Today is primary day and 3.5 million Flori

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Anti-open primaries voices still peeping up... Obama up in polls among indies...

California's Prop-14 is going to be appealed at a state appeals court in San Francisco after being rejected by the California Supreme Court. The two primary flaws that are being cited in the law are whether minor-party (e.g. Tea Party) candidates will be forced to say they have no party preference and whether this law will disenfranchise voters. There is also more good news for Obama, who's approval rating amongst key independent voters is up to an even 44 on both sides, up from December when he had a negative assessment of 52-39.

OPEN PRIMARIES
  • California's Humpty-Dumpty Law (Gautam Dutta -Business and Election Lawyer, Huffington Post) Why should we care about minor-party candidates? Think caffeine. Like it or not, the Tea Party has already made its mark on American politics. Until last year, Tea Party and other minor-party candidates were allowed to describe themselves on the ballot as "Independent". But once SB 6 kicks in, candidates from every minor (i.e., non-state-recognized) party will be foisted with the ballot label of "No Party Preference". By illegally forcing candidates to make misleading statements on the ballot, SB 6 will do voters a grave disservice.
  • Durant Area Chamber of Commerce hosts Legislative Luncheon (by Leslie Boyd, Durant OK Democrat) Roberts also spoke about open primaries and how he feels it would benefit the state if everyone could vote no matter the election.
OBAMA
  • CNN Poll: Obama's job approval rating on the rise (By: CNN Political Unit, Political Ticker) "Obama's approval rating among Democrats and Republicans is virtually unchanged since December, but among independents it has grown from 41 percent in December to 56 percent now," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "It's possible that his call for greater civility in the aftermath of the Arizona shootings was seen as a boost for the bipartisan solutions that typically attract independents."
  • Poll finds Obama approval rebounding (UPI) Among key independent voters, Obama currently stands at an even 44-44 approval-disapproval rating. In December, he had a 52-39 negative assessment from this group.
REPUBLICANS
  • Priebus and the tea party (Ben Smith, Politico) Reince Priebus faces many challenges in taking over the Republican National Committee, but among the trickiest will be building support from the anti-establishment tea party without offending big GOP donors or the independent voters the party needs in 2012.
  • Poll: Americans want compromise (UPI) Fewer independent voters think Republicans and Democrats will stand firm against each other. The poll said 48 percent believe Republicans will hold their views, while 41 percent said Republicans would compromise with congressional Democrats and the president.
NEW YORK
  • NY State Senator Gustavo Rivera Stakes Out Independent Role (By Monika Fabian, Feet in 2 Worlds - Telling the Stories of Today's Immigrants) I have always been a liberal, I have always been a progressive, I have always been pro-organized labor, pro the issues of the Working Families Party. And when it comes to the New Roosevelt Initiative, the types of things that they believe in, as far as making the legislature the best in the country, which is the goal of the NRI—these are things that I absolutely agree with.
  • Bronx state senator Jeff Klein's Independent Democratic Conference may be heading for trouble (PATRICE O'SHAUGHNESSY, NY Daily News) Whether or not Espada Jr. is guilty of being a sort of reverse Robin Hood, using the health network as his "piggy bank," the flagship clinic still manages to serve thousands of people in one of the most medically underserved areas of the city.
  • Soundview Health Center still treats local community, despite Espada scandals (BOB KAPPSTATTER, NY Daily News) Jeff formed the four-member group after getting fed up with Dem Conference Leader John Sampson letting the Four Amigos/Banditos (including Bronx Dems Pedro Espada and Ruben Diaz Sr.) blackmail him for their votes in the narrowly split senate, blow the party's Senate budget and seeing Republicans take back control with a comfortable 33-29 majority.
EDUCATION REFORM

2 comments:

richardwinger said...

Dear Nancy, I would be happy if you could write a blog post defining the word "independent." It has many meanings, and many people use it to mean different things.

Solomon Kleinsmith said...

I'd like to know why you keep pretending that top two and open primaries are the same thing. They are two very different rule changes. Open primaries opens up the system, top two puts new and unprecedented limits on access to the general election ballot.

Had this ridiculous rule been in Maine, Eliot Cutler wouldnt have made it through the primary. How you people think it will benefit independents is beyond me. You're making a huge mistake putting your weight behind it.