Hankster News of the Day for Independents - July 17

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Independent Voters of America Seeks to Reduce Gridlock (By johnschneideR, IVN) At the end of May the team at Independent Voters of America announced the launch of the most inclusive ongoing study of independent voters’ opinions with our iVoter Project. Our goal is to build the most comprehensive database of how independent voters really feel about a diverse range of political issues, and to use the analysis of this database to challenge the narrative perpetuated by the mainstream media, major polling organizations and the two mainstream political parties regarding the role of independent voters in elections and our political system.

ARIZONA

• Highly Influential registered independent latino voter – Carlos Sierra writes Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallegos (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen) He is a registered Latino independent voter now.  He was the national campaign advisor for Independent candidate –Buddy Roemer who ran for President, too.  In addition to that, Sierra worked for Sen. John McCain for almost a decade in community outreach and made many, many friends and worked with grassroots leaders in the Democratic, Republican and Independent Party here in Arizona … which puts him in the highly influential category for the State of Arizona.
• Arizona elections may bring Democratic-majority delegation (by Rebekah L. Sanders and Dan Nowicki, Tucson Citizen) Republicans hold the voter- registration edge in Arizona, about 1.2 million to 1 million Democratic voters. Independents make up roughly another 1.2 million.

OHIO
Commenters have plenty to say about independent voting trend (By Gayle Beck, CantonRep.com opinion page editor) All of this is the reason we should have open primary elections for presidential candidates, so we can vote for the best primary candidate regardless of their party. It is criminal that a person in Ohio cannot vote in a presidential primary without choosing one party’s ballot, which then lists you as a Rep or Dem in the public voter registration lists. Then, these voter lists showing Rep or Dem with the person’s name are published online in some counties — which in effect means we have no secret vote, and we have no way of voting for the best candidate who might be of the other party. If we go “non-partisan,” then we cannot vote in the primary. It is ridiculous and un-American.  Thinkingamerican

Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - July 3

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• What do independent voters want? More say in our government and an end to partisanship, gridlock (By Cynthia Carpathios, Special to The Canton Repository)
• Jacqueline Salit: What went wrong with third party movement in 2012 (By Jacqueline Salit, Sun Sentinel) In this, Ackerman and company misread independent voters, the self-declared engine for a new direction in American politics.  Independents want to root out systemic partisanship.  They don’t want to ameliorate it with appeals to centrism, bipartisanship or a better brand of candidate.
• Independent and swing voters: What’s the difference? (msnbc VIDEO aired on June 27, 2012) MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts speaks with Linda Killian, author of “The Swing Vote” about the differences between swing and independent voters, and what independent voters are looking for in 2012.
• Poll: Most Hispanics independent voters (CNN's Kevin Liptak, CNN Political Ticker) The USA Today/Gallup poll indicated 51% of Hispanics identifying as independents, compared to 32% who called themselves Democrats and 11% who said they were Republicans.
• Your voting habits have included changing, or dropping, parties (By Gayle Beck, CantonRep.com opinion page editor) Female Canton voter: “I am a lifelong independent. My main allegiance has been to supporting what’s best for our country and our communities, not to a political party.”
• This 4th of July: The dawn of a new 'independents' day - A record-high 38 percent of Americans now describe themselves as independents. Republican and Democratic party leaders ignore this growing lack of party allegiance at their peril. Whichever party shifts to accommodate more moderate voters first will survive and even thrive. (By Amy E. Black, Christian Science Monitor)

OHIO CITIZEN REDISTRICTING

• ‘Voters First’ Initiative on Redistricting Sends Mixed Signals (By Timothy Troutner, IVN) If the campaign receives 385,000 signatures by July 3, a constitutional amendment can come before Ohio voters. This campaign has correctly diagnosed the problem. When the ones being elected are allowed to draw up districts, they will do so in a way that favors their interests. Our current system allows the fox to guard the henhouse.
• Politicians don't like redistricting-commission proposal (Thomas Suddes, OPINION Columbus Dispatch) Some Ohioans see politics as just a wimpy version of the Browns-Steelers or Ohio State-Michigan rivalries. But lopsided districts have real-world consequences for real-world voters. In a Statehouse or Capitol crammed with self-righteous partisans from safe districts, debates become manhood contests. That signals who claims the most testosterone, but solves no problems.

CALIFORNIA TOP TWO

• Voter Says 'Top Two' Law Disenfranchised Her (By MATT REYNOLDS, Courthouse News Service) A black woman claims in Federal Court that California's "Top Two" primary law has left her, unconstitutionally, with no Democratic congressional candidate to vote for in November.
• Abel Maldonado dividing point among Republicans (OPINION By STEVE BARTOWSKI, Cal Coast News.com) Until his run for Congress and even up through the primary, Maldonado was cool to even receiving his own party’s support, declaring “I’m not looking for the endorsement of any small political groups that are out there, I’m looking for the endorsement of the people of the 24th Congressional District.” Maldonado even went as to rally behind New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg in his campaign for a “No Labels Party”, and drafted Proposition 14 intentionally in hopes of muting partisan politics and ushering in a new era of moderate politicians. It was a move that drew the ire of the California Republican Party, which unsuccessfully fought Prop 14 during the 2010 election.

OKLAHOMA CLOSED PRIMARIES
Oklahoma voters can go to polls Tuesday for state and county primary elections -- Democrats and Republicans have the same number of primary races across Oklahoma; Republicans dominate the state-level races with the most primaries, while Democrats dominate the county-level races with the most primaries. Independent voters cannot participate in Tuesday's election. (By Megan Rolland, The Oklahoman)

NEW YORK POLITICS

• Incumbents Charles Rangel*, Orrin Hatch Beat Back Primary Challenges (John Avlon, The Daily Beast) Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch easily defeated a Tea Party challenge. Left-wingnut and Mugabe-aficionado Charles Barron was decimated by New York Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, despite the support of big labor in his Brooklyn congressional district. And in Harlem, Charles Rangel survived the most serious primary challenge of his 42-year congressional career. So much for the anti-incumbent narrative of 2012. Somewhere in exile, Nicolas Sarkozy must be feeling a bit jealous. But in the essentially one-party states of Utah and New York, the Republican and Democratic primaries produced results that reflected the strength of the establishment and the power of financial advantage.
• Familiar Face to Run Espada's Clinic (By JACOB GERSHMAN, Wall Street Journal) For Dr. Calman, the takeover of Soundview is something of a reunion. He was Soundview's first medical director when Mr. Espada opened it in 1981 and worked there until 1984, when he co-founded the Institute for Family Health.

* Breaking News: Too close to call

Hankster News of the Day for Independents - May 31

Top picks for today.

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... 

• Independent Voters of America Launches, Dumping on Both Parties (BY Micah L. Sifry, techPresident) Wait a second, isn't that what the just-failed Americans Elect said it was going to do? Actually, no. Says Hillsman, "We are building the largest online community of self-identified independent voters, with the goals of bringing fresh voices and more choices into our politics, acting as a counterweight to the two major political parties, and to reduce gridlock, force progress and bring a new accountability to Washington." Americans Elect sought to create a ballot line for an artificially-engineered "centrist" presidential ticket. The plan with IVA, he says, is "to give self-identified independent voters a gathering place" and then "see where people want to take this."
• The “2nd largest Party” in Arizona, and Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio supporters don’t want Independents to have an “open primary” (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen/Hispanic Politico) As an independent voter …. I DO SUPPORT THE OPEN PRIMARIES! 
• As We See It: Not-so-open primary election (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Now it appears the only way party organizations can even have a voice is by making an endorsement early, which is what happened in the U.S. Senate race.
• Linda Parks, Open Primary, Stand in Democrats' Path in California (By Scott Bland,National Journal/Hotline) Despite that, Parks has national Democrats scared that she could cost the party a much-needed seat in Congress. As a moderate independent in a crowded race, Parks is positioned perfectly to take advantage of California's new all-party, top-two primary.
• Despite Pres. Nomination SD Has Plenty On Ballot (By Ben Dunsmoor,KELO-land TV) For the first time, registered Independent voters will be able to make their voices heard in a statewide primary. "We're the only party in the state that allows, not just allows but welcomes, Independents into our party to participate in our primary to vote and take an active role in deciding who the Democrat nominee is going to be in the general election," Nesselhuf said.
• Proposal aims to let voters pick their politicians (The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin OH) Among eight potential statewide ballot issues this November is a constitutional amendment that would create a non-partisan, independent citizens commission which would be responsible for drawing legislative and congressional boundaries in Ohio.
• CEO In Chief? A Business Background Is Rare For Presidents (By Jim Zarroli, WBUR Boston - NPR) Former Republican Rep. Mickey Edwards says many successful CEOs are good at big-picture thinking — understanding all the component parts of a problem. But Edwards also says that business and politics are very different endeavors, and that someone who succeeds in one won't necessarily do well in another. "To run around saying we must run government like a business is really a silly idea," Edwards says. "It shows a total lack of understanding of the purposes of government."
• Koch Prefers Kelly for Mayor, But Quinn 'Capable' (By Colby Hamilton, WNYC/The Empire) “The basic problem for most people who aren't committed to the existing candidates is a fear that they're all more left than what I think the city is or should be, and the fear that we might go back to the days of [former mayors John] Lindsay and [Abe] Beame and their predecessors with the city seeking to provide benefits that it's not capable of providing financially,” Koch said. “We're fearful--people like myself--that municipal unions will come back into power.”…. Koch said he believes next year’s election will come down to a runoff between Quinn and former city comptroller Bill Thompson.
• Staten Island Sen. Savino endorsed by state Independence Party (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance) Also endorsed by the party were Ms. Savino's fellow members of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference (IDC): Sens. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), David Valesky (D-Oneida) and David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Orange).
• IDC loves gets Indies, loves Morse, mocks Dems (by Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau, Albany Times Union/Capitol Confidential) And both Klein and Savino reacted with some schadenfreude at news of a leadership struggle in the Democratic conference, which they left behind.
• Queens GOP endorsement sets the stage for rare Republican primary - Forest Hills lawyer Juan Reyes and Councilman Eric Ulrich set to face off (By Lisa L. Colangelo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) But the Queens Republican Party helped set that in motion last week when it announced the endorsement of Forest Hills lawyer Juan Reyes for the 15th District seat in the state Senate. Republican City Councilman Eric Ulrich, who has been at odds with the county GOP leadership, announced last month he was running to capture the seat currently held by Democratic state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. Queens GOP leaders had been eyeing Reyes for some time, while Ulrich decided whether or not to run.

New York Legislators Say No to Independent Redistricting

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Lawmakers Pledge to Reform, But Gerrymandering Keeps Getting Worse (by John Avlon, Daily Beast) In New York, 186 state legislators swore to support non-partisan redistricting efforts when they ran for office in the angry, anti-incumbent year of 2010. Most came down with convenient amnesia when they got back to Albany. The brinksmanship has continued despite promises by Governor Andrew Cuomo to veto nakedly partisan district lines and the efforts of good government group coalitions like ReShapeNY (on which, full disclosure, I serve on the advisory board.) Not only are New York’s redistricting maps still not set, initial glimpses have shown the same old partisan games, with potential rivals drawn out into different districts by incumbents seeking to preserve their power at almost any cost. Mediators and judges are now looming over the legislative impasse. One key dynamic to watch is whether a deal is struck that would at least try to move a state constitutional change forward to create an independent commission in ten years’ time. The principle of short-term self-interest predictably outpaces ethics or honor. New York is one of only two states in the nation to have not yet even voted on lines that will be on the ballot this fall.

New York Partisan Redistricting Fight Continues

NEW YORK REDISTRICTING

Reform defeated; so now what? - Most proponents of independent redistricting stop short of ‘no’ vote (Queens Chronicle) The new lines would set Queens Democrats Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) against each other, as well as Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside).

Independent Redistricting: Create American Nonpartisanship

REDISTRICTING

• Editorial: Independent redistricting commission is the ticket (By: Winston Salem Journal) There's a better way to do this: an independent redistricting commission created by constitutional amendment.
• EDITORIAL: Gov. Brewer’s Overreach (NY Times) The court decision was a ringing defense of state voters, who approved creation of the independent commission in 2000 after decades of gerrymandering.

Occupy Redistricting Pennsylvania

PA REDISTRICTING

• FINAL: Occupy movement disrupts redistricting commission meeting (By Eric Boehm, PA Independent) Protesters said the redistricting process put political interests above the concerns of the people. In particular, they said Friday’s hearing did not include everyone who wanted to speak.

 RECOMMENDED VIDEO
"What makes you more uncomfortable: children starving or gay marriage?"

• Winner in Redistricting Is Still to Be Determined (By MICHAEL D. SHEAR, NY Times/ The Caucus) If you listen to officials at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, things are looking up for their candidates. They point to states like California, Illinois and Nevada, where independent commissions or legislatures under Democratic control have increased the party’s chances of gaining seats… Both parties are also watching the process in Virginia and Pennsylvania, where the legislatures are still not finished with their maps.

New York City Local Round-Up: John Liu Down, Charles Barron Iffy, Independent Redistricting Nowhere to be Found

NEW YORK

• New fundraising arrest raises more doubts about Liu’s future (By Colby Hamilton, WNYC/ THE EMPIRE) “It doesn’t look good for a city comptroller to now have two sets of investigations going on over his campaign fundraising,” said Dick Dadey, the executive director of the good government group Citizens Union. “For a citywide elected official, and an aspiring mayoral candidate, it raises questions that he can’t afford to have asked.”
• Towns Faces Opponents in 2012 Primary (by Harold Egeln, Brooklyn Daily Eagle) Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Crown Heights/Bedford-Stuyvesant), who has already started a campaign web site and a fund-raising effort, and Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York/Brownsville/Canarsie), who is just now exploring a possible run for Congress, are his contenders at this point.
• Charles Barron has already decided where to announce his run for Congress (By Reid Pillifant,
  CAPITAL NEW YORK) After a "very positive" meeting on Friday night, Councilman Charles Barron said he's "moving closer and closer" to running for Congress, and he's already settled on when and where he might announce a second challenge to Representative Ed Towns.
• Lawmakers Already Drawing Up Special Session Wish Lists (By Andrew J. Hawkins, NY Capitol News) Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who has been advocating for a special session since the regular session ended in June, said redistricting during the special session amounted to “wishful thinking” at this point, especially since it lacked budgetary implications.

PA Redistricting Needs Independent Nonpartisan Touch

PENNSYLVANIA REDISTRICTING
Redistricting commission should map out a new plan (By HEATHER LONG, The Patriot-News) What this really speaks to is the need to reform redistricting overall. As former editorial writer Herb Field pointed out last week, the ideal is the Iowa model where an independent, nonpartisan group handles things. In other words, politicians are taken as far out of the process as possible.

NC Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform Wants Iowa-Style Redistricting

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• Letter: Look to Iowa for redistricting reform (Daily Reflector - Greenville NC) The N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform strongly agrees that it is time to change the way North Carolina does redistricting… N.C. House Bill 824, co-sponsored by Rep. Edith Warren, passed the N.C. House by a vote of 88 to 27, with support from Warren and Rep. Marian McLawhorn. H.B. 824 is based upon this Iowa model and crafted to fit North Carolina — both its people and its political culture.
• Ouster of Arizona redistrict chair provokes backlash (by Mary K. Reinhart, The Arizona Republic) "The initiative was designed to prevent exactly what the governor and the Senate seek to accomplish with the removal of the chair," attorney Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest wrote in a filing Thursday on behalf of Dennis Burke, Ann Eschinger and Bart Turner. "It was intended to create a commission beyond the reach of raw political power of the sort exercised in this case."

Independent Redistricting: Needed Now More Than Ever

REDISTRICTING

• Eyes on Ariz. as redistricting panel shaken up (By Gregory Korte, USA TODAY) Brewer, a Republican, accused commission Chairwoman Colleen Mathis of putting a priority on making congressional districts competitive at the expense of a "grid-like" map required by the law… Mathis has sued to keep her post, but her removal as the panel's only independent brings a 2-2 deadlock between Democrats and Republicans, who likely won't be agree to enact a map.
• Independent panel needed for redistricting - Despite Justice Department OK, Republican plan still partisan. (Charlotte Observer) Regardless of the outcome, there's a better way to do redistricting. A nonpartisan, independent commission drawing the lines seems the best way to get a voting map that's fair and designed with the voters, not the politicians, in mind.
• New York and Utah (Salt Lake Tribune) Substitute Utah for New York and Gov. Gary Herbert for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and note how this Oct. 26 New York Times editorial applies… Such [independent] commissions exist in Idaho, Montana and Arizona. When will our citizens insist on this?

Judge Dismisses Arizona Attorney General from Redistricting Case

ARIZONA INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Judge ousts Arizona attorney general from redistricting case (by Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic) There are other pressures on the commission, which continues public hearings on its draft maps today in Yuma. Hearings run through Nov. 5. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer set an 8 a.m. Monday deadline for the commissioners to respond to questions she said will help her determine whether they have committed "substantial neglect of duty and gross misconduct in office." If so, she could start proceedings to remove some or all of them.

Independent Redistricting: Look to California

REDISTRICTING

• Battles to Shape Maps, and Congress, Go to Courts (By MICHAEL COOPER and JENNIFER MEDINA, NY Times) The state many people are watching this year is California, where, thanks to a voter-approved initiative, the district lines were drawn by an independent commission. While lines were often drawn to protect incumbents in both parties — leading to odd districts that some people joked were contiguous only at low tide — the new lines are expected to be much more competitive, although Democrats are seen as likely to gain a couple of seats.
  Redistricting Roundup: Another week, another special session leads to a completed map (Edited by Tyler, Millhouse, BALLOT NEWS)

Mayor Bloomberg Might Testify in Haggerty Case

NEW YORK

• Prospect of Bloomberg in court makes picking jurors tricky (Thomson Reuters News & Insight) "Is there anybody here that feels that because a person is wealthy -- very, very wealthy, as we all know Mayor Bloomberg is -- that it's okay to steal from him?" Assistant District Attorney Eric Seidel asked. The prospective jurors shook their heads.
• Jury Selection in Case Involving Mayor Bloomberg and the Independence Party May Take a Week (Ballot Access News)
• How to salvage N.Y. redistricting reform (By Susan Lerner and Sean Coffey, Albany Times Union) The redistricting process should be driven by demographics, not the needs of the incumbent.

Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Under Attack

REDISTRICTING

• Arizona Redistricting Panel Is Under Attack, Even Before Its Work Is Done (By MARC LACEY, NY Times) Similarly convinced that the commission is skewed toward the left, conservative politicians have pushed for the ouster of the panel’s chairwoman, Colleen C. Mathis, who is a registered independent but whose husband, Christopher, worked on the losing campaign of a Democratic state representative.

Special Election in Brooklyn Makes for Family Feud; Independent Redistricting Needed for New York

NEW YORK

• Brooklyn Special Election Could Upset Politics as Usual (By LIZ ROBBINS, NY Times) With more subplots than a telenovela — family feuds and shifting alliances, a car crash and a gunpoint robbery — the Assembly race, whose three candidates are all Democrats, is less about the candidates than who is behind them.
• Redistricting (LETTER Queens Tribune) But Queens and the rest of New York have spoken loud and clear on the drawing of district lines. The public wants an independent commission - not the partisan, legislature-controlled LATFOR - to draw state legislative and congressional district boundaries according to fair and objective criteria while allowing for robust public input into the process.

Independent Redistricting in a Partisan World Uphill Battle

REDISTRICTING

• Redistricting now in Salt Lake County Council’s hands (By Jeremiah Stettler, The Salt Lake Tribune) Mayor Peter Corroon, a Democrat, considers the redistricting plans well-crafted. “The nonpartisan commission presented three viable options,” Corroon said, “a true demonstration of working for people not politics.”
• Editorial: Independent redistricting panel up to citizens (Athens GA Banner-Herald) Clearly, then, what it will take to make an independent redistricting commission a reality in Georgia is a broad-based grassroots movement. Even those citizens who favor the party currently in power have an interest -- albeit it might not readily be apparent to them -- in having district lines drawn based on a "communities of interest" standard.
• California's redistricting, by 14 citizens (By Cynthia Dai, LA Times) Predictably, some people aren't happy with our final decisions. Politicians and political parties that no longer have the same safe districts wish we'd drawn different lines. But there are procedures for dissenters to voice their concerns at the ballot box or in the courts.
• Maine Redistricting Dispute Could be Headed for Court (Reported By: A.J. Higgins, Maine Public Broadcasting Network) Republicans and Democrats on a 15-member Reapportionment Commission continued to disagree today on a plan to redraw the political boundaries of the state's 1st and 2nd Congressional districts. Commission Chairman Michael Friedman, the sole politically unaffiliated member from Bangor, ended the stalemate by siding with the Democrats. Now both proposals go to the Legislature--and possibly the Supreme Court for a final ruling.
• Redistricting committee still stuck in partisan rut, so Legislature to decide issue (By Eric Russell, Bangor Daily News) Michael Friedman: “I couldn’t get the donkey and the elephant to move a stitch, even though I tried. But I remain an optimist because whatever happens today, it’s not the end of the road.”
• Editorial: IRC ignoring rural districts (The Daily Courier - Prescot AZ) In this space we have supported efforts to de-politicize the process in hopes of creating more competitive and more representative districts. It should not be so difficult to create districts in which the representative - state or federal - would have to think about balance, both politically and remembering rural concerns. Proof of this disconnect is found in the state Independent Redistricting Commission's public outreach meetings. No members of the IRC attended the commission's meeting in Flagstaff. Not one.
• Pinal congressional, legislative districts need to shrink - Hispanic group favors similar 4th, 7th lines (By HAROLD KITCHING, TriValleyCentral) The Independent Redistricting Commission, mandated by a voter initiative in 2000 to take the redrawing away from politicians, has adopted basic congressional and legislative maps as a starting point, based on equal population and compactness and continuousness.

Independent Voters on the Rise: Disappointed But Not Discouraged

Indies are increasingly disappointed by the performance of Congress, and the President, but the campaign for structural political reforms like open primaries, nonpartisan elections, independent redistricting, fair access to the ballot, citizen initiative and referendum and fusion is gaining ground nationally...   Closed primaries, which exclude independents from the crucial first round of voting, is one major structural obstacle to a vigorous democracy. (See www.OpenPrimaries.org)  Another obstacle is partisan control of redistricting, whereby state legislators – Republicans and Democrats all – carve up their state’s districts to guarantee the election of party-sanctioned candidates, using the power of partisan legislatures to support the status quo. Discriminatory ballot access requirements that are heavily biased against independent and third-party candidates, and the exclusion of such candidates from the nationally televised presidential debates jointly sponsored by the two major parties, are other obstacles. State laws that ban fusion and citizens’ initiative and referendum distance independents and all voters from the policy-making process.

National Conference Call for Independents.  Every six weeks, CUIP president Jacqueline Salit hosts America's largest ongoing national call for independents. She provides updates about what independents are doing around the country and how the movement is growing. Get connected, hear updates. 

Sign up here.

Listen to 6/27 conference call here.

Listen to 5/10 conference call here.

Listen to the 3/28 conference call here.

Read the transcript from Jackie Salit's 10/12 conference call here.

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Congress more unpopular than ever (By Jennifer Agiesta and Laurie Kellman, Chicago Sun Times) Much about the next election hinges on independent voters, the ever-growing group fiercely wooed by campaigns for years. Among them, 65 percent say they want their own House representative tossed out in 2012, compared with 53 percent of respondents generally.
• AP-GfK Poll: 87% in US disapprove of Congress (By LAURIE KELLMAN, The Associated Press - Atlanta Journal Constitution) Republicans and Democrats statistically tied, 40 percent to 43 percent respectively, when respondents were asked which party they trust more to handle the federal budget deficit. Nearly a third of independents said they trust neither party on the issue.
• Independents WANT Obama to fight GOP harder (By Greg Sargent, Washington Post/The Plum Line) Pew poll:     A 37% plurality now contends that Obama should challenge the Republicans in Congress more often; 25% say Obama should go along with GOP leaders more frequently, while about the same percentage (26%) say he is handling the situation about right. In April, fewer (27%) said Obama should challenge GOP congressional leaders more often.
• Charlie Cook: Travels With Charlie: America's Summer of Discontent (National Journal) But the fact that so much discontent exists in both parties is a sign of something deeply corrosive happening in this country. It isn’t just independent voters who have a derisive view of politics, elected officials, and public institutions. There is a growing sense that few good people are going into politics, and that many of those who are currently in office — people who are smart, experienced, and well-intentioned — are somehow neutralized, co-opted, or thwarted. A sense that institutions are failing, and no sense that they are being replaced with something that will succeed.

Partisans All in a Fight About Redistricting Lines

PARTISAN REDISTRICTING BATTLEFIELDS

• Redistricting Roundup: Stormy tension continues as bipartisan continuity drying up (Edited by Geoff Pallay, Ballot News)
• Our watchdog role in redistricting (By Dorothy Shaw, Atlanta Journal Constitution) A few states use an independent commission, an approach we strongly advocate. In 2006, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s Independent Redistricting Task Force made a similar recommendation to put the line drawing in the hands of a citizens’ redistricting commission, but unfortunately the Legislature ignored the recommendation.
• Arizona sues over Voting Rights Act (by Alia Beard Rau, The Arizona Republic) Arizona is the first state to challenge the constitutionality of sections of the federal law that forbid states from enacting a law or process that denies or limits someone's right to vote based on their race or color.

Taking Independent Redistricting to Court

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• CA: Daily News Editorial: Flawed process -- City and county redistricting plans are vulnerable to political interests (LA Daily News) Not that everything about the state's independent redistricting commission is perfect. The commission faced a short timetable and was slow to get its act together. It submitted congressional and state Senate and Assembly maps that especially angered Republicans and Latino activists, inspiring legal challenges from both groups. But in general the state panel did what it was supposed to, deliberating openly and without obvious favor to office-holders and parties, which is why the results satisfied particular interest groups less than citizens at large. Can the city and county match this success? There are reasons for doubt.
• MN: Looking to the people to fix a broken redistricting system (By Alleen Brown, Twin Cities Daily Planet) This year, as in every redistricting year since the 1960s, the governor vetoed the legislature's proposed district changes. Governor Dayton said the Republican legislators' map had zero bipartisan support and gave unfair advantage to Republican incumbents. Now the issue has gone to a court-appointed panel of five judges. They will hear testimony from the public between October 6 and 14. Redistricting must be complete by February 21, 2012.