TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/4/09

OPEN PRIMARIES
California's independent-minded gov Arnold Schwarzenegger still fighting for open primaries--Repubs officially reject his reform leadership

• A Report from California’s GOP Convention (Jon Fleischman, National Review Online) The delegates to the convention overwhelmingly opposed an open-primary measure that will appear on next June’s ballot. This measure is expected to be championed by the lame-duck Schwarzenegger — his final attempt to knife conservatives before returning to Hollywood.
• Calif GOP looks to 2010 races for gov., US Senate (By JULIET WILLIAMS (AP)
• Gush of reform proposals hit state (By LISA VORDERBRUEGGEN, Daily Democrat-Woodland CA)

GOVERNORS RACES

• Daggett: Time's right for independent (By MICHAEL SYMONS, Cherry Hill Courier Post)
• N.J. Debate Reveals Weaknesses Of Incumbent, Main Challenger (By Dan Balz, Washington Post) The wild card in the race is Daggett, the independent candidate, whom Corzine's team sees as a possible lifeline in the final weeks. With sharp critiques of his rivals and a sense of humor, Daggett turned in the most entertaining performance on Thursday night.
• Taxes, jobs, health care dominate first gubernatorial debate (By DEREK HARPER, Press of Atlantic City) With a link to videos of the debate and expert reaction.

BLOOMBERG 09

Mike Bloomberg, a registered indy, is running for mayor of NYC on the Independence Party line and on the Republican Party line. (NY is one of the few states that allows candidates to appear on the ballot on more than one line, and the vote totals are aggregated; it's called "fusion.") His Democratic opponent, William Thompson, is a career politician who currently serves as the city's little known comptroller.

Mike's expected to win; the real question is whether he'll pull a a big enough vote on the IP line to make the statement that New Yorkers aren't voting for Republican-ism but for nonpartisan governance. Proponents of partisanship -- including the so-called liberal intellegentsia (which, it's been pointed out, is neither) -- are doing whatever they can to prevent such an outcome. See:

• Bloomberg's Term Limits Scheme- How Mayor Mike gamed the system (By Tom Robbins, Village Voice) He cut the same insiders' pact with the cultish local chapter of the Independence Party. The party's nominating convention this spring featured all the democracy of a Chinese Politburo meeting, including a ruling clique that fawned over the visiting mayor.
• Liu, de Blasio Win Democratic Nods for NYC Controller, Advocate (By Henry Goldman, Bloomberg.com) “Let’s get serious; there are a couple of Republican candidates, but they have no chance whatsoever,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a City Hall news conference yesterday. “You have one party that so dominates that it’s very unlikely that anybody will win but whoever wins the runoff.”... The current city comptroller, William Thompson, 56, is the Democratic candidate opposing Bloomberg’s bid for re-election on the Republican and Independence party ballot lines.

WORKING FAMILIES PARTY

• ACORN attack misses mark (Ben Smith, Politico)
• The Politico Gets Played By ACORN (By Matthew Vadum, American Spectator)

ON THE BLOGS

• Housing (Mansfield for PA) I am Robert Allen Mansfield and I am candidate for Lt Governor for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania