Texas: Lobbyist Ben Barnes on Strayhorn bandwagon

Once-Tall Figure in the Rugged World of Texas Politics Is Back in the Saddle

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL New York TimesMay 14, 2006 AUSTIN, Tex. — As Ben Barnes was saying before he was so rudely interrupted in 1972 ...
Yes, the boy wonder of Texas politics is back. He is 68 now, the towering frame a little stooped and the famous carrot top a yellowing frizz. But Mr. Barnes, a multimillionaire lobbyist who was speaker of the Texas house at 26, lieutenant governor at 30, a presidential prospect at 32, and washed up at 34, is out once again to sway politics in his native state, though this time from the sidelines as elder statesman.
...Most recently, Mr. Barnes has angered fellow Democrats for turning his back on the party's nominee for governor, former Representative Chris Bell, in favor of a Democrat turned Republican, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running as an independent. Mr. Barnes says Ms. Strayhorn has a better chance of assembling a coalition to defeat the Republican incumbent, Rick Perry. .... more

Florida: Independents are only opposition in local races

No Party Challengers for Putnam, but Two Independents Step Up
By Bill RuftyThe Ledger May 13, 2006 LAKELAND -- U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, is the only Republican member of Congress from Florida not to pull a Democratic opponent for the 2006 election.
The qualifying process ended for federal elective office at noon Friday.
All three Republicans with parts of Polk County in their districts qualified without opponents from their own party.
That included Putnam in the 12th Congressional District, which covers roughly the southern two-thirds of the county; Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville in the 5th District, covering most of Polk north of Interstate 4; and Rep. Dave Weldon of Indialantic, whose 15th District covers a tiny corner of Northeast Polk.
While he faces no Democratic opposition, Putnam faces two candidates running with no party affiliation -- Ed Bowlin III of Lake Wales and former state Rep. Joe Viscusi of Lakeland..... more

Oregon: "American Idol" more open than party primaries

If only Oregon wanted my vote as much as Fox's 'Idol' does

Sunday, May 14, 2006 Susan Nielsen The Oregonian -- I'm voting this week for my favorite "American Idol," but not for my favorite candidate for Oregon governor.
This isn't because Fox's next pop star matters more (though Taylor Hicks, the silver-haired singer, is awfully cute). It doesn't indicate a deep respect for the integrity of the "American Idol" voting system, either.
It's because "American Idol" lets me vote, and Oregon doesn't. .... http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1147469115116950.xml&coll=7

North Carolina: Partisans threaten disloyalty charges for cross-endorsement

Carruth's comments have critic boiling
Charlotte Observer May 14, 2006 ....Smith, a pal and public supporter of Privette, claims Carruth, chairman of the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, is being disloyal to the Republican Party.
In a series of red-hot e-mails titled "Exposed!" he called for an explanation and investigation by the party.
"I remind Commissioner Carruth that he is a Republican elected official," Smith wrote. "That position carries responsibilities to the Republican Party. If Carruth wants to be `foot loose and fancy free' he should run as an independent."
Smith claims Carruth violated procedures under the state's Republican Party organization plan in which "party disloyalty" is defined as actively supporting a candidate of another party or independent candidate running in opposition to a nominee of the Republican Party, according to the rules.
Whit Moose, interim party chairman, said there's no need for an investigation.
"If we were investigated by someone after everything we said, we'd all be under a magnifying glass," Moose said..... more

Massachusetts: Christy Mihos takes a page from Maine indie Angus King

Candidates for governor use Bemis pulpit
By Cheryl LecesseLincoln Journal Thursday, May 11, 2006 -- It’s a slogan Christy Mihos first heard from Angus King, former Independent governor of Maine, and it’s one Mihos said is perfect for his own political campaign. Speaking with an intimate group Friday night at Bemis Hall, the Independent gubernatorial candidate explained how his strong love for his home state drives his campaign, why he has more opportunity as an Independent candidate and where he stands on Cape Wind. .... more

Pennsylvania: Russ Diamond leads insurgent independent voter campaign

Time to send a message

By Brad Bumsted STATE CAPITOL REPORTER Pittsburgh Tribune Review Sunday, May 14, 2006 -- Tuesday is the day of reckoning for pay-jackers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Will voters toss them out? ...Russ Diamond, an early opponent of the pay grab and now an independent gubernatorial hopeful, had it right with an analogy that a bank robber who later returns the money can't expect the authorities to say, well, that's OK. You'd still go to jail. ... more

Voters’ ire still boiling

Lebanon Daily News May 13, 2006

Pay raise remains in play for Tuesday By JOHN LATIMER ...Russ Diamond, a businessman from Annville who has run unsuccessfully for state and federal office, started PACleanSweep in the days after the July 7 pay raise. The group’s anti-incumbency message spread quickly, and more than 100 challengers for state office adopted the group’s pledge to reform government. About half are reportedly still running active campaigns, while others have dropped out for various reasons.
Diamond is still connected with the group but has stepped down as chairman to concentrate on his run for governor as an independent. He is currently working to gather the 47,000 signatures necessary to qualify for the fall ballot. .... more

Neil Young, the Independent

Anthems of Outrage
Kevin McCarthy Fri May 12The Nation ...Young is hard to categorize politically, but he appears to be something of a populist libertarian and humanitarian, with a penchant for cantankerous contrarianism. His altruistic endeavors include being an outspoken advocate of relief for family farmers as an original member of Farm Aid. The father of a son with cerebral palsy, he also founded a school for the children with severe speech and physical impairments, which he supports with annual benefit concerts. And he has consistently been against war.
But according to manager Roberts, "Neil doesn't read newspapers, he doesn't really read Time or Newsweek very much. It's gotta be something he sees--if he watches TV on the road and there's a CNN special on Bosnia, Neil wants to do a record and a benefit within two days. Or he can ignore it forever if he doesn't see it." While we're sure to hear charges that Young is a Canadian, America-hating, rock and roll anarchist, he actually seems more akin to that creature that pundits and politicians are so enamored of: the independent voter.
Living With War appears crafted to appeal to independents. Young steers clear from any partisan commentary. On "Looking for a Leader," he suggests that anyone from Barack Obama to Colin Powell--"to right what he's done wrong"--could be destined to lead America out of our "desolation." In other songs, such as "Families" and "Roger and Out," Young evokes the war's toll on soldiers and their friends and families. And in "Flags of Freedom," a song that references Bob Dylan's 1960s protest anthems, Young attempts to wrestle the patriotic imagery from the prowar zealots who wrap themselves in the flag. .... more

Independent does not = centrist

by Nancy Hanks

During the past several weeks, while I've been pushing "content" into The Hankster--little scraps of news items from the independent campaigns for governor getting off the ground in Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois, the fight for an open primary initiative in Oregon, the ongoing and recurring initiatives for independent redistricting commissions in California, Ohio and Florida--several op/ed pieces have come out in the New York and national press forewarning a third party presidential run in 2008.

Recent Gallup polls tell us that 34% of the electorate is now independent, while 33% are Democrats and 32% are Republicans. (This was news in the bipartisan world because in 2004 Dems were at 34% and Repubs were at 36%, independents at 30%, and what they noticed was that the Dems are now 1 point ahead of the Repubs.) Scott Rasmussen is nervous about the ultimate "spoiler" campaign by a third party candidate on the hot button issue of immigration, Thomas Friedman is "hoping" for a third party campaign built around the hot button issue of energy, New York Magazine splashed quite a bit of ink on The Purple Party, and John Avlon continues to advocate for a "centrist" third party.

I like Avlon's stuff the best for two reasons. One, he's the only one talking about independent VOTERS, as opposed to the magical third party candidate who might drop from the sky after the major parties drop another notch or two in popularity. And two, I think what Avlon is raising about "centrism" is important for independents to understand, discuss--and object to vigorously.

Independents are centrist (some other pundits use the term "moderate") because if you have Dems on the left and Repubs on the right, there must be a middle, right? The Gallup poll creatively places the independent column in the middle. Most mainstream media and polls talk about Dem- or Repub-leaning independents. But unless I missed something, the Cold War is over and "left" and "right" have little meaning in today's global economic/political world. It's too late for centrism. And independents are not in the middle--we can't be categorized that easily according to ideology.

Independents are people who are beginning to create some options that aren't in the playbook of the two-party left/right system. They split their votes. They vote for the person, not the party. They abandon unhealthy long-term loyalties, such as black New York City voters did in the 2005 mayoral election. (See Jackie Salit's analysis "The Black and Independent Alliance".) They don't like partisanship. They don't like political parties and the exclusive clubhouse culture that dominates American politics.

Some of us might even be considered extreme independents. And it's not too late for creative responses by independent voters that can lead the way out of the crisis we face in our democracy.

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TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

Pennsylvania: Russ Diamond needs 67,000 signatures for independent ballot - And by the way, check out Austin's comment on the State Senate race: ...Chuck Pennacchio is clearly the Dems best chance to defeat Sen Man on Dog. Chuck has experience winning tougher campaigns for US Senators Alan Cranston, Tim Wirth and Paul Simon. Also he has successfully managed 2 US Presidential primaries (statewide). In this race he has over 6,000 volunteers with county level organizations throughout the state....

Illinois: James Meeks to run for gov on third-party

Ohio: Fair redistricting or bi-partisan power struggle?

Should Hollywood produce the Presidential Debates for better ratings???

Pennsylvania: Russ Diamond needs 67,000 signatures for independent ballot

Capitol Notes: Rating governors, senators and food
Friday, May 12, 2006 Pittsburgh Post GazetteBy Tom Barnes and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- Russ Diamond, the independent candidate for governor, is going to be seeking a lot of signatures from voters on primary day.
To get onto the November ballot, the Lebanon County businessman needs more than 67,000 signatures of registered voters, a daunting task.
But this week, his candidate petition was downloaded from his Web site (www.russdiamond.org ) more than 1,100 times. Also, 115 petitions have been sent out to supporters through regular mail.
Each Diamond supporter with a petition will be asked to collect at least 100 signatures at the polls Tuesday.link

Illinois: James Meeks to run for gov on third-party

Meeks to launch gubernatorial petition drive on May 20

by Roland S. Martin May 12, 2006 Chicago Defender

State Sen. James Meeks announced Thursday that he will launch a statewide drive on May 20 to get 25,000 registered voters across Illinois to sign petitions in order for him to launch a third-party run for governor.
In a statement provided to the Chicago Defender, Meeks said at the May 20 kickoff, he will introduce a slate of candidates for the top statewide offices, and then “travel from Chicago to Rockford, Springfield and East St. Louis meeting voters and launching local petition drives.”
He has until June 26 to sign up 25,000 registered voters across the state, which he told the Chicago Defender will not be an issue. more

Ohio: Fair redistricting or bi-partisan power struggle?

Democrats won't help with redistricting reform

By JIM PROVANCETOLEDO BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU May 12, 2006

COLUMBUS - Ohio House Republicans should not look to Senate Democrats for help when it comes to pressuring their counterparts to change how congressional and legislative districts are redrawn.
If Republicans are pushing it, it can't be good for Democrats, the latter said yesterday.
"We believe that the Republican majority is incapable of acting in a bipartisan manner," said Sen. Ray Miller (D., Columbus). "They've demonstrated that. … Now here we come after 70 percent of the voters have rejected the [Reform Ohio Now] amendments …, and the Republicans are talking fairness and bipartisanship. We don't have the confidence that they're willing to act in a fair manner." more

Should Hollywood produce the Presidential Debates for better ratings???

The final salute to West Wing
Show will be remembered for politics on and off screen
Mekeisha Madden Toby / Detroit News Television Critic May 12, 2006 Detroit News
Over its seven-year run, the perpetual Emmy darling inspired books, blogs and fan sites.
"There were more people enthralled by the presidential debate between Santos (Barlet's elected successor, played by Jimmy Smits) and Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) this season than with the real presidential debates. What does that tell you?" asks Jonathan Taplin, a professor of digital media and entertainment at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication..... more

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This just in.....

NEW YORK Children's Events By THE NEW YORK TIMES May 12, 2006
For ChildrenTheater
ALL STARS HIP-HOP CABARET touches on the Iraq war, unemployment and school issues, at All Stars Project, 543 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 941-1234. Tomorrow at 7 p.m. For older children. Through June 3. $25; under 18, $10.link

NEVADA: Congressional Candidate Makes History with Nevada Vote Direct (Press Release) Nevada Vote Direct is a citizen initiative for eliminating political corruption and waste, and for making government responsive to the people. Its polls are open all day every day to registered voters in Nevada's Second Congressional District. When elected, Mr. Rosen will vote in Congress exactly as directed by the majority of voters in his district. Stateline, NV (PRWEB) May 12, 2006 -- The voters at Nevada Vote Direct have the solution to the problem of political corruption. And to make it work, they have placed Daniel Rosen on the ballot as a candidate for U.S. Representative in Nevada's Second Congressional District. His candidacy is unlike any other. Marking milestones in the history of both technology and politics, he is the first candidate anywhere to offer a state-of-the-art digital voting system that will enable citizens in his district to control his votes in Congress. At Nevada Vote Direct, registered voters in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District may vote on any legislation pending in Congress. They vote only on the issues that concern them. The system provides secure electronic voting in secret ballots conducted continuously on the Internet or by telephone. But this is not just another opinion poll, for Mr. Rosen has pledged that, when elected, he will vote in Congress exactly as directed by the majority of voters in his congressional district.... more

Texas: Petitions are in, independent ballot access is expensive proposition

Money was big difference in Friedman, Strayhorn petitions
05/12/2006 By KELLEY SHANNON / Associated Press Dallas Morning News -- Political veteran Carole Keeton Strayhorn spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money gathering voter signatures to qualify as a candidate for Texas governor. Wisecracking musician Kinky Friedman relied heavily on unpaid volunteers.
As the two independent candidates turned in their voter petitions by Thursday's deadline — each had to gather at least 45,540 signatures from registered voters to be on the November ballot — it was clear their tactics differed.
"We covered the bases," said Brad McClellan, Strayhorn's son and campaign manager. He said nothing could be taken for granted in the crucial step of making it onto the ballot.
Strayhorn, the state comptroller who opted out of the Republican primary against Gov. Rick Perry, spent more than $500,000 on the effort, McClellan said. Strayhorn entered the year with $8.1 million in her campaign account.
In the two-month petition period, Friedman's campaign spent $100,000 on radio ads that featured musician Willie Nelson talking about clean energy and that urged Texans to sign Friedman's petitions.
The exact amounts spent by Strayhorn and Friedman will be disclosed in campaign finance reports required this summer. Besides Perry, the other major party candidate in the race is Democrat Chris Bell. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8HIH7C80.html

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

California: Independents gaining among youth and Latino voters
California: Dan Walters -- Independents gaining, Dems losing
California: 50th District demonstrates importance of electing the candidate, not the party - and saving the 2 party system?
Texas: Kinky files petitions...
Massachusetts: Dems want independent voters' input at convention - oh, really?
Oregon: Westlund signers swell independent voter roles
Mississippi: Dems can't stop independents from voting in primary

California: Independents gaining among youth and Latino voters

GOP's Prop. 187 Wounds Healing, But Dems Are Bleeding

May 11, 2006LA Times -- It's an accepted truth — at least it keeps getting reported — that Proposition 187 was an unmitigated disaster for the Republican Party in California and a boon for Democrats.
When Republican Gov. Pete Wilson aggressively pushed for the anti-illegal immigration initiative in 1994, it set back the GOP at least a generation. And it's conceivable the party will never recover. Or so they say.
But there's something puzzling about this: It's the Democratic Party, not the GOP, that has been losing the biggest share of voter registration.
Young voters, especially, are declaring a pox on both parties and registering as independents — or "declined to state," as it's officially called. This is particularly true of Latinos.
Four in 10 voters who are age 18 to 24 are registered as independents or aligned with a third party, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. In Los Angeles County, it's 36.3%, Cervantes says.... Statewide, independent registration among all Latinos is higher than for whites, reports the policy institute. While 55% of Latinos are Democrats, 22% are independents.... more

California: Dan Walters -- Independents gaining, Dems losing

California Dems can't ignore declining registration

By DAN WALTERS Sacramento Bee 11-MAY-06 -- State election officials released new voter registration data late last month and they were bad news for Democrats.
The Democrats' share of the state's 15.6 million registered voters, 42.7 percent, is 2.5 percentage points lower than it was four years ago, 4.1 percentage points lower than it was eight years ago, and 6.2 percentage points lower than it was 12 years ago. There are, in fact, about 200,000 fewer registered Democrats than in 1994, even though the number of potential voters has risen by nearly 4 million since then and the number of registered voters is up by 1.5 million..... If, however, Democrats don't staunch the hemorrhage of voters and the gap between the two parties' registration continues to narrow, someday they will simply not have enough core voters to continue their political hold _ just as General Motors saw its dominance wither _ especially if the Republican Party continues its recent drift to the middle.(Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, http://www.shns.com.) more

Related article:
Dan Walters: Schwarzenegger savors good news while rivals trade invective By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist Thursday, May 11, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO - Phil Angelides and Steve Westly, the two Democrats who aspire to the governorship, chose an inauspicious moment to stage their final face-to-face verbal confrontation - a week in which their common foe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was wallowing in positive events that pump up his re-election prospects.Republican Schwarzenegger has spent the week crowing about a $37 billion bipartisan infrastructure bond deal in a multistop victory lap around the state, making a deal with educators on school finance that ends two years of bitter political warfare, and finalizing a new state budget that may be deficit-free, at least temporarily, thanks to billions of extra revenue dollars.
All in all, the developments give Schwarzenegger a much stronger claim on first-term achievement that he hopes will dispel the doubts of voters - especially all-important independent voters - about their 2003 decision to recall Democrat Gray Davis and install an untested movie star in the Capitol..... more

California: 50th District demonstrates importance of electing the candidate, not the party - and saving the 2 party system?

Why the 50th Should Change Horses

By JAMES O. GOLDSBOROUGH Thursday, May 11, 2006Voice of San Diego -- The two-party system under which our country operates has some advantages, but one overwhelming disadvantage: Too often it puts bad people in office. The rise of independent voters, those who decline to state affiliation, helps overcome the two-party flaw, but often there are not enough independents to make a difference.
Next month, voters in San Diego's 50th District will have a chance to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of our two-party system when they elect a member of Congress to succeed Randy Cunningham, who turned out to be a crook. As usual, the primaries reduced the June special election to the usual suspects: The Democrat is Francine Busby; the Republican Brian Bilbray.... If Busby wins, it will be a victory over the two-party system. It will show that voters in the 50th District understand the importance of electing the candidate, not the party. It will expose, once again, the vapidity of the local newspaper's endorsements.
It will demonstrate the importance of independent voters in helping to keep our two-party system reasonably honest. Twenty-one percent of the 50th's voters are independents, those whose votes will not be determined by blind party allegiance. more

Texas: Kinky files petitions...

Kinky Friedman Presents Petitions to Get on Ballot
Reported by Scott Lawrence May 11, 2006KFDM Channel 6 AUSTIN (AP) _ Musician and author Kinky Friedman took his rebel campaign for governor to state authorities Thursday, presenting 169,574 voter signatures he hopes will get him on the November ballot as an independent candidate.
Full article in Dallas Morning News more

Kinky holds ’em spellbound
Gubernatorial independent woos Odessans
By Elizabeth YorkOdessa AmericanMay 10, 2006 -- Odessans filled about two-thirds of the auditorium in the Globe of the Great Southwest Theatre and watched spellbound as Kinky Friedman delivered an unorthodox, 30-minute campaign speech Wednesday.Friedman spoke to the Odessa Rotary Club on the third day of campaigning in Odessa where his stops included Dos Amigos and Deerings Nursing Home.Friedman is an independent who is challenging incumbent Republican Rick Perry, Democrat Chris Bell and Independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn for the November 7 Texas governor election..... more

Massachusetts: Dems want independent voters' input at convention - oh, really?

Democrats invite input
Thursday, May 11, 2006 ACTON - The state Democratic Convention will be held the first weekend in June and Acton Democrats want all interested Acton residents to come to the next Acton Town Democratic Committee (ATDC) meeting to share their thoughts on the upcoming elections. Unenrolled or "independent" voters are especially welcome to offer their perspective on the candidates and the issues confronting Massachusetts' elected officials...more

Oregon: Westlund signers swell independent voter roles

County Clerks Wait, But Ballots Slow In Coming

By JULIA SILVERMANAssociated Press Writer KATU PORTLAND, Ore. - Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett can't help but wonder: Where have all the ballots gone? ... Turnout in Deschutes County is also slower than in was in 2002, county clerk Nancy Blankenship said, coming in at 19.2 percent as of Wednesday. But that county has also been contending with a different wrinkle: It's the home base of State Sen. Ben Westlund, a former Republican who is hoping to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot as an Independent gubernatorial candidate.
The county has seen a surge in voters asking to switch their registration from one of the major parties to Independent-status, Blankenship said, reportedly so they can sign a petition to get Westlund on the ballot, but still be able to vote in nonpartisan primary elections. Just since February, the high-growth county has gained 97 Democrats, 84 Republicans - and 504 independents. ... more

Mississippi: Dems can't stop independents from voting in primary

Federal judge refuses to halt Miss. Democrats' June 6 primaries
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sun Herald JACKSON - Mississippi Democrats won't be allowed to stop Republicans, independents or others from voting in the June 6 Democratic congressional primaries, under an order handed down Wednesday by a federal judge in Greenville.
"It would clearly be a disservice to the public to attempt to implement a major change in Mississippi's primary system less than one month before the next Democratic primary without Justice Department approval, without a way to determine who is and is not a Democrat, and without input from other political parties in this state," U.S. District Judge W. Allen Pepper wrote in refusing to grant a preliminary injunction.
Pepper's ruling was a procedural step in a lawsuit that the Mississippi Democratic Party filed earlier this year against the three-member State Board of Election Commissioners.
The lawsuit - which has caused a rift within the Democratic Party - seeks to limit participation in Democratic primaries to only those voters who plan to support the party's nominee in a general election.
Mississippi voters do not register by party. link

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

California: Voters support independent redistricting commission -- again....

Texas: Strayhorn request for early petition verification rejected by judge

Pennsylvania: Casey leads Santorum among independent voters; Russ Diamond disappears from polls

Washington: Voters choose ballot in new "sorta open primary"...

Texas: Strayhorn request for early petition verification rejected by judge

Rules for independents needlessly cumbersome

By Glenn Krampota The Facts (Brazoria Co., TX) May 11, 2006 ....Both Strayhorn and Friedman have complained about the ridiculous regulations surrounding getting an independent’s name on the ballot, and changes need to be made. As Friedman repeatedly has pointed out, in this electronic age there has to be a much quicker way to determine if those signatures are valid.
Also, potential candidates should be able to turn in the petitions in groups of, say, 5,000 signatures at a time, rather than having to hold onto all of them to turn in at one time as currently is required. That way, the secretary of state’s office could do the work of verifying the signatures as they go along, and the potential candidates will have more of a gauge of how many are invalid and how many they still need to get.... more

Judge rejects Strayhorn request on petitions

05/10/2006 Associated Press Dallas Morning News -- A federal judge on Wednesday rejected independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn's request that the state elections agency speed up its verification of signatures on petitions required to get her on the ballot.
Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that the Texas secretary of state's plan to examine voter petitions signature by signature is "reasonable and nondiscriminatory."
Secretary of State Roger Williams said Yeakel's ruling reaffirms that his office's method of verifying signatures is fair and constitutional.
"As we have said from day one, verifying every signature is the surest way to protect the integrity of our elections and confirm the validity of a candidate's name on the ballot. With this court decision behind us, we can go about our business of verifying signatures," Williams said
Strayhorn campaign spokesman Mark Sanders said the lawsuit accomplished what the campaign had wanted because the secretary of state has now reduced the estimate on the time needed to verify signatures.
Strayhorn turned in about 230,000 registered voter signatures on Tuesday. The number was far more than the 45,540 needed to get her on the November ballot. The deadline for petitions is Thursday when independent candidate Kinky Friedman is expected to turn in his batch of signatures. more

Stockman Has Signatures to Replace DeLay

The Associated Press Wednesday, May 10, 2006 Washington Post HOUSTON -- Former Rep. Steve Stockman has collected enough voter signatures to run as an independent candidate in the race to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Stockman, a former Republican, has collected more than the 500 signatures needed, said campaign spokesman Jason Posey, though he didn't immediately know the total amount. Stockman's campaign planned on turning in the signatures by the state's deadline Thursday to get on the November ballot. They still must be certified by the state.
DeLay, R-Sugar Land, announced last month he would resign by mid-June after being embroiled in the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff and facing a money-laundering trial in Austin.
A committee of Republican precinct chairmen will choose a new GOP candidate. Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, who ousted Stockman after just one term in Congress, is the Democratic nominee.link

Pennsylvania: Casey leads Santorum among independent voters; Russ Diamond disappears from polls

Casey maintains poll lead over Santorum

MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. - The number of Pennsylvania voters who think U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum deserves re-election dropped to 37 percent in a statewide poll released Thursday.
Santorum's numbers also fell in job performance and favorability, and he slipped slightly farther behind in a head-to-head matchup against the leading Democratic candidate, Bob Casey.
Respondents in the Quinnipiac University Poll favored Casey over Republican Santorum by 49 percent to 36 percent. A Quinnipiac survey released early last month had Casey ahead, 48-37.
Casey led among men, women, Democrats, independent voters and in six of seven geographic regions. Republicans overwhelmingly favored Santorum, and he led by one percentage point overall in the state's central region.... more

Rendell, Casey hold on in polls; lawmakers take a beating over pay-raise

Thursday, May 11, 2006By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

...The Strategic Vision and Keystone polls were consistent about the standing of Russ Diamond, the independent candidate for governor. Mr. Diamond, former leader of PA CleanSweep who only recently entered the race, got 3 percent. The IssuesPA/Pew poll didn't mention him.
The Strategic Vision poll had Mr. Rendell ahead of his challenger by the same margin that the likely Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Bob Casey Jr., leads his opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, 49 to 41 percent.... more

Washington: Voters choose ballot in new "sorta open primary"...

Republicans learn they can't limit primary candidates
By Kasia Pierzga Port Townsend LeaderMay 10, 2006
Jefferson County Republicans were caught off guard last week when Beaver Valley resident Robert Pontius declared he would run for county commissioner.
Nobody can claim he is a Republican candidate unless we say so, both county and state party leaders said.
But under state law, anyone can declare candidacy, and it’s up to the candidate to choose which party he represents, said Katie Blinn, assistant director of elections in the Washington Secretary of State’s Office. No party endorsement is required.
“Any candidate that wants to file and declare themselves one of the major parties would be on the ballot regardless of whether they have been endorsed,” Blinn said.
Under Washington’s new pick-a-party primary election system for the Sept. 19 vote, voters must choose either a Republican, Democratic or nonpartisan (for judge, public utility district races) ballot. The Republican and Democrat ballots include nonpartisan races. Minor party and independent candidates won’t appear on primary ballots, and instead advance directly to the general election.
Washington Republican and Democratic parties succeeded in eliminating the open primary system, which allowed voters to choose candidates from one ballot regardless of party affiliation. ..... more

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

I'm just a fool for the voices of political independents! --N. Hanks

NATIONAL: Independent voters -- will we buy Repub and Dem tautologies?

New York: Are partisans really capable of electoral reform?????

Texas: Strayhorn sigs in the bag!

Maine: Independent governor candidate Barbara Merrill good for sigs, going for matching funds

Oregon: Open Primary gets citizen panel endorsement

New Jersey: Cory Booker logs landslide in Newark mayoral against Sharpe James' urging to "Vote Black"

I'm just a fool for the voices of political independents!

Here's a comment on the comment on Michael Klein's "Tom's Party" article from yesterday:
"Just proves how the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - that the media is self-serving & now they're serving up independents on their terms. They're taking about a sanitized independent movement, certainly not one that wants to take votes from & take on the Democratic Party - the NY Times' party of record. Their "movement" won't change much of anything. It's inside the box, sells newspapers & maintains the status quo while givng lip service to independents. Let's not be seduced. It makes it even more of an imperative to continue to build our movement from the grass roots up, with the Independnce Party in NY and all across this great country of ours.... "

Now, you ask "Why does she keep repeating the comments on another post?"
A. I'm new at blogging and I'm smitten by the whole thing!!!!
A. I'm just a fool for the sound of independents talking to each other!!!!

See this letter to the editor from Illinois:

Vote and be heard
Letter to the Editor Belleville News DemocratMay 9, 2006 -- With many of our young men and women voting for the first time in November, I feel a responsibility to advise them of the power they wield with their vote.
The question has arisen as to why so many Americans will vote for an "American Idol" and so few for an American government. The problem, I believe, lies with our elected officials. Too many of them vote along party beliefs instead of their constituents' wishes. In other words, our representatives in Washington have lost touch with their constituents.
I was raised a loyal Democrat, but I have learned that party politics is not always in the best interest of Americans. What got my attention was the 1992 presidential debates in which Ralph Nader, a Green Party candidate, was not allowed to participate. Any patriot should have been screaming on the rooftops at this fiasco.
Although we may not agree with Republican or Democratic politics, we should still visit the polls on election day. The United States is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It is the people who decide how our government should be run, and the power to change our government lies with the voters.
Sandy Boshkoff
Granite Citylink

NATIONAL: Independent voters -- will we buy Repub and Dem tautologies?

The GOP's Bankruptcy of Ideas
By Harold MeyersonWashington Post Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The emerging Republican game plan for 2006 is, at bottom, a tautology: If the Democrats retake Congress it will mean, well, that the Democrats retake Congress. (Cue lightning bolt and ominous clap of thunder.) Karl Rove and his minions have plumb run out of issues to campaign on. They can't run on the war. They can't run on the economy, where the positive numbers on growth are offset by the largely stagnant numbers on median incomes and the public's growing dread of outsourcing. Immigration may play in various congressional districts, but it's too dicey an issue to nationalize. Even social conservatives may be growing weary of outlawing gay marriage every other November. Nobody's buying the ownership society. Competence? Ethics? You kidding? ......
meyersonh@washpost.com link

Speaking of tautologies, check out Jackie Salit and Fred Newman's Talk/Talk :
Salit: Today we had the latest installment on whether the Democrats are going to take control of the House of Representatives. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say Congress is doing a bad job, there’s all that kind of stuff. Yet, the polls show that even people who say that control of Congress should be changed, still plan to vote for their incumbent congressperson. On “The Chris Matthews Show” Jon Meacham pointed out that the Democrats might end up taking the House, but it will be fought out district by district and it won’t necessarily represent a general shift on the part of the electorate.
Newman: That’s a tautology.
Salit: The tautology is?
Newman: That the vote will be decided by each district. That’s how we vote for members of Congress. There’s no vote on the entire Congress...... more

New York: Are partisans really capable of electoral reform?????

Heat turned up on reform
Advocates of change gather at Capitol to try to reignite movement as next round of state elections approaches
By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN Wednesday, May 10, 2006 Capitol bureau, Albany Times Union
ALBANY -- Government reform advocates gathered at the Capitol Tuesday in hopes of reigniting a movement that burned hot when legislators were up for re-election two years ago, but has as the next round of state-level contests approaches. After being dubbed the nation's most dysfunctional state legislature in 2004 and seeing several incumbent lawmakers lose their seats that fall -- a near-unheard-of phenomenon at the Capitol -- state leaders passed two on-time budgets in a row. Since then, the issue of reform has largely moved onto Albany's back burner.
"Where is reform? What happened to reform?" Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, D-Harlem, the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer, asked advocates who gathered at The Egg's Hart Lounge before they fanned out to lobby legislators in honor of "Reform Day." ....

....Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, the underdog Democratic gubernatorial candidate, made the day's most radical proposal. He called for the ouster of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, saying "they have failed to fight for the reforms that we seek."
Suozzi, the only gubernatorial candidate to speak at Reform Day, said rank-and-file legislators are too afraid of losing member items, stipends and other perks that leaders control to truly represent their constituents in Albany. He said advocates should target one incumbent majority member in each house who is not working for reform every election cycle..... more


Suozzi wants Silver, Bruno out
BY LAUREN WEBER NEWSDAY ALBANY BUREAU May 10, 2006 ALBANY - Thomas Suozzi grabbed attention for his struggling gubernatorial campaign yesterday when he called for the ouster of Albany's two top legislators, saying Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should "be replaced, because they have failed to fight for the reforms that we seek."
The remarks, given at a gathering of organizations pushing for reform of Albany's political structure, further cemented Suozzi's stance as an outsider.
Silver, a fellow Democrat, dismissed Suozzi's comments. "Desperate candidates say desperate things. He's still trying to cover for his latest guffaw, which was taxing all of his constituents on the Long Island Expressway," Silver said, referring to Suozzi's suggestion that drivers pay to use the LIE during peak hours.
A spokesman for Bruno, a Republican, said, "It's just internal Democratic Party politics."
But beneath the word-slinging was the real topic of the day: the often inflexible structure that governs Albany and, by extension, New York State.
Suozzi called for reform in campaign finance, lobbying laws and other areas. He saved his most passionate words for the topic of redistricting, the means of setting geographic boundaries for legislative seats..... more

Texas: Strayhorn sigs in the bag!

Strayhorn claims success nearly five times over Gubernatorial candidate submits nearly five times required voter signatures.

By W. Gardner Selby AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, May 10, 2006 -- Carole Keeton Strayhorn on Tuesday delivered what she said were nearly five times the voter signatures required to place her on the fall ballot as an independent candidate for governor.
Her announcement meant nothing by itself since the state could take six weeks to certify the signatures and her candidacy. But Strayhorn, the state comptroller, waxed ebullient, telling supporters: "We have way jumped over the first hurdle."
Her tote: More than 223,000 signatures on petitions in 101 bumper sticker-slapped boxes. She promised more before Thursday's deadline for independent candidates, including musician and author Kinky Friedman, to submit petitions...... A Williams spokesman said the secretary will take five to six weeks to certify candidates if petitions are easy to compile for the vendor entering voter signatures into a database.
wgselby@statesman.com; 445-3644 more

101 boxes for Strayhorn

Houston ChronicleMay 9, 2006 -- Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn headed to the Texas Secretary of State's Office a little while ago with 101 half-empty boxes.
That may not matter much because she claimed they contained 223,000 signatures to get her on the ballot for governor. Independent candidates need 45,540 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
"We have blown the barn doors off this petition drive," Strayhorn said.
Dean Barkley, the campaign manager for independent candidate Kinky Friedman watched from the sidelines with a cigar in his smile.
"They definately have more boxes than we do," Barkley said..... more

Strayhorn submits petitions for ballot

Her fellow independent Friedman plans to turn in his at Thursday rally

By R.G. RATCLIFFE Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau May 10, 2006 AUSTIN - Independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn announced Tuesday she gave Texas election officials 223,000 signatures to get her on the ballot for the governor's race — almost five times as many signatures as she needs to qualify.......

.....'Thanks, but no thanks'
Robert Black, a spokesman for Perry, dismissed Strayhorn's petition collection as a paltry 1.9 percent of the state's 12 million registered voters.
"Even with the help of three expensive signature-gathering organizations, paid petition-takers and more than four months to get her message out, 98 percent of eligible voters said, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' " Black said.
Perry won the Republican nomination in March with the backing of 4 percent of the state's registered voters.
Strayhorn aide Mark Sanders responded to Black by saying Strayhorn's petition drive is a "staggering" rejection of Perry's administration. "Almost a quarter of a million Texas voters are rejecting his failed leadership and his misplaced priorities," Sanders said.
Strayhorn noted that no independent has won the governor's office since Sam Houston in 1859. She said she believed she has six times the number of signatures as people who voted for Houston.
"This is a two-person race," said Strayhorn. "It is me, one tough grandma, or Rick Perry."

AFL-CIO endorses Bell ---- Democratic nominee Chris Bell, meanwhile, won the endorsement of the traditionally Democratic AFL-CIO. The organization provides important financial and grass-roots support in general elections. Both Friedman and Strayhorn courted the group's endorsement during a convention in Dallas this week.
"To win, Democrats have to stick together, and that is why today's backing from the AFL-CIO was so vital," Bell said.
"Carole Strayhorn has courted labor for more than a year and she came here trying to divide us, but she failed," he said. "What this endorsement shows is why she can't win. Democrats won't support a Republican."
Libertarian James Werner will also be on the ballot. The Green Party also is gathering signatures to gain ballot access.
r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com more

Texas AFL-CIO votes to endorse Democrat Bell

05/09/2006 Associated Press Dallas Morning News -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell was endorsed Tuesday by the Texas AFL-CIO.
Delegates of the 220,000-member labor group voted the day after hearing speeches and asking questions of Bell and independent candidates Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman. Republican Gov. Rick Perry declined to address the group, which traditionally endorses Democrats. .... "We have been accused in the past of being an arm of the Democratic Party," Sills said. "But this shows that it is not automatic who we choose. The candidate has to earn it." more

Maine: Independent governor candidate Barbara Merrill good for sigs, going for matching funds

Candidate Merrill has the signatures, needs the checks

By Victoria Wallack State House News Service Maine Current

REGIONAL (May 10, 2006): Rep. Barbara Merrill, an independent candidate for governor, held a press conference Tuesday to say she had more than enough signatures to get on the ballot, but needed people to send in $5 checks so she could qualify for public funds to run her campaign.
Merrill needs 2,500 $5-checks from registered voters by June 2 to run as a Clean Elections candidate to get public funds. On Tuesday she said she has half of what she needs and was making a direct appeal for help..... There are seven candidates for governor who have said they are running as independents, and all but one is hoping to run on public funds.
Two Republicans, Sen. Peter Mills and Sen. Chandler Woodcock, and Pat LaMarche of the Green Party already have qualified for public funds..... more

Oregon: Open Primary gets citizen panel endorsement

Editorial Blog From readers and the Statesman Journal Editorial Board May 10, 2006 -- Here’s what the Corvallis Gazette-Times had to say last week:

***Open primary would energize voters
Except for a few lawn signs, very little indicates that a primary election is less than two weeks away. That all would change if the proponents of open primaries, in which voters select whichever candidate they wish, regardless of whether the letter in front of that candidate's name is R, D or - increasingly - I.
For it is the ranks of the independent voters that are swelling, according to elections officials across the state. Turnout in primaries also is small, as people decide not to participate when they already know their party's candidate is running unopposed.
In the 2004 primary election, the voter turnout was 54 percent Democrat and 52 percent Republican, with only 26 percent of the independent (non-affiliated, in election-speak) voters turning out. For the general presidential election in November, 79 percent of the independent voters turned out along with the 90 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of the Democrats.
Evidence that voters and politicians alike are sick of the partisan bickering that paralyzed the 2003 and 2005 legislative sessions recently includes some high-profile party leave-takings.
Independent gubernatorial candidate Ben Westlund of Bend (a plain-spoken, clear-thinking fella whose ideas are worth checking out, by the way) left the Republican party to run as an independent. He said that his own party's tendency to cow-tow to its far right wing drove him away.
Democratic state Sen. Charlie Ringo, who tried unsuccessfully to sell the public on having a nonpartisan legislature, has decided not to seek re-election. He has said both publicly and privately to anyone who will listen that the wasted energy devoted to toeing the party line quashed meaningful action on more than one occasion, to the detriment of the electorate.
Former secretaries of state Norma Paulus and Phil Keisling, a Republican and a Democrat, veterans of 17 years in that office between them, are close to victory in gathering the needed signatures to make the 2008 primary open, so that voters could cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice regardless of how closely he walks their party's plank.
We think that the partisan shouting is a lot of overheated sizzle that obscures a lack of meaningful steak when voters are hungry for change in health care, energy policy, tax reform and education.
Open primaries would encourage innovation and put the emphasis back on a candidate's personal qualifications rather than his or her adherence to a pre-scripted party "core message."
It won't make our Democratic or Republican party leaders happy to hear this, but we're ready for some new voices.
We do have one objection to this open primary plan: It contains the provision that only the top two winners from each primary race go on to the general election. That's unfair to third-party candidates, and needs further refinement.
In 24 days, the Oregon Open Primary Campaign has to submit 80,000 signatures to the secretary of state to get this measure on ballot, and supporters are about 30,000 signatures shy.
Those who support breaking the partisan stranglehold should read the open primary Web site at www.OneBallot.com to see how we can elect leaders more willing to pull together on Oregon's behalf.
Posted by Dick Hugheslink

Citizen panel backs open primaries System pits top two candidates in vote, regardless of party

PETER WONGStatesman JournalMay 10, 2006 -- A citizen panel voted Tuesday to endorse an open primary election, which would reshape how voters elect candidates for legislative seats and other offices in general elections.
The recommendation from the process committee will go to the full Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature, which is expected to discuss it at its next meeting May 22....... pwong@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6745 more

New Jersey: Cory Booker logs landslide in Newark mayoral against Sharpe James' urging to "Vote Black"

MAYOR BOOKERTAKES NEWARK IN 49-PT. ROMP

By JANET FRANKSTON, AP New York Post May 10, 2006 -- Cory Booker, a 37-year-old former Rhodes scholar, was elected Newark's first new mayor in two decades by a landslide yesterday, ushering in a new era for the struggling city. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Booker had 72 percent of the total, compared to 23 percent for his nearest challenger, state Sen. Ronald Rice, a fellow Democrat.... Booker's victory in the nonpartisan election marks a generational change of black leadership in a city trying to turn around decades of urban decay. ... Booker, a former city councilman, lost to James in 2002, falling 3,500 votes short out of about 56,000 cast in a nasty race chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary film "Street Fight." .... Both Booker and James are black. But during the last election, James' supporters criticized the light-skinned Booker as not sufficiently black.
Some of that bitterness remained yesterday, as reflected by anti-Booker signs urging people to "vote black."
"Don't waste your vote on folks who will not and cannot represent you!" said the signs, which were posted on utility poles.... more

NEWARK VOTERS EMBRACE 2002 MAYORAL LOSER

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 BY KATIE WANG AND JEFFERY C. MAYS Star-Ledger --With his political nemesis on the sidelines, Cory Booker swept to victory in the Newark mayor's race by a historic margin yesterday, collecting more than 70 percent of the vote from an electorate that rejected his candidacy four years ago.
Booker's closest challenger, state Sen. Ronald L. Rice, finished with less than 25 percent.
The election of Booker, a 37-year-old Rhodes scholar and Yale-educated lawyer who moved to Newark just a decade ago, opens a new chapter in the city's political history. A self-proclaimed reformer, he is Newark's first new mayor in 20 years and just the second since 1970. .... more

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

The South: Are they Democrats or are they Independents?

Texas: Kinky, Strayhorn speak to AFL-CIO; support guest worker program

Pennsylvania: PACleanSweep lt gov candidate Tom Lingenfelter joins Russ Diamond's campaign

Florida: Term Limits victory may bring third party gov campaign

NOTE: Yesterday's column Tom's Party by Michael Klein brought in this comment:
"How about the fact that the world's paper-of-record and one of its most famous international pundits sees the future and that future holds an independent president? That seems to be a sign of the times (excuse the pun), no???And what about the fact that the same paper that's seeing an independent future said that New York should outlaw the Independents Party?????? HMMMMMMM????"

What do you think? Let us know!!!

The South: Are they Democrats or are they Independents?

Democratic breed dwindling in the South

By JIM DAVENPORT, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER News Observer GALIVANTS FERRY, S.C. (AP) - Many species are rare, even threatened, in the swampy marshes along the southeastern coast, and perhaps none is closer to extinction than the "yellow-dog" Democrat of the Old South. For decades, straight-ticket, conservative white voters who displayed unyielding loyalty to the Democratic Party - they said they'd vote for a yellow dog if the Democrats ran one - transformed the South into a party stronghold... ...Black cited 2004 exit polls that showed 18 percent of voters described themselves as white, conservative Democrats or as white, liberal independents. At best, he said, less than 5 percent of Democratic voters would fit the traditional yellow-dog profile..... more

Texas: Kinky, Strayhorn speak to AFL-CIO; support guest worker program

On the dotted line

Star-TelegramMay 8, 2006 -- Singer/songwriter and novelist Kinky Friedman isn't talking about how many signatures his campaign has garnered to support his independent candidacy for Texas governor.
Lawyers for state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn are being much less tight-lipped. They plunked down 21 boxes of paper before U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on May 1 as a demonstration of what it looks like to have 115,000 signatures on petitions supporting Strayhorn's run as an independent candidate for the governor's seat.....
more

Gromer Jeffers Jr.: Kinky puts his wit to work for union

Tuesday, May 9, 2006 Kinky Friedman wants to be governor.
On Monday, he showed he would be just as comfortable as host of The Tonight Show.
Delegates at an AFL-CIO labor convention in Irving frequently burst into laughter during Mr. Friedman's remarks and answers to questions posed by panelists.
His jokes were often wrapped around policy positions, though he rarely got specific with his proposals. He told the audience that he would study the state's problems and hire the appropriate staff to find solutions.
"He's comical," said San Antonio's Conrad Myers, a supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell and a leader in the American Postal Workers Union. "I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. But he does have some good ideas."
At Monday's forum, Mr. Friedman's colorfully dressed campaign aide and driver introduced him.
"That, folks, was Little Jewford," Mr. Friedman said. "He's a Jew, and he drives a Ford, and he wears Elvis' shower curtain."
Mr. Friedman, who is also Jewish, then outlined his candidacy.
A humorist and author making a run for governor as an independent candidate, Mr. Friedman concedes that some people struggle to take him seriously.
"I'm not a politician," he said. "I'm a compassionate redneck, I guess. I'm 61 years old, which is too young for Medicare and too old for women to care."
He said he's pushing renewable fuel initiatives with the help of friend and country music star Willie Nelson, the "Hillbilly Dalai Lama."
"I would trade my Yom Kippur Flipper, which is a Jewish Cadillac that stops on a dime and picks it up," he said.
Mr. Friedman was outraged by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's strategy of sending undercover agents to bust bar patrons who had too much to drink.
"If you're a drunk, the bar is the perfect place for you to be," he said.
In March, Mr. Friedman was grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Greenville Avenue. Paradegoers noticed that he sipped a can of Guinness as he rode in a Dodge Viper.
"I admit, I did drink the Guinness," he said. "But I did not swallow."
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, another independent candidate for governor, didn't respond to questions by The Dallas Morning News for Sunday's front-page story about how the immigration debate is affecting the GOP and the governor's race.
She finally commented on immigration before making remarks to labor leaders in Irving.
"Securing the border is one issue," she said. "Having a fair legal-immigration plan is what we need to sit down and work on together."
Mrs. Strayhorn supports developing a guest-worker program as part of a comprehensive policy on immigration.
She is against building a wall along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and would not charge employers who hired illegal workers with felonies.
Mrs. Strayhorn said she would use the National Guard to help secure the border and would have discussions with local officials about their role in policing illegal immigrants. link

3 gubernatorial candidates make pitch for labor endorsement

Bell targets Strayhorn; Strayhorn targets Perry; Friedman seeks reform

Tuesday, May 9, 2006By GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News -- Mrs. Strayhorn argued that "this is a two-person race between one tough grandma and Rick Perry."
"This is the moment to seize this century and make it ours," she said. "We have the resources to take Rick Perry out. The others aren't even on the radar screen when it comes to money raising."
Mr. Perry did not attend, citing the special legislative session in Austin. His campaign noted that he has been endorsed by the Teamsters.
Mrs. Strayhorn's campaign aides expressed doubt that she would get the labor endorsement. But part of her strategy for winning in November is to run as a populist candidate with support among Democrats, Republicans and independents.
"I want every Texan's support," she said. "A governor of Texas should talk to all Texans."
Mr. Friedman acknowledged that the crowd was heavily Democratic but said that as a former Democrat, he thinks the group should consider broader options.
"A lot of us have been slaving away on the Democratic plantation with nothing to show for it," he said.....more

Pennsylvania:PACleanSweep lt gov candidate Tom Lingenfelter joins Russ Diamond's campaign

On the Campaign Trail

Philadelphia InquirerMay 9, 2006 -- Stamina - and hope - for this candidate

Tom Lingenfelter has never been one to let an election loss - or two, or three - deter him in his quest to right what he feels are the wrongs of the political system.
So the Doylestown resident is throwing his hat in the ring again, this time as the PACleanSweep candidate for lieutenant governor. He was a founding board member of the anti-incumbent group started by Russ Diamond, who is running for governor. The pair, running as independents, have to collect just more than 67,000 signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot.
Lingenfelter, 67, had been running as a Democrat in the state Senate primary when he got the call from Diamond.
"The only real, real way to fix anything is to run for office," he said. "I run because I have to. It's my duty."
And run he has: As a Democrat, he tried for Bucks County controller last year and ran the party's 2004 congressional primary.
As a Republican, he was unendorsed in the 2003 county commissioner race, and three times sought that party's nomination for the Eighth District congressional seat. He ran for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's seat in 1998. He attempted to run for lieutenant governor in 1994, then sued after his name was thrown off the ballot over a petition challenge. In the win column, he scored a spot as Republican state committeeman in 1996. At least one of his showings surprised party powers: he won 40 percent of the vote in the 1996 primary against former U.S. Rep. Jim Greenwood.
Lingenfelter said he doesn't see the repeated party switching as a detriment.
"I switch because I'm trying to find a way in the political system where they appreciate somebody who plays by the rules. And I can't find that."
- Dana Reddingtonlink

Florida: Term Limits victory may bring third party gov campaign

Press Release May 8, 2006
Florida Citizens For Term Limits Celebrate Victory Over Career Politicians as Third Party Momentum Builds Term Limits Movement May Produce the Strongest Third Party Candidate This State Has Ever Seen
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh from victory in theFlorida Legislature on the term limits issue, the president of FloridaCitizens For Term Limits, Max Linn, declared, "We are all delighted by ourvictory! We're on a roll and now have the momentum to win the war againstcareer politicians." The Senate and House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly towithdraw a controversial measure extending lawmakers' term limits fromFlorida's 2006 ballot. In a humiliating reversal, the House voted 103-14against extending term limits and the Senate voted 26-14 to drop themeasure. Commenting on the win, Linn said, "The margin of victory for ourmovement shows a total surrender by Tallahassee politicians." "There's an obvious leadership vacuum in Tallahassee, and that leavesthe door wide open to a third party challenge," said Linn. "We know we havea tiger by the tail," Linn explained. "We have received overwhelmingsupport, and we are hearing a cry for a third party challenge to existingpowers in the state of Florida." "Everywhere we have taken our campaign, speaking to Republican,Democratic and service clubs from the Panhandle to the Keys, we have founddeep frustration with mainstream political parties," said Linn. Linn says he has been fortunate to gain statewide recognition throughhis group's campaign. "I can't ignore the value of name recognition amongthe voters, and I may decide to respond to the demand for a third partychallenge to the political system in Florida." Linn says he has not yet made up his mind about running, and he isconsulting with other political activists outside of the two mainstreampolitical parties. "If I do run and win the governorship, I will imposeterm limits upon myself," Linn pledged. "As governor, I would serve onlyone term and would return to private life, just as I have always suggestedthat others should do," Linn said. Linn says he will continue the campaign to put muscle behind termlimits with two citizen initiatives for the 2008 ballot. The first measurewould require politicians to leave elected office for three years afterserving a maximum of eight. The second measure would end politicalpensions. For further information, contact: Donna Rodriguez 727-347-2146 http://www.floridatermlimits.com/link=

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

Tom's Party by Michael Klein

NATIONAL: CIA choice brings more polarization (Joe Gandelman)

Pennsylvania: Independent Diamond for Governor Petition Logs 1,000th Download

New York: Redistricting reform from Albany? Call the papers!

Texas: A difference in petitioning strategies for independent candidates

Oregon: Independents fight the odds

Connecticut: Lieberman get's opposition to non-opposition to the war

Tom's Party

The Hankster welcomes guest columnist Michael Klein. Michael is a long-time activist in New York City and national independent politics. He is the author of Man Behind the Sound Bite: The Real Story of the Rev. Al Sharpton, and is the resident sound designer of the Castillo Theatre.


The New York Times' international columnist Thomas Friedman has (somehow) been making a living for as long as I can remember proffering banal "truisms" (usually along the lines of "the world is getting smaller!" "there are people in the world who are angry at America") which then (again, somehow) achieve a sort of status as profundities. He juggles these regular insights with his other role as the resident expert on Israeli/Palestinian/Middle Eastern affairs, where he cranks out a dizzying stream of "proposals" for solving the irretractable decades' old conflicts there in the hope that one of them will (in a sort of infinite number of monkeys typing on an infinite number of typewriters will eventually produce "War and Peace" sort of way) will be "right." His most recent efforts, as a sort of self-proclaimed "guru of globalization" have been aimed at singing the praises of outsourcing low wage jobs to the underdeveloped world as a cure all for global poverty and the rapidly widening worldwide chasm between rich and poor, using (without a shred of evidence but much rhetoric and catchphrasing) India as an example. And, as an added bonus, offering the claim that the economic windfall globalization will bestow upon the Third World will also nip terrorism in the bud, as a slew of IT help-desk jobs offer the world's masses a feeling of hope for the future. The fact that this globalization is the very source of the anger against American corporate carpetbagging of the non-western world that Friedman discovered in his column the day before is of little concern--each of Friedman's columns have a logic of their own, as random as one of those monkeys at their keyboard.

As reported here in the Hankster a few days back, Friedman has now turned his attention to domestic politics and has made a bold new discovery. In his own words, "I'm hoping for a third party. The situation is ripe for one: America is facing a challenge as big as the cold war.." Once more, Friedman has discovered a truism that may perhaps come as no surprise to readers of this blog, as well as the tens of millions of American voters represent the plurality of the electorate by identifying themselves as independents--the voting public is fed up with the logjam created by Democratic and Republican self-interested partisanship. But, like most of Friedman's truisms, its in the words following its statement that anything bearing a similarity to reality ends. What Friedman detects is a longing on the part of the disaffected millions of American voters to see--not democracy, voting reform, participation on the process of governing, or an end to poltical corruption--but rather, well, Tom's ideas on globalization. As perhaps the last pundit to take note of the independent upsurge in America of the past decade and a half, Friedman somehow feels that the situation is ripe for Americans to rally around his latest scheme--letting oil prices go through the roof, which will then somehow force the energy industry to explore alternatives to oil, return the environment to a pristine state, break the stranglehold of corrupt, anti-democratic oil-producing Arab regimes on the economy, and (in the obligatory Friedman bonus) "stimulating more young people to study math and science."

Not surprisingly, Friedman, despite his insistence on the paramount dangers to the environment oil dependence creates, wants nothing "green" about his party, either in name or substance. "I would not call it the "Green Party," he offers. "The name's been taken, and it connotes an agenda that is too narrow and liberal." Somehow, the heterogenous outpouring across the globe against American and multinational corporatism run amok that, in some form or another, constitutes at least some aspect of the mindset of much of the planet, is "narrow," while Tom's Party--which will subsidize corporate America's creation of a new miracle energy source by bleeding the average American at the gas pump and in their home heating bills--is "big, strategic, centrist and forward-looking."

So there we have Tom's Party. In Tom's world we have not only the impoverished of the planet longing to find hope working in a Microsoft boiler room or a Gucci factory, but we now have millions of discontented American voters eager to cough up ten bucks a gallon at the pump to help usher in the new American century. And thus establishing Friedman as the poor person's Francis Fukuyama, a fella who will lead the discontented masses behind the banner of corporatism as the best of all possible worlds and the solution to the malaise and anger at political corruption that has rocketed independent politics to its current plurality standing among the voting public. I'm not sure if an infinite number of monkeys typing away could have come up with a better plan than that offered by Tom's Party. Maybe an infinite number plus one...

NATIONAL: CIA choice brings more polarization (Joe Gandelman)

Bush 's Naming Gen. Hayden As CIA Pick Will Spark Polarizing Political Fight

(UPDATED)by Joe Gandelman The Moderate Voice May 7, 2006 .....The bottom line: Bush could pick ANY number of excellent candidates and avoid a bitter fight in Congress. But that's evidently not his plan..... There were other options. But, if the Post piece is to be believed, it's clear that this is to excite and win back the GOP's eroding conservative base — and define the Democrats.
Question: Isn't it time for Americans who believe that national unity and consensus aren't bad, and independent voters in particular, to honestly ask themselves whether George Bush is across-the-boards (rather just on one single issue) perhaps the most intentionally divisive President in American history? .... more

New York: Redistricting reform from Albany? Call the papers!

Reformers target state redistricting

Those seeking change in Albany say independent group should draw lines

Jay Gallagher Albany bureau chief Democrat & Chronicle (May 8, 2006) — ALBANY — Advocates of reforming state government who plan to rally at the Capitol on Tuesday think they have hit on the key to changing the status quo: End the gerrymandering of legislative districts that all but guarantees most incumbents easy re-election.
They also think they have hit on a long-range strategy to make this happen: get all four candidates for governor to pledge to veto any redistricting bill that is drawn by lawmakers, who traditionally draw the lines. Instead, they say, it should be drawn by an independent commission.
One candidate, Democrat Thomas Suozzi, has embraced the idea and will address the reformers Tuesday. A bill to carry out the change has also been introduced in both houses of the Legislature. ...... more

Drawing the Line: Redistricting Reform

by Joshua Brustein May 8, 2006 Gotham Gazette

...Critics have long mocked New York's acceptance of partisan redistricting – or gerrymandering – as antidemocratic, saying it explicitly discourages competitive elections. To date, there has been little momentum in Albany to change the way redistricting is carried out, though, largely because state legislators benefit from the current system. That may be changing however. The four major party candidates for governor have all recently called for serious redistricting reform, and a bill that would create an independent commission has been introduced into the state assembly. .... more

Pennsylvania: Independent Diamond for Governor Petition Logs 1,000th Download

For Immediate Release:
May 8, 2006
Email: media@russdiamond.org
Website: http://www.russdiamond.org/

The Russ Diamond for Governor campaign announced today that the petition to place the Independent candidate’s name on the November general election ballot has been downloaded 1,103 times since the announcement of his entry into the gubernatorial race.

Diamond, who announced his candidacy on April 13, is required by Pennsylvania’s election law to collect the signatures of 67,070 registered voters by August 1 to qualify for ballot access. The figure represents an all-time high standard for a candidate in the Commonwealth.

“We’ve also sent out 115 petitioning kits by regular mail,” said Scott Green, chairman of russdiamond.org, Diamond’s election committee. “and we’re coordinating efforts to have petitioners at polling places statewide during the primary election on May 16th.”

The campaign is recruiting “Primary Day Push” signature captains on its website and asking them to pledge to collect at least 100 signatures in four hours or less at one of Pennsylvania’s 1,000 busiest polling places and recruit and organize others in their area to make a similar pledge.

“We’ll be asking voters for signatures after they’re finished voting as they come out of the polls,” said Quince Eddens, a Diamond for Governor signature captain in central Pennsylvania. “With their vote freshly cast, we’re sure a distinct lack of choice in the biggest race in Pennsylvania will be on their minds.”

Additionally, eleven PACleanSweep candidates have accepted invitations to coordinate local primary day efforts with Diamond’s campaign.

PACleanSweep recently published poll handouts for each of its primary candidates. The palm cards are similar to the handouts developed for the judicial retention victory last November. Diamond’s gubernatorial campaign also posted a download-and-print flyer this week to aid petitioners in encounters with voters unfamiliar with the independent candidate.

Diamond has stated his goal for the August 1 deadline is 100,000 signatures to insure against potential legal challenges from the major parties.

Diamond for Governor website http://www.russdiamond.org
Diamond for Governor Primary Day Push: http://www.russdiamond.org/primary.html
Diamond for Governor Primary Day Push podcast: http://www.russdiamond.org/audio/primary.mp3
Diamond for Governor petition: http://www.russdiamond.org/petition.html
Diamond for Governor download-and-print flyer: http://www.russdiamond.org/petition.html
Diamond for Governor signature captains: http://www.russdiamond.org/captains.html
PACleanSweep primary day partners: http://www.russdiamond.org/cleansweepers.html
Diamond for Governor media alerts: http://russdiamond.org/media.html
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Texas: A difference in petitioning strategies for independent candidates

Independents in race for signaturesThousands help Friedman and Strayhorn get names on ballot

By ALEXIS GRANT Houston Chronicle May 8, 2006-- Clint Walker has spent the last two months beseeching Texans to sign the petition to put independent candidate Kinky Friedman on the ballot for governor.
But the first signature he got on a recent Saturday came unsolicited.
He had just set up a makeshift signing station at the Houston International Festival when he was approached by Gary Pace of Seabrook, who asked if he could add his name.
"I've had a lot of people say, 'Hey, we've been looking for you, I'm just tired of having only two people to vote for,' " said Walker, 32, a volunteer with Friedman's campaign.
He's one of thousands of people who have canvassed the state since early March collecting signatures of registered voters to put candidates on the ballot to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Perry. They have until Thursday to gather 45,540 signatures.
Independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state comptroller, has collected more than 115,000 signatures, her lawyers said last week, though it's not known how many of those will be valid.
Friedman, a musician and author, will not say how many signatures his campaign has gathered so far.
Both campaigns aim to gather at least double the number needed, since more than a quarter of signatures gathered in ballot petition drives usually turn out to be invalid.
Only registered voters who did not vote in this year's Republican or Democratic primaries can sign a petition.
The Friedman and Strayhorn campaigns say they have thousands of volunteers statewide. But because they must collect so many signatures in a short period of time — a requirement that makes it more difficult for independents to get on the ballot in Texas than in most states — both campaigns have also hired veteran petition organizers.
Friedman's effort is spearheaded by Laureen Oliver, founder of the New York Independence Party, who said she oversees about 20 paid signature-collectors who were recruited from the campaign's volunteer base. The campaign pays them $1 per signature, but the bulk of the work is done by volunteers.
"I've never seen such grass-roots support to do such a large petition drive," said Oliver, who has 15 years of experience in the field. "When this campaign is done with this petition drive, Kinky's going to go forward with a force for the whole campaign. This is something you can't buy."
Strayhorn's drive is being coordinated by National Voter Outreach, which pays $2 per signature, and its contractors in the area, including a group called America's Politically Incorrect.
Paying for names
Susan Johnson, president of National Voter Outreach, would not say how many collectors were being paid by Strayhorn's campaign. But Strayhorn's son and campaign spokesman Brad McClellan said he expects paid workers to gather about half of the total signatures.
Johnson's organization recruits largely at colleges and senior citizen centers, and America's Politically Incorrect advertises to find workers. While some workers collect signatures to supplement their income, many do not have permanent jobs.
Signature collectors receive little instruction from campaign organizers other than how to fill out petitions.
Johnson said voters who are unfamiliar with the collection process sometimes feel misled when they find out people are paid to gather signatures.
"I think that people want people out there who believe in something, but the reality is that in our culture today, we don't have that luxury anymore," Johnson said. "It's an industry that has sprung up because the government has made it so dang difficult (to get on the ballot).".....
more

Oregon: Independents fight the odds

When independents run for governor

Russell Sadler Blue Oregon May 7, 2006 -- The deck is deliberately stacked against independent candidates for governor.
Republicans and Democrats do not want to see competition in November from candidates that were not sanctioned in their party primaries.
Independent-minded voters are simply stuck voting for whichever Republican and Democrat is chosen by voters in their respective primaries. This “choice of evils” is increasingly regarded as no choice at all. It is a major cause of voter discontent and frustration.
Occasionally, however, the established parties overstep the boundaries of public tolerance and trigger a successful independent candidacy for governor. That last happened in Oregon in 1930 when Juluis L. Meier won the office in a three-way race...... more

Connecticut: Lieberman get's opposition to non-opposition to the war

Conn. Liberals Lose Faith in Lieberman
by Fred LucasPosted May 08, 2006 Human Events -- Left-wing blogs ranging from the Daily Kos to MyLeftNutmeg are clamoring to see Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, frequently derided as President Bush’s favorite Democrat, out of the Senate and maybe out of their party.
They could get the latter if Lieberman loses the state’s August Democratic primary to millionaire businessman Ned Lamont. Lamont is running a largely self-financed campaign against the state’s three-term junior senator, campaigning against Lieberman’s support of the war in Iraq. This is a state where a majority of voters, and an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, oppose the war..... link

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

Parties act like cults; independent voter registration has doubled since 1996 -- any connection? (Ya think...?)

Texas: Immigration issue delicate for Repubs in Texas, Calif; Kinky close to Minuteman position

Oregon: Independent opportunity

Massachusetts: Have you heard of Christy Mihos?

NATIONAL
* Independents are the ticket --Polls abound
* Oil prices more political/psychological than economics

PSYCHOLOGY: Freud dissenter Frederick Crews' new book "Follies of the Wise"

THEATER: Can theater offer us a better political performance?

Parties act like cults; independent voter registration has doubled since 1996 -- any connection? (Ya think...?)

Get in lockstep or be gone

Bill Thompson Ocala.com May 6, 2006 ....It's fair to argue party leaders, whether in Washington, Tallahassee or in Ocala, are simply enforcing discipline. Step out of line and expect them to roll out the guillotine. It's also valid to say politicians who disagree with party platforms are free to find another party.
But if in our political evolution we've reached a point where party is paramount and disputing leaders is subversive - you're no longer "us," so you must be "them" - parties will cease to be parties. They are cults.
Lee was quoted in the Tallahassee Democrat as saying it was "dangerous" for Democrats to build "a coalition with some Republicans on issues that were important to the administration.".... The number of minor party members and independent voters in Florida now totals more than 2 million, more than doubling their ranks from 1996 to 2004. Their ratio of the voting population has climbed from 13 percent to 21 percent.
Core party principles are beneficial and help promote and distinguish governing philosophies. But our style of government is about compromise. Once the party hierarchy expects the rank and file to be mindless automatons who reflexively disdain the other side to serve ideology over constituents, we become subjects and not citizens.... more