Conversations on Independence

Some of what's shakin' on the independent blogosphere:

• See Michael Drucker's The Independent View for an up-and-coming independent blog source!
• From Alternative Tulsa GOP Dissenters Take On Bush Policies: Republican legislators are getting an earful from heartland voters on the Iraq war. A scan of the blogosphere this week shows that even in Kansas and Iowa, more voters are expressing their unhappiness over the Bush Administration's handling of the war.
• Robert B. Winn has been fighting a partisan voter registration form in Arizona [17] Specify Party Preference... for a while now. In 2005 The Arizona legislature sent to the governor of Arizona Senate bill 1218 which was signed into law by the governor requiring a new voter registration form. The wording for the new form was included in the bill, which was essentially the same as far as the information a voter would give except that the option to register as an independent voter had been removed, leaving only a space marked Specify Party Preference. Small issue? The impact: Here are the statistics for registrations of new independent voters in Arizona from 2000 to 2006.2000-2002 107,7152002-2004 165,7712004-2006 26,4832006-2007 30,738. Hmmmmm........ According to the Charlotte Observer: "Another way in which false allegations of fraud have affected policy is in the movement to get states to adopt strict voter ID laws, which adversely affect low income citizens, especially among racial minorities, students and the elderly. Battles to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID or proof of citizenship in order to register and vote have been adopted in Georgia, Missouri, Arizona and Indiana." Something to pay attention to!