TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Apparently this percentage is up since January, including among independents. But the poll was taken before Obama's latest push for health care reform...

• 53% Say Obama ‘Partisan Democrat’ (Michael van der Galien, Poli-Gazette)
• Partisan Politics-53% Say Obama is ‘Partisan Democrat’ (Rasmussen Reports)
• In drive for health reform, Obama must win over independents (By Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor)

LOCAL INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Step right up, see how the gov candidates scramble for the independent vote!

• Dodd Remains Weak Among Independents- Poll Indicates He Has Base Back; Gaining Among Unaffiliated Voters Is Tougher Task (By DANIELA ALTIMARI, The Hartford Courant)
• Poll: Independents give Simmons edge over Dodd in Conn. (USA Today)
• Daggett: Only an independent can fix the mess in Trenton (New Jersey News Room)
• N.Y. GOP nominates new kind of Republican (By Aaron Blake, The Hill)
• Independents gaining a significant voice in Arizona's political arena (Mesa Independent Examiner, Christina Wijfjes-Smit)
• Poll: Sen. Specter's lead has vanished (UPI) "Independent voters have shifted narrowly to Toomey 46 - 42 percent and say 53 - 35 percent that Specter does not deserve reelection."

THIRD PARTIES
Personally I think the American public has pretty much "moved on" to nonpartisan politics for the moment, but I still think Mark West makes some mighty good points here about the value of third parties.

• Response to John Hawkins' "3 reasons why a successful third party wouldn't solve anything" (By Mark West, Renew America blog)

LAST WORD
This is a short article by the guy who blogs about American politics for The Economist, no doubt named after the Lexington of the American Revolution where the first "shot heard round the world" rang out... After reading the piece I'd say we made the right decision. Both times!
The Obama cult (Lexington blog, from The Economist print edition)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Senate votes down open primaries (Associated Press, Chicago Tribune)
  
• Primary election changes defeated (By Dan Carden | Daily Herald)
  
• Illinois’ primary voters must continue to declare their party (By Kevin McDermott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Springfield Bureau)
  
• Senate rejects open primaries (Galesburg.com)
  
• Under the tarnish, still golden (From The Economist print edition) California open primaries
  

STATE INDEPENDENT POLITICS

Q Poll: Dodd Would Lose To Simmons (By DANIELA ALTIMARI | The Hartford Courant) In a Dodd-Simmons matchup, Democrats back Dodd by only 58 percent to 27 percent while Simmons leads 87 percent to 6 percent among Republicans and 56 percent to 25 percent among independent voters.

NYC 2009

• Grocery Workers to Back Bloomberg, Slighting Democratic Rival (By MICHAEL BARBARO, NY Times)
  
• Pols, Press Party with Sharpton and His Corrupt Network (By Wayne Barrett, Village Voice/Runnin Scared [Wayne Barrett's blog])
  
• Staten Island GOP Poised To Back '$150 Million Gorilla' (Elizabeth Benjamin, Daily News/Daily Politics) GOP dinner Thurs. nite at Grand Hyatt
  
• Bloomberg A 'Sharpton Fan' (Elizabeth Benjamin, Daily News/Daily Politics)
  
• New York, NY - Mayor Bloomberg A ‘Sharpton Fan' (Jewkey! NOTE: Jewkey! is a highly popular, rapidly-growing orthodox site that meets the demanding media needs of the Orthodox Jewish communities across the world.] Mentions Fulani
  
• Tonight: Rivera Endorses Thompson, Bloomberg Dines With NY Republicans and Romney (By AZI PAYBARAH, NY Politicker)
  
• Bloomberg to Dine With Manhattan G.O.P. (By AZI PAYBARAH, NY Politicker)
  
• The Death of the New York City Democrat (By JASON HOROWITZ, NY Politicker)
  

NY-20

• The NY-20 Absentee Ballots: A Potential Tie? (By Eric Kleefeld, TPMDC) If we hazard a few guesses -- that Murphy got nearly all the Democrats, Tedisco got a large but slightly smaller share of Republicans, and Murphy took the unaffiliated voters by the kind of strong margins that Democrats have been pulling off recently here -- we can come to a rough estimate.
  
• In N.Y. 20, Final Tally Waits But The Spin is In (By Emily Cadei, CQ Politics) But Republican voters do not necessarily translate into Tedisco voters. Republicans enjoy a 70,000 voter-registration advantage in the district, yet the race as it stands now is a virtual tie. And independent voters, which have swung Democrat in recent years, make up a quarter of registered voters and no doubt a significant portion of absentee voters, as well.
  

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Edwards, Clinton discuss limiting debates (Boston Globe)
• Kucinich Lashes Out at Limiting Debates (By BETH FOUHY - Forbes)
• Dodd Rips Clinton, Edwards for Remarks (By BROCK VERGAKIS - Forbes)
• One Democratic candidate’s courageous stand-Gravel (Oregon Statesman Journal)
• A GOP comeback strategy Way behind in the polls, the party should exploit the anti-politician mood and offer a hopeful message. (Frank Luntz - LA Times)
• Looking to independents and away from the GOP, McCain presses on (Boston Globe)
• Illiniois Independents still face hurdles getting on ballot (Springfield State Journal Register) * Alabama: If you're a Democrat or Republican, you're assured a place on the ballot. If you're anything else - Libertarian, Socialist, Fried Green Tomato or even independent - good luck. (Alabama Live) * OH: Independent Candidates Won't Be On November Ballot (WTOV 9 - Steubenville, OH)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• CALIFORNIA REFORM Poll: Term Limits (Capital Notes-KQED)
• WASHINGTON STATE REFORM Ranked Voting: Working out the wrinkles in a new way of voting (Tacoma News Tribune)
• Time For A Third Party Candidate? How About Ron Paul Squared? (Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés - The Moderate Voice)
• Taking Ron Paul Seriously (Bruce Bartlett - RealClearPolitics)
• Tennessee Two-Step: Thompson, Gore And The Grass Is Always Greener Syndrome (CBS News, Dick Meyer)
• Dodd a long shot worth listening to; Connecticut senator keeps common touch (Concord Monitor)