Joe Hill was always on the line

Hankstertube continues to get lots of hits and positive comments on Brian Mullin's rendention of Joe Hill. Please enjoy... see also Joan Baez tribute to Obama . Or here's Phil Ochs rendition...(the traditional renditional....) ...the union was the only friend he had!

btw -- Brian Mullin will be directing the next play at Castillo Theater in Manhattan -- This is one of the few plays written by the late Aimé Césaire, one of the great surrealist poets of the 20th century and a founder of the Negritude Movement. First produced at Castillo in 1995, the new production will feature a core group of performers from Youth Onstage! and will be directed by Brian Mullin, Program Manager of the Youth Onstage! Community Performance School.

Joe Hill was always on the line. Carry it on!  Or go yonder...

-NH

where i've been

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Why political insiders don't like Gov. Schwarzenegger....

And for the record, Michael Bloomberg doesn't want to end up in "ballot Siberia"...

where i'm headed

Speaking of Open Primaries

If you haven't read them already -- or even if you have, you might want to re-read Jonathan Alter's article in last week's Newsweek "Poof Goes the Purple Dream", and this little item about the fight by independents in Idaho to keep the parties out of their voting system...

And as for the big hullabaloo in California over the primaries, I admit to the prize in the "imprecise language" category. The nation's premier ballot access expert Richard Winger sent the following email as a corrective to a post I made last week:

Your blog says "California had open primaries 50 years ago".  California had fusion 50 years ago.  Anyone could file in the primary of any party.  But, each qualified party had its own primary.  In California it was called cross-filing, but in the rest of the country it was and is called fusion.

The term "open primary" has been defined in US Supreme Court decisions and in political science books for over 100 years, to mean that on primary day, a voter is free to choose which party's primary to vote in.

The Maldonado/Schwarzenegger proposal is not an "open primary".  It is a "top-two" primary.

Washington state tried the "top-two" primary for the first time in 2008.  The results:  (1) lower voter turnout in the August 2008 primary than 4 years ago (4 years ago was a classic open primary), and that is according to the Washington Secretary of State's web page.  (2) for the first time since Washington became a state in 1889, there were no minor party or independent candidates on the November ballot for any congressional race or any statewide state race.  (3) Washington state in November 2008 had fewer legislative seats switching parties than the average state did that year, and no US House seats changed hands; and only one incumbent lost in the primary out of 123 state legislative races, and all US House incumbents were re-elected.  Top-two in practice turned out to be very good for incumbents and very bad for people who want to express themselves in November by voting for a minor party or independent candidate.

Thanks, Rich! 

Re: "Top-two in practice turned out to be very good for incumbents and very bad for people who want to express themselves in November by voting for a minor party or independent candidate." Just makes me wonder what the fuss is all about from the parties, then? It's independent VOTERS who are fighting for open primaries -- and "top two" voting systems. More than a third of voters are locked out of voting in the first round in 18 states. Not fair. Not democratic. I wish more minor parties or independent candidates would line up with independent voters on this issue. It would be good for the country. As it stands, seems that a party is a party is a party with self-protective reactions no matter what the size..... -NH

Talk Talk: Open Surge; Open Primaries

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Every weekend CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogues compiled on Sunday, February 22, 2009 "Open Surge; Open Primaires" after watching selections from "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," and a Charlie Rose interview. Salit: So, we're losing the war. And Odierno, and later Petraeus, come in and say the thing has to be completely redesigned and here's what we have to do. We've got to put more troops in. We have to turn the American army into the "glue" that holds the society together.   Newman: And we have to pay the Sunnis. That's how we win the war.   Salit: Yes. And, as you're referencing, Ricks goes on to talk about how, as they got to know the insurgency, both on the ground and in detention, they learned that most of these guys were being paid to fight us. And all the Americans had to do to turn the situation around was to offer them more money than Al Qaeda was paying them.   Newman: A dollar more.   Salit: Yes.   Read Talk Talk in its entirety here.  If you haven't signed the Open Primary Letter to President Obama, go tohttp://www.gopetition.com/petitions/independentvoting.html to sign the letter.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• California discusses inclusion of "decline to state" voters in primaries -- will pull the parties together against it...
  
• West Virginia Repubs discuss closing their primary
  

• Cognatively unconscious linguistical turns in Obama's speech last night (text of speech here)
  

• Charlie Cook says independents support Obama's "bipartisan" approach in Congress -- now the parties need to follow suit...
  

Journalists, Illustrators, and Bloggers....

...lend me you Ears!

All the Art That's Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn't): Inside the New York Times OpEd Page author Jerelle Kraus will discuss media censorship with journalist Sydney Schanberg

THURSDAY

FEBRUARY 26

7pm

Barnes & Noble

82nd and Broadway

Manhattan (NYC)

i've got my eye on you

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Coalition of Dems and independent voters supporting Obama's stimulus plan

More on California's open primary bill -- good for people, bad for parties

California had open primaries for 50 years before the parties sued to close them

Partisan gov races among increasingly independent voter constituencies

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Enabeling a "top two" open primary in California -- coming up: the parties will put up a fight against it, in spite of widespread support among the voters ... and you can read some of Abel Maldonado's story here... You can read the text of the bill here...

standing tall!

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CALIFORNIA OPEN PRIMARY

• * Open-primary proposal could shake up politics (By James P. Sweeney, U-T SACRAMENTO BUREAU) “It is a misnomer to call this an open primary,” said state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring, who lives in Crest in San Diego County. “It is not an open primary, it is the abolition of primaries.”
  
• * Stop the budget madness with some common-sense reforms (Steve Lopez, LA Times) as a current New Yorker article points out. According to one poll, 28% of Republicans and 56% of independent voters supported President Obama's stimulus plan, but only three Senate Republicans signed on.
  
• * Schwarzenegger skips GOP convention ... to meet with Obama (San Francisco Gate) While the Republicans are railing against Schwarzenegger on taxes and considering censuring their own who voted for the state budget, Schwarzenegger sidesteps it all: He's in Washington, D.C., for the National Governor's Association get-together, meeting with Obama and other administration officials on climate change and key economic topics.
  

 

OTHER OPEN PRIMARIES:

• * Leading Democrats sweet on 'sweetener' proposal (By Steven Harmon, MediaNews Sacramento Bureau, Mercury News) In an open primary, the two top vote getters would face off against each other in the general election, regardless of party. Conceivably, two Democrats could be vying for the vote of all voters in a safe Democratic district, and vice versa in Republican districts. 
  
• * Guest Commentary: Don’t close open primaries (By: A.C. Kleinheider, Nashville City Paper) In a closed system, the two parties will elect candidates who reflect the activist core of the party. While that suits that activist core just fine it does not serve the people of Tennessee. Like it or not, in America, we have a two-party system. It is not in our founding documents but it is an inextricable part of our system.
  

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• * Poll: Florida Voters Like Obama, Are Split On Stimulus Plan (By Catherine Dolinski, Tampa Bay Online)
  
• * President and Governor Remain Popular in Florida (Associated Press, Tallahassee, Fla) A Quinnipiac spokesman says the high approval ratings for both Obama and Crist are the result of strong support form crossover and independent voters.
  
• * TN politicos want to return to the dark ages (KnoxNews.com) Politicians talk a good game about getting the vote out, but their most recent actions speak loudly just the opposite. Closing the primaries will alienate the majority independent voters.
  
•  * Poll says Democrats fare poorly with independents- The Democratic leadership is faring poorly with independent voters in the U.S. who had supported President Obama's election bid and his appeal to bi-partisanship. Obama's first month in office has disappointed them. (Spero Forum)
  
• * California Budget Deal Costs 3rd Parties (Green Party Watch) This deal provides the only way that Maldonado can achieve a statewide office where his being willing to compromise on the budget would appeal to independent voters.
  
• * Q-Poll: More gaudy numbers for Obama and Crist, less so for stimulus (by Aaron Deslatte, Orlando Sentinel) "The key to high voter approval ratings for Democrat Obama and Republican Crist is party crossover and the good will of independent voters: The President gets a 33 - 47 percent approval from Republicans and a 66 - 22 percent thumbs up from independents, while Crist gets a 66 - 22 percent score from Democrats and a 63 - 24 percent nod from independents.
  
• * The Maldonado Effect (By PETE ABEL, Managing Editor, The Moderate Voice)
  

 

NEW YORK POLITICS;INDEPENDENCE PARTY

• * Poll: New Yorkers want income tax hike for rich (BY KENNETH LOVETTDAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, NY Daily News) By a 56-38% margin, New Yorkers support the idea, including more than two-thirds of Democrats and nearly 60% of independent voters, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. 
  
• * Oliver Honored By Independence Party (Politics on the Hudson) Laureen Oliver, who helped found the state’s Independence Party and was its first chair, was honored by the party last week and unanimously named its first chairman emeritus.
  
• * Cuomo brings initiative to consolidation (Schenecktady Daily Gazette) He has been getting a positive response from his audiences, including local officials in western New York, a meeting of the state Conservative Party and the annual convention of the New York State Association of Counties.
  

marsh

Newman: Bloomberg has a misestimation of independents' opinions of him

Hey, check this out -- there's a firestorm in the media on the independent political leadership in New York City!

Newman on Bloomberg: He's not a good independent

west palm?

oh i'm sorry! it's just an expensive connection between samsung and hewlett packard....

Hewlett Packard and Samsung

trying to upload pix from my phone won't work from samsung to hewlett packard... so what else is new...? they need the money....

Media Firestorm: New York City Independence Party -- Will They or Won't They?

All Hands on Deck! Stop the Presses! Don't Shoot Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes! Damn the Torpedos, Full Speed Ahead! Uhhh... wtf?!

A virtual (and I DO MEAN VIRTUAL!) firestorm erupted today in NYC when a front-page NY Times article by Michael Barbaro covered a little visit from Mayor Bloomberg's "campaign manager" Bradley Tusk to the home of Fred Newman to size up the NYC Independence Party's proclivity towards giving the Mayor the coveted Column C in the upcoming 2009 mayor's race.

Bloomberg got into office because he was able to strike a deal with the New York City Independence Party for his 2001 run for the top city office. Billionaire "a leader, not a politician" Bloomberg won with the margin of victory coming in on the IP line. Azi Paybarah has become soft on Fulani, but don't expect too much! Jackie Salit credits Bloomberg for moving NY forward, but it's really the voters. (btw -- you can hear Jackie "How the Independent Movement Went Left by Going Right" Salit talk about US foreign policy here)

In 2005, an emerging alliance between black voters and independents gave the incumbent mayor a mandate for nonpartisan governance, something unheard of in this locked-down Dem town...

But I digress from this facinating media extra!

Of course, Tom Robbins of the late Village Voice (could a blog name like "Runnin' Scared" be more untimely, ahistorical and meaningless??? I dunno...) came in first with the perfunctory attacks on the New York City operation of the 3rd largest political party in the state of New York in an article titled "Bloomy Loves Fred Newman" -- they're so POLITICO-SEXUAL over at the VV, aren't they??

Then Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, who received an Anti-Corruption award in 2008 from the NYC IP, posted a note courtesy of Blair Bobier (a Dem operative in California)

But of course, you can't top NY1 (of the extant AOL/Time Warner company) for going to the mat for the status quo! Dominic Carter being the main henchman for same.

And, oh -- while NY State Senator Frank Padavan recognized Queens (my home boro) Independence Party County Committee Chair Molly Honigsfeld at his swearing-in yesterday, (with a quote from Mark Twain: "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Uhh... he's a Republican), somehow the Queens Courier failed to print the names of the Queens IP leadership.... Sen. Padavan has been friendly to the Queens IP Committee, and no doubt won his hard-fought re-election last year because of support from IP voters in his district.

No matter.

It's the 4,000+ duly elected Independence Party county committee members who will decide who gets the IP line for mayor this year. Hmmm... Hey, fellas -- show us the reform! That's what local control is all about. And that's what the IPNYC organization is all about!

-NH

paradise