Open Primaries Heads Growing List of Urgent Political Reforms

In a study done by Harvard Kennedy School Lecturer Elaine C. Kamarck and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow William A. Galston, a conclusion was drawn that changing the way we elect our leaders could reduce the "polarization" of American politics. The key to doing this they say: Opening up primaries to everyone instead of restricting it by party affiliation.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Report Examines Political Partisans (By ARIANE LITALIEN, Harvard Crimson) According to Galston and Kamarck, one way to reduce extremism in American politics is to open primaries to all voters instead of restraining them to members of particular political parties.

ILLINOIS

• No Surprises: Rahm Wins in Chicago - The suits remain firmly in control of the Windy City. What does Emanuel’s victory mean for urban progressive politics? (By DAVID MOBERG, In These Times) Reformers in Chicago in the ’60s and ’70s called themselves “independents,” un-bought by and opposed to machine rule. With the Washington movement, progressives identified as fighting for the interests of neighborhoods and communities… But under Daley II the progressive forces—political reformers, community organizations, neighborhood development groups, civil rights organizations and others—weakened, more often soliciting modest help from Daley than posing real challenges.
• Candidates not done in 14 wards, could get assist from Emanuel (By Abdon M. Pallasch and Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun Times) In the South Side’s 20th Ward, grammy-winning hip hop artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith, 33, managed to force freshman Ald. Willie Cochran into a run-off. “I believe that, because I’m an artist, my ability to think creatively, my ability to communicate, allows me to be a more effective advocate for my community when I speak on their behalf in the City Council.”

NEW YORK

• EXCERPT Winners & Losers, Feb. 25 edition (By City Hall) Pigeon has found new life working on Golisano's National Popular Vote campaign

VERMONT

• Procedural Victory in Vermont Ballot Access Lawsuit (Ballot Access News) Until 2010, the Vermont independent candidate petition deadline had been in September, but the 2010 session of the legislature made it drastically earlier than it had been.

Democracy in Egypt & America - the Beat Goes On

KRESKY LATEST ARTICLE

• Democracy and the Institutions of Democracy (Harry Kresky, Huffington Post) Significantly, the first institution the pundits call for in Egypt is political parties. But here in America the people are fed up with the role the parties are playing in our democracy.

ALSO IN THE NEWS:
There is a new mayor in Chicago, as Rahm Emanuel beat out six other candidates with 55 percent of the vote in a tactically perfect campaign.


Independents in Arizona are making politics difficult in The Grand Canyon State with a whopping 31.7 of total indies there; being responsible for a large chunk of the 7.5 percent dip for the GOP and 6.8 percent for the dems since 2001.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Editorial: Politics getting more difficult (The Daily Courier) One thing is for certain: with more and more people abandoning the Republican and Democratic parties for independent status, it makes the job of the well-known parties that much more difficult.
• Make U.S. Politics Safe for Moderates (William A. Galston, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; Elaine Kamarck, Public Policy Lecturer, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University - BROOKINGS) The primary electorate is a small, unrepresentative portion of the overall electorate. In the highly visible 2010 election season, for example, only 7.5 percent of all voting-age Americans took part in congressional primaries — actually higher than in past years. This primary electorate is dominated by the parties’ base voters — which is not true in general elections. That’s why so many Americans say they are unhappy with their choices in November.
  
• Chicago Votes in Emanuel as Mayor (BY: DAVID CHALIAN AND TERENCE BURLIJ, PBS NewsHour) Galston and Kamarck propose getting rid of the closed primary system, arguing it enables the extremes of both parties to determine the nominees. They instead call for open primaries, or as California now does, one primary for all the candidates, and have the top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, face off in the general election.

NATIONAL REFORM

• National Popular Vote Plan Pushers Hire New Lobbyists, Bring on Deep-Pocketed Help (By Michael Beckel, Center for Responsive Politics/Open Secrets blog) National Popular Vote's legislative proposal -- which requires a state's electors to cast their votes for the winner of the national popular vote instead of the winner of the state-wide vote -- has been adopted in states representing about a quarter of the Electoral College.

CONNECTICUT

• What It Takes To Be A Registrar - Politics Play Out In Registrar's Office (WFSB Channel 3 Hartford - CNN) "I receive a memo one time that said if a Democrat came into the office, I could not serve that Democratic voter, yet still the office is nonpartisan," she said.

MONTANA

• Supporting bison (By Ilona Popper, LETTER Helena MT Independent Record) Your “party lines” alienate Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters, like me.

NEW YORK

• Our view: Independent redistricting the way to go - AT ISSUE: Tell state lawmakers that ‘gerrymandered’ districts unacceptable (EDITORIAL Utica Observer-Dispatch) For obvious reasons, legislators have never really embraced the idea of independent redistricting, but this time the governor is holding better cards.
• Senate Dems Urge GOP ‘Keep Your Reform Promises’ (John Toscano, Queens Gazette) Gianaris, an ardent advocate of independent redistricting while he served in the Assembly, stated: “For too long, the people of New York have been shut out from unaccountable representation.” He said the enactment of his bill will send a strong message that we hear the calls of a public restless for change and are ready to rise to the occasion.

California Starts 2011 with Open Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• OpIndependent: The Declaration of Independents (By Michael Weymouth, Wicked Local Hingham) It could be argued that Independents should occupy a space halfway between liberals and conservatives, but the word independent allows one to go wherever one chooses within that space.
• 54 Percent of Voters Oppose FCC Net Neutrality Rules, Report Says (By: Chloe Albanesius, PC Magazine) Republicans and independent voters were overwhelmingly opposed to the FCC's net neutrality rules, Rasmussen said.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Don't limit political choice (LETTER Casper WY Tribune) SF13 is a bad piece of legislation and shouldn't see the light of day. if anything there should be a bill introduced for open primaries.
• Mandate two-year budgets, remove outdated red tape for businesses (By Abel Maldonado, Special to The Sac Bee) Since [Prop 14's] passage, party bosses have challenged the measure in several courts - each and every time I've intervened to defend this important reform. I'm proud that I've been successful and in 2012, every primary election will be open to all voters - regardless of party.
• Our View: Promise, challenges in new year (Merced Sun Star) Under the old system, Democrats and Republicans tended to nominate candidates from the extremes of their parties. Now candidates will have to appeal to all voters instead of merely the partisan voters from their parties.
• Schwarzenegger delivers final weekly address (by Lilian Kim , ABC Local KGO San Francisco) "With redistricting and open primaries, we passed the greatest political reforms since Hiram Johnson."

POLITICS 2011

• Blacks gravitate toward Braun for Chicago mayor (By Don Babwin-Associated Press, Washington Times)

EDUCATION REFORM

• Four Reasons Finland’s Schools are Better Than Ours (posted by: Ann Bibby, Care2.com) Finland does not promote the idea of educating its young as a competition. Schools work in tandem and cooperation is the rule rather than the freakish exception. Interestingly, Shanghai – whose students bested Finland in math and science this year – also shuns the competitive model of school reform.