Indiana’s current ballot access laws are reprehensible.

BALLOT ACCESS
Indiana’s unfair ballot access laws (By Sheldon Dance, Indiana Daily Student) Indiana’s current ballot access laws are reprehensible. I urge the state legislature to enact electoral reform to allow for fair ballot access for all candidates and all parties. Readers interested in learning more about ballot access laws should Google Electoral Reform Act of 2012 or learn more about ballot access issues at ballot-access.org.

Independents on the Rise

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Don't forget Independents (LETTER Chicago Tribune) As an independent I vote for the best candidate regardless of party. I believe most independents vote that way. If the Republican House continues to block any real way for meaningful reduction in the deficit I know I will vote Democratic in the next presidential and congressional elections.
• Independents Rising (Indiana Chamber Blog) Twenty percent (20%) of Indiana voters today identify themselves as “independent,” even after factoring out those who self-identify as leaning to one party or the other. This is a 150% increase in true independent voters in just the last six years.

Redistricting Will Work Best If Citizens Are Involved

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• It's Time to "Change" Congress  (Independent Voice) With an historic victory for the Open Primary in June 2010, it's time to move on to our next fight - Redistricting Reform. IndependentVoice.Org is one of the Steering Committee Members of Yes on 20, No on 27. Proposition 20 takes the Redistricting Reform we passed in 2008 and applies it to Congressional Districts.  Proposition 27 is a measure put on the ballot by politicians that would return all power over the redistricting process to them.  So say it with us . .  . YES ON 20, NO ON 27!!
• Promises made, promises changed (By CHRIS FITZSIMON, Winston Salem Journal) Republicans also seem to be running away from their previous support for an independent redistricting commission. They announced after the November election that there wasn't time to set up a commission to draw the districts this year, though they could have passed legislation to create one the first week of the session and it could already be hard at work drawing the lines.
• Meetings share info about redistricting -Residents urged to learn about redrawn voting boundaries. (By Sarah Janssen, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel) Despite Vaughn's and others' efforts, no changes have been made to the law that gives this power to representatives. Gerrymandering is less of a concern for congressional voting district boundaries because of more federal laws, but House and Senate voting district boundary restrictions are much more lax.
• Jeffries Warns of Redistricting “Shenanigans” Ahead (By ZACHARY KUSSIN, CUNY J-School) With the first 2010 population counts for New York released yesterday by the United States Census Bureau, there may be a battle ahead over redistricting, said local Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, a vocal advocate for changes to the way that the state draws its district lines.
• Take the politics out of New York redistricting (A guest essay by Assemblyman Joe Morelle, MPNnow.com) Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo honored one of the most important promises made during last year’s campaign when he proposed independent redrawing of state legislative districts. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this important reform legislation. Nonpartisan redistricting was at the heart of former New York Mayor Ed Koch’s 2010 reform movement New York Uprising, and there is a good reason. Without it there is little chance of changing Albany’s self-serving political culture. I fully support the redistricting initiative and hope the Legislature will respond to the will of the people on this issue.
• Involve public in redistricting (Albany Times Union) The League of Women Voters of New York State believes this can come about only if legislators support an independent commission for redrawing legislative and congressional districts in time for the 2012 election. To achieve that end, the League has joined ReShape NY, a broad coalition of different advocacy, business, union and civic groups calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to create an independent redistricting commission that will draw fair lines while involving the public in the process.
• Politicians ready for challenge as redistricting begins (Written by Jill Terreri, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) Koch's group, New York Uprising, will be in districts of senators and Assembly members who signed the pledge but have not followed through, calling attention to their broken promises.
• Vorderbrueggen: (By Lisa Vorderbrueggen, Contra Costa Times) it is ironic that the new Citizens Redistricting Commission, which California voters approved in 2008 and 2010 to remedy the heavy-handed partisan gerrymandering of the past, is taking partisan fire before it draws a single line.
• Census puts congressional districts in flux (Robert Harding, Auburn Pub.com) The New York Public Interest Research Group made the argument Thursday that data shows downstate will lose two seats because of population growth in the region, mainly in the Hudson Valley.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Dems buoyed by new voter sign-ups in Az, U.S. (Tucson Citizen) That 18 percent jump in total voter registration includes 108,000 new Democrats, 116,000 additional Republicans and 196,000 voters affiliated with no political party with ballot status.
• Students, Nuns, Denied RIGHT to Vote in Indiana Today Following Supreme Court Approval of State Photo ID Restrictions (The Brad Blog)
• Libertarian trio seek Boulder County seats (Longmont Times-Call)
• It's another big night for Obama (Detroit Free Press)
• So far, a split (Philadelphia Daily News/Associated Press)

SHARPTON BELL PROTEST TODAY

• CLOSING THE CITY (BET News)
• Day of protest over Bell case may mean potential nightmare for commuters (DAILY NEWS)
• Officials prepare for Bell verdict protests (Newsday)
• In wake of acquitals, anger simmers New York (Final Call)
• Detectives Union Heads To D.C. To Discuss Bell Verdict (WNBC)
• Bell Supporters Plan Civil Disobedience Acts Across The City (NY 1)

She's too much of a centrist

"I think [Hillary is] just more of the same. She's too much of a centrist," she said. "I just want to be with someone whose vision I can embrace. And both she and Bill have showed me who they really are, and it makes me not want to support them." (Detroit Free Press)

Conversations on independent voters in Indiana and North Carolina

What can't be ignored about Ohio & Pennsylvania is that while they are "swing states" and Hillary is crowing that Obama's "losses" there reflect badly for November (where, admittedly, it is winner take all) they were also closed primaries. There were stories of independent voters being turned away from the booths in PA (they didn't know they couldn't vote that day; not helping the stereotype of 'swing voters' as thick). A win in a closed primary means that the candidate has strong appeal to the identified members of the party. But that's it. That fact has comparatively little information about how well a candidate will do in the "open" voting of November. (Life in the Styx)

Independent voters (who have claimed no party affiliation) can vote in today's primary as well. Estimates are that 1.5 million people will be casting votes here in NC. (You Kick The Door - Exercising the right to vote)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Gas Tax Moves to Front of Democratic Battle (To The Center) Indiana's Democratic primary is open to Republican and independent voters. While 44 percent polled said they would vote Democrat regardless the winner at the Democratic National Convention, reports the Globe, 38 percent will vote for McCain in November.
• Clinton and Obama prepare for the primaries, so are the punters (Online Gambling Paper) Odds are...
• Obama faces big tests in North Carolina, Indiana (Reuters)

NORTH CAROLINA

• Three Republicans vie to challenge Shuler (Asheville Citizen Times) registered Democrats (195,661), outnumber registered Republicans (166,546). But another 121,582 voters are unaffiliated, according to the N.C. Board of Elections.
• Polls open in N.C.; some long lines reported (Charlotte Observer) Statewide, 25,296 registered N.C. voters switched to either Democrat or unaffiliated during the first three months of 2008. Just under 6,000 switched to Republican.
• Young voters getting engaged with politics (Charlotte Observer) trend shows that young adults are increasingly identifying themselves as "independent" or "unaffiliated."

INDIANA
Conflicting Polls As Obama Clinton Head Into Indiana North Carolina Primary (The Moderate Voice)

WEST VIRGINIA
Counties throughout W.Va. must clean up their voter registration rolls (The Herald-Dispatch) The counties with the highest percentages of independents are Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Mineral and Monongalia.

Indiana Primary Rules

For the first time in its history, independents will be allowed to vote in the primary. But you have to ASK for the ballot of the party you want to vote in.

And the primary is open, meaning that independents are allowed to vote in the Democratic primary. Independents have tended to support Obama in previous primaries. (CNN)

Brian Howey: Our polling is showing that the Indiana primary may be decided by Republican and independent voters. Up to 20 percent may be non-Democrats. (Washington Post)

The primary is open to Republicans and independents, which could help explain why only 44 percent of likely voters said they would vote Democratic if their favored candidate doesn't secure the nomination; 38 percent said they would support the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, in November. (Boston Globe)

Indeed, a poll Howey's newsletter released last week showed that Democrats who planned to vote were split 46%-46% between Clinton and Obama, with Clinton having a slight edge (50% to 44%) among Republicans who said they planned to vote in the contest and Obama holding a wider edge (54% to 38%) among independents. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

NORTH CAROLINA

• Unaffiliated N.C. voters torn, could leave mark (Charlotte Observer)
• Race for your vote-Analysts expect biggest primary turnout ever (Charlotte Observer)
• Clinton stumps for wife in N.C. (Winston Salem Journal) Independent voters in North Carolina are overwhelmingly white -- seven times more whites than blacks -- according to state statistics.
• Insider Poll: Obama, Clinton Tied Within Margin Of Error In NC (Insider Advantage) Independents side with Obama 47 over Hillar 41% Crosstabs
• North Carolina Already At 8% Turnout (By Justin Gardner, Donklephant)

INDIANA
Bayh hitches star to Clinton (Chicago Tribune) Bayh also said that "Hoosiers are much too independent" for endorsements like his to significantly sway voters, and that Indiana's open primary, allowing independents and Republicans to cast Democratic ballots, also makes it hard for Clinton to win big.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Women likely lead in statewide polls (The Ft Wayne Journal Gazette)
• Granite Status update: NH Democrats say they're unified (Union Leader) Craig Turk is a writer for the popular television show "Boston Legal." He's also an attorney who was general counsel for McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. An upcoming politically-oriented episode written by Turk includes a fictional Democratic attorney. His name: Steve Duprey. [From Boston Legal Forum: Shirley Schmidt's nephew - a pledged delegate - informs her that he's going to vote for another presidential candidate than the one his state voted for, she enlists the aid of Alan Shore to take him and the Democratic National Party to court. The episode aired Wed. April 30]
• Voters skip state, local races By Mark Binker (Greensboro News Record) Unaffiliated voters in North Carolina can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries. As of late last week, four out of five unaffiliated voters chose Dem ballots
• Election '08: For Democrats, the waiting is over (Fayetteville Observer) Survey USA says it’s 49 percent for Obama, 44 percent for Clinton. That poll shows Clinton’s numbers rising in the Research Triangle, and the two candidates even among the state’s unaffiliated voters. “We will declare victory if we lose by 15 points or less,” Ace Smith, manager of Clinton’s North Carolina campaign
• Obama Team Remains Unshaken (Politico/WFMJ) one of the most striking elements of his campaign this week was what's missing: any hint of internal upheaval.

SEAN BELL VERDICT PROTEST * Sharpton plans mass arrests to protest Sean Bell verdict (The Daily Voice)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Open or Closed Primaries: What is the Answer? Many across the country faced the same situation those in Oregon faced on April 30th, a day known in Oregon as “Lockout Day.” For primaries should there be any such day? (by Gary Wood, Nolan Chart)
• Sec. of state candidates differ little (Mail Tribune - OR) Support for open primaries

NORTH CAROLINA

• Suddenly, North Carolina Is Facing Tighter Race (New York Times) Clinton campaign predicted Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama would split those votes evenly. “We were getting destroyed with independents in all those early primaries,” Mr. Smith said Friday.
• Downtown packed for Clinton visit (BlueRidgeNow Times-News Online) Hendersonville turns out 2000 for Clinton, Repubs switch to unaffilated to vote
• Notable Numbers-Statistics from the past week that deserve a doubletake. (News Observer) 42.2% of party switchers have become unaffiliated

INDIANA

• Changing fortunes in Indiana: Clinton leads Obama (Noblesville News & Sports - IN)
• Clinton edging Obama in Indiana: Poll (Chicago Tribune/The Swamp)
• Obama, Clinton Seek Early Votes (Wheeling News Register/The Intelligencer)
• Poll: Clinton, Long Thompson in lead (The Journal Gazette) Clinton has expanded her lead among strong Democratic identifiers and dramatically turned the tables on Obama with independent voters and those concerned about the worsening economy

WEST VIRGINIA
Independents could shape primary (The Herald-Dispatch) According to voter registration numbers for Huntington's 36 precincts, there are 27,565 registered voters in the city. Of those, 4,175, or 15.1 percent, are nonpartisan or affiliated with a party other than the Democratic, Republican or Mountain parties.

CAMPAIGN

• Confronting Hillary (By Bill O'Reilly, Town Hall)
• Huckabee: '08 Evangelical Voters Unlike Others (Christian Post Reporter) Thus far in the 2008 race, McCain has not been able to coalesce evangelicals who are leaving the party to be independent voters.
• Former Democratic Party Leader Paul Kirk Backs Obama (Bloomberg.com) Obama ``has and will continue to expand the electorate beyond the traditional Democratic Party base and bring young and new and independent voters to the Democratic banner in November,''
• Polls Show Obama Struggling to ‘Close the Deal’ (by FOXNews.com) former DNC Chairman Paul Kirk Jr., who said in a statement: “Senator Obama is the one candidate who has and will continue to expand the electorate beyond the traditional Democratic party base and bring young and new and independent voters
• Superdelegate News, or Not (New York Times/the Caucus) Kirk on Obama's ability to bring independents into the Dem Party
• A Third Former DNC Chief Lines Up Behind Obama (Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire)
• Rasmussen: 58 Per cent Think Obama Denounced Wright For Political Convenience (Digital Journal) Just 36% of Democrats believe outrage was the motivation for Obama to denounce his former Pastor. That view is shared by 38% of unaffiliated voters and 16% of Republicans.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

NORTH CAROLINA

• Under the Dome column: Voters make swap for primary (The News & Observer, Raleigh) Of them, 42 percent switched to the Democratic Party and 42.2 percent switched to unaffiliated. Just 15 percent became Republicans.
• N.C. poll: Obama leads, Clinton gains (Charlotte Observer) By party registration, Obama led 48 percent to 43 percent among Democrats and 55-38 among independent or unaffiliated voters.
• Campaigns in full swing as voters head to the polls (Carrboro Citizen) Reams said the estimated party breakdown for those who have voted so far shows 7,160 Democrats, 619 Republicans and 2,098 unaffiliated voters.
• Poll: Obama leads Clinton in N.C. (Greensboro News Record)

INDIANA * Democrats Scramble for Indiana-In Open Primary,Republican Voters Could Decide Victor (Wall Street Journal)

WEST VIRGINIA

• White House race helps Democrats lead in early voting (Charleston Gazette) Unaffiliated voters reflect the fastest growing segment of the state's registered voters. Their ranks have swelled by 22,644 since the 2006 general election, and they now account for 13.2 percent of the state's total.
• Independents required to ask for party ballots (Charleston Gazette) "The polling place is a sacred place," Bailey said. "State law removes from poll workers any opportunity to influence voters."

POLLS

• McCain inches up in Harris poll (UPI) Obama has a significant edge with independent voters. While 37 percent would vote for him and 30 percent for McCain, in a Clinton-McCain match-up only 30 percent would vote for her and 36 percent for the Republican.
• Wright Uproar Boosts Clinton Confidence (The Politico) Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed her beating Republican John McCain 50 percent to 41 percent while Obama was running 46 percent to 44 percent in the same matchup. A Fox News poll Wednesday showed her outperforming Obama among independent voters.
• Anti-McCain ad seems to work (Baltimore Sun/The Swamp) HCD Reseach Inc., a market research company, found that independent voters went from 50 pecent who saw McCain in a "mostly favorable" light before they saw the ad, to 40 percent after they viewed the ad.
• Hillary Clinton's camp touts new poll findings (Los Angeles Times/Top of the Ticket)

FEATURE * Clinton and McCain Are Born Again as Populist Candidates (Gloria Borger, US News & World Report)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• FOX News Poll: Wright Ties Hurt Obama Campaign - And, despite that the bulk of independent voters (49 percent) says the issue would make no difference to their vote
• Health coverage is another reason to wed, poll finds (Nashua Telegraph/Los Angeles Times) "The general election is going to be a contest for independent voters," Altman said.
• Clinton Exuding Confidence (Washington Post/The Trail) Clinton operatives in both Indiana and North Carolina are targeting independent voters in both states, believing a demographic that heavily favored Obama in early primaries is now shifting to the New York Senator.
• Primary Confusion (By Tobin Harshaw, Opinionator/New York Times) Independents and open primaries

NORTH CAROLINA

• Vote way that serves interests (BlueRidgeNow) Independents should vote exactly how they want to
• North Carolina voters excited about primary (Pisgah Mountain News/Citizen Times) Of those new voters, 1,010 registered as unaffiliated in Henderson County. More than 800 have registered as Democrats and nearly 760 as Republicans.
• Primaries have finally arrived (The Cherokee Scout) “It’s just real important that people know that unaffiliated voters must pick a party,” Jones said. “Many unaffiliated voters do not understand that.”
• Record registration reported leading up to primary (Smoky Mountain News) ready for a paradigm shift

INDIANA * Wild cards could determine deadlocked Indiana (CNN) Open primary makes a difference

WEST VIRGINIA

• Independents required to ask for party ballots - Voters registered as independents or nonpartisan can choose whether to cast ballots in the Democratic, Republican or Mountain Party primaries. (Charleston Gazette)
• Unaffiliated Voters Cast Votes In Election (WVVA) About 5.8 percent of all early ballots cast have been from unaffiliated or independent voters.

REFORM * Fort Worth gets seat on panel (Star-Star Telegram) Many candidates for state office are finding favor with voters by speaking out against toll roads, especially the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposed statewide tollway network, said Linda Curtis of Bastrop, founder of Independent Texans, a group of independent voters that opposes toll roads.

BLACK PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP * Can “the Black experience” in America produce an acceptable presidential candidate? (John Milton Wesley's Weblog)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• It's the independents, stupid (Strange Bedfellows/Seattle Post Intelligencer)


• Young voters may shun old system (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online) What's the future of the two-party system?

CAMPAIGN

• For McCain, There's Only One Perfect Candidate for Veep (By Stuart Rothenberg, RealClearPolitics) [NOTE: Is this a liberal version of Bill O'Reilly calling for Repubs to vote for Obama so that Hillary wins??? Joe Lieberman has turned off more independents than you can shake a stick at!]


• Tuesday is deadline for voter registration, party switching (By kgw.com and AP)


• A swell of enthusiasm in North Carolina (Cary News) On the ground in North Carolina

POLLS

• Indiana Poll Data Analysis (Associated Content) Very very close


• Gallup Daily Tracking: Clinton Pulls Slightly Ahead Of Obama (The Moderate Voice) Rasmussen shows that both Republicans and unaffiliated voters are less likely to believe that Obama is a stronger general election candidate than Clinton.


• Rasmussen Reports


• Rasmussen: Obama Leads By 8 Nationally (Donklephant)


• Clinton, Obama gap closes; Perdue pulls away (ABC 11 Raleigh Durham) Unaffiliated voters shift slightly to Hillary in North Carolina

REFORM

• OHIO: Court ruling on voter ID not much of an issue in Ohio (The Vindicator) Supreme Court rules on Idaho voter ID


• OREGON: Independent Voters Now Officially Locked Out of May 20 Races; Open Primary Campaign Passes Half-way Mark (Earth Times Press Release)

NEW YORK
The Sean Bell Verdict and the American Dilemma (Lenora Fulani, The Daily Voice)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Harkin: Unaligned voters will be key to victory (Des Moines Register)
• West Virginia: 'A Big Turnout' (MetroNews Talkline)

CAMPAIGN

• Heading Into The Home Stretch-“It ain’t over till it’s over!” (Bufflao News)
• Obama's Chances in One Blue-Collar Town Mixed Reception From Struggling Voters (By Michael Sokolove - From The New York Times Magazine)
• McCain: 'The luckiest man alive' (Baltimore Sun)
• OPINION: Now and then, Obama should step across the aisle (Grand Forks Herald)
• Of Oregon, tax freedom and mascots (By JOHN LAIRD, The Columbian)

NORTH CAROLINA

• Where your vote will get the most bang (BlueRidgeNow.com) Repubs ask independents to vote in Repub primary to influence local elections
• Democrats ask who can best win election-Clinton, Obama scrap for N.C. votes (Winston Salem Journal)
• Political Connections: Young voters (News 14 Carolina)

Indiana's blue collar voters: Time for change

“I just feel like the way Obama presents himself to the public, I feel he is going to be for everybody,” said Swain, who was laid off from General Electric in 2006. “I feel like he’s going to try and get with the working class as well as the people who don’t work, … and me being a person that’s unemployed I just feel like it’s time for a change.” (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: True Enough (Slate-the book club) There's voluminous poli-sci research on the recent rise of independent voters, and the picture isn't as clear-cut as you say.

BARACK OBAMA: (National Review Online/The Campaign Spot) Will Wright Cost Obama The Independent Vote?

OPEN PRIMARIES:

• No to open primaries (LETTER to Belleville News Democrat)
• Welcome Back, Open Primaries (Kitsap Sun)
• Registration Shifts and Washington State Blanket Primary Decision Spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E for State GOP, Hope for the Future (California Majority Report)
• State's Democratic tilt-Turnout in state primary indicates new reality (By Timm Herdt-Ventura County Star) Some of California's new Dems are actually independents...
• State's 'Top Two' primary upheld by U.S. justices (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
• Democratic Party Says Revote in Michigan Meets Rules (Bloomberg)
• Cities preparing for Hillary Clinton visit (WTHR) Indiana holds open primaries
• Supreme Court restores state's primary tradition (The Daily News - WA)

PENNSYLVANIA: Democratic Registration Brisk in PA (AP)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

UPCOMING DEM PRIMARIES here

PENNSYLVANIA: Independents have until March 24 to re-register to vote in the Dem primary -- 92,000 indies in Philadelphia alone... (Philadelphia Daily News) and here (Elmira Star-Gazette) and here (Allentown Morning Call)

TEXAS: Obama may win the delegate count from the caucuses (Houston Chronicle) * Obama camp claims TX delegate victory (MSNBC)

MARYLAND: Obama beats McCain in Maryland by 14 points, twice Clinton's predicted margin, courtesy of independents and Republicans.... (Southern Maryland Headline News)

INDIANA: Open primary on May 6 -- independents vote here (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)

NEW COALITION: Obama poised to forge new coalition of Blacks and Hispanics (Chicago Defender)

FLORIDA INDEPENDENCE PARTY: Peter Allen started in 1988 with Write to Secede - a local fight over septic tanks.... (Observer News Tampa Bay)

CALIFORNIA: Sinister initiative plan by right-wing activists in California to win votes for McCain (Sacramento News Review)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

HANKSTER LEDE: Power failure: Voter discontent could make this year’s election like no other in recent years (Beaver County Times)

POTOMAC PRIMARY

• VA: Huge numbers turn out to vote for Obama (Daily Press) More voters chose Obama than all the Repub candidates combined; Obama rang up huge margins and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said that means independent voters are opting for the Illinois senator
• Va. steps into role on national stage (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH) Obama won every district except one; VA primary was a test of standing with independents for both McCain and Obama
• Obama Crushes Clinton In Potomac Primary (CBS/AP) with exit polls
• Assessing the GOP's Chances (Wall Street Journal) It was the defection of independents, not conservatives, that caused the Democratic landslide in the congressional elections in 2006.
• Exit polls for Potomac primaries show support for Obama ran wide (CNN)
• Exit poll: Why Obama and McCain won Va. (By: David Paul Kuhn, Politico)

OKLAHOMA: Subpar Tuesday: Primary lost in the shuffle (NewsOK) State should consider open primary for presidential elections

INDIANA: Presidential campaign leaders preparing for Ind. primary (WISH TV) Obama petition filing becomes rally

WISCONSIN: New poll has Obama, McCain leading in Wisconsin (Wausau Daily Herald) among independents, his margin is much larger, 63-25. Wisconsin holds an open primary, meaning party registration is not required to vote.

Conversations on Independence

Worth a read:

Very smart post on We Could Be Famous (we wonder if the rest of the sentence is "but we're not!"--btw-a GOOD thing...): Clinton's rivals are passing up on the chance to exploit her most glaring weakness with Democratic and Independent voters, instead waiting for her perceived "unlikability" to catch up to her..... So the question remains, will rival Democrats challenge Senator Clinton directly on this issue? If they don't, and Clinton wins the nomination, you can certainly bet the Republicans will.
Read it!!! The Hankster recommends it!

Should Obama and Hillary debate in New York at the Apollo? You decide...

Independents - Making Our Voices Heard: NH-CIV will be hosting an event this fall. It will be held on Sunday, October 14th at Alpine Groves in Hollis. Please mark your calendars!

And then there's the Dems' LEFT is RIGHT (blogging against The Bush-war) on looking for independent votes without talking to independent voters... Well, that's ok... Let's encourage them with some independent verve.....

From Iowa Insider by Charlotte Eby: Former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer announced Monday he is backing Barack Obama in the Iowa caucuses. Fischer said he is endorsing Obama partially because of the “electability” factor and his crossover appeal. He also believes Obama has the best chance against any of the Republicans... He said to win in Iowa and other swing states, a candidate has to bring out independent voters, as well as some Republicans, and he’s convinced Obama can do that.

And what do you think about the reachability of YouTube? From taking down words
Indiana politics...à la carte (great subtitle!!!): More generally, YouTube is great if you can break through from the Internets to the real world, where independent voters might see what you're doing. But those instances are rare....

From Independents Unbound (Thoughts, observations, opinions and rants from small "i" independents, who, usually, decide the more important elections in America. Now, we are taking names and kicking ass; all year, every year!): Independent Voters Tilt Democrat Can't say we didn't tell you so... The only party that is really gaining adherents is the (i)ndependent (un)party. The latest generation to gain voting rights are registering independent in huge numbers and the vast majority of them are anti-establishment to varying degrees. They see both major political parties as establishment parties.Neither major party can count on their loyalty. They are thinking people, anti-ideology and -dogma..... So true, so true!!

Discuss!!!
The Hankster