (Washington Post)
• In ’08 Politics, Rhode Island Defies Its Size (NY Times)
  
  

WEST VIRGINIA

• Clinton’s Record Not Good for Ohio (The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register)

The Race Card (By ALEXANDER COCKBURN, CounterPunch)



BLOOMBERG

• Bill Plante: Why Bloomberg likes Obama (Newburyport MA Daily News opinion)
• Talk of Obama-Bloomberg ticket grows (UPI)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES: Letter: Political parties displease voter (The Advocate) * Bring back state primary for 2012 (The Denver Post) * Making It Easy To Vote is A Good Idea (The Day CT)

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Voters get left out in the rain (Pasadena Star News)

NADER: Nader's 3rd presidential bid mostly draws shrugs (Chicago Tribune) ...... The Nader Nadir (Veeps 2008 blog)

TEXAS: Hispanic Spending in Texas to Surpass $2 Million (Ad Age)

OHIO: Obama draws big Toledo crowd; 5,000 turned away (Dayton Daily News)

RHODE ISLAND: Upbeat Despite Defeats (Hartford Courant)

FEATURE: Cutting Women Out: The media's bias against female presidential candidates (In These Times)

Weekend News Headlines for Independent Voters

OPEN PRIMARIES: Open primaries in Texas and Ohio will test Clinton-Independents, GOP voters can participate, which may benefit Obama (Houston Chronicle) * Voting In Democratic Primary Makes You A Democrat, Regardless Of Motive (Tyler Paper.com)

PENNSYLVANIA: Voters switch parties before primary (Erie Times News)

TEXAS: Election call: It is Obama (Houston Chronicle)

OHIO: Obama talks change (The News Herald) * Youngstown still sees its shadow (The Vindicator)

THE CAMPAIGN: Kentucky donations follow trends (Herald Leader) * Barack Obama crowd looks like 'cult' or 'craze,' pundits say as backlash begins (Michigan Live) * Obama Backers Seek to Shut Down Pro-Clinton Organization (Wall Street Journal)

NADER: Obama: Nader bid would not hurt campaign (Washington Times)



Ohio, Texas Uphill Climbs for Clinton (AP) Among independents, Obama is leading Clinton by 14 percentage points in Ohio and by 13 in Texas, according to a Washington Post-ABC News telephone poll taken Feb. 16-20.

Obama, McCain have wide leads in Vermont, poll says (Burlington Free Press) independent voters in Vermont, who make up an estimated 40 percent of electorate, are choosing to participate in the Democratic primary over the Republican primary by a nearly 2-1 margin. VERMONT PRIMARY IS OPEN

Obama's New Populism (Wall Street Journal)

Washington's Independents On The Move (NPR - THIS IS A RADIO LINK)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

WISCONSIN: Voting gap divides the parties (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) When those proportions are applied to the total state vote, about 311,000 self-identified independents voted Democratic, while about 94,000 voted Republican. Put another way, about 77% of the independents went to the Democratic side.

TEXAS: Texas Latino community plays hard to get (Politico) Texas Hispanic turnout in the last presidential election offers a glimpse into an electorate that is anything but monolithic: 57 percent were Democrats, 26 percent were Republicans and almost 16 percent were Independents. Hispanic independents will be a key target, said Gonzalez, who endorsed Obama last week.

PENNSYLVANIA CLOSED PRIMARY: 3rd-party voters get reminder -- independents cannot vote in PA primary (Wilkes Barre Times Leader)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Unaffiliated bloc flexing its muscles (The Denver Post)
• The Potomac Primary (America, The National Catholic Weekly)

WISCONSIN: Open Primary on Tuesday (WEAU) Independent voters can vote, and you can register today

TEXAS: FYI: How to vote in the primary-Texas primary is open to independents and early voting starts today (The Lufkin Daily News)


THE CAMPAIGN

• Obama numbers rise as candidate endorsed by service union (Dallas Business Journal)
• Tight Wisconsin primary vote may propel winner to March 4 (Palm Beach-Post)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Harkin, Kind express concerns about superdelegates' big role (Telegraph Herald) Ron Kind advocates open primaries in all states
• Let Democrats decide who's electable (Eugene Robinson, Detroit News)

Texas Primary: I'm an independent. Can I vote?

YES YOU CAN!

I called the state Democratic Party Democratic Party of Texas
at 505 West 12th Street, Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 478-9800(512) 480-2500 (fax)

....and the wonderful person who answered the phone said that I can vote in either party primary by saying at the poll which primary I want to vote in (no declaration of loyalty is necessary!)

From Wikipedia: Texas - Semi-Open Primary (Mar 4) & Closed Caucus (begins Mar 4, schedule based on party rules). Voting in primary is prerequisite for caucusing at precinct convention, which convenes after primary polls close. Deadline (Feb 4, 2008).

An American Research Group poll shows Obama slightly ahead in Texas as of Feb. 13/14, with Obama at 48% and Clinton at 42%...

In terms of where independents are going, ARG reports that Texas independents comprise 22% of the electorate and are breaking 71% for Obama, 24% for Clinton. According to the Rasmussen Reports, Clinton currently leads among both White and Latino voters. Obama leads among African-American voters. ...

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Hillary Clinton has an uphill climb ahead ( Seattle Post Intelligencer)
• Secretary of State requests review of LA County ballots (San Francisco Chronicle)
• R.I. sees surge in new-voter registration (Providence Journal) Independents can vote in either presidential primary. Of the last four months of voter signups, about 6,800 enrolled as Democrats, roughly 1,900 became Republicans and more than 12,000 registered as independents, a category deemed “unaffiliated” in state political argot.
• The Chronicle endorses the senator from Illinois (Houston Chronicle)
• Bill Clinton sweeps through East Texas (Austin American Statesman) Obama's lead in one poll attributed to independents
• Charles Barkley: Conservatives are 'fake Christians' (Raw Story) [Barkley's statement that he's an independent was edited out of this version]
• Charles Barkley Calls Conservatives 'Fake Christians,' Likes Obamanomics (Business & Media Institute)
• Another poll gives Obama an edge in Texas (Austin American Statesman)
• Virginia Nonpartisan redistricting plan defeated (Richmond Times Dispatch)
• The 2/3 Southbound, 96th St, 11:30 pm (Chew your grouse blog) "Actually, Lenora Fulani has been running for years, and she's a black woman."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

HANKSTER LEDE: Gregoire, Rossi in dead heat in poll (Seattle Post Intelligencer) Among independent voters, Rossi gets 41 percent and Gregoire (endorsement of Obama before the primary) 30 percent, with 29 percent undecided. A political lesson....

• November 4, 2008: Independents Day (Forbes)
• Clinton Bets Big on Ohio and Texas (By JACKIE CALMES, Wall Street Journal)
• A declaration on independents (The Economist)
• But could he deliver? (The Economist) Cover story on Barack Obama
• It's an uphill fight for Hillary Clinton now (Scripps Howard News Service)

OPEN PRIMARIES: Letter: Parties should open their primaries (The Advocate, Baton Rouge)

SUPERDELEGATES: You Voted, but They Could Pick the Democratic Nominee (Black Voice News)

POLLS: Clinton Holds Lead Over Obama in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Poll Finds (Bloomberg)