Independents, the establishment and the insurgency

Make no mistake about it ~ the Michigan primary was a deadly setback for the Clintons in their determined effort to return to the White House (Allen L Roland's Radio Weblog - a Salon blog)

California: Independent voters are likely to outnumber those who belong to either of the two major political parties by 2025, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California. (Inside Politics Contra Costa Times)

The uncommitted and the uninvited

MICHIGAN:

But I’m a little surprised anyway. I didn’t expect much of anyone to turn out for this contest, and it appears that the anti-Clinton sentiment was strong enough to propel “uncommitted” to a strong second place showing, with 40%. Maybe this was a meaningless blip on the political radar, maybe not. Time will tell. (The Carpetbagger Report)

According to CNN exit polling, 68 percent of blacks chose uncommitted, compared with 30 percent for the Democratic front-runner. Forty-eight percent of all voters ages 18-29 voted uncommitted, compared with 43 percent for Clinton. The former first lady took more votes than uncommitted in all other age groups; the older the voters, the wider the margin was. (CNN)

ALTERNATES:

Add "Draft Lou Dobbs" to the efforts by independents to bring another candidate into the presidential race. (USA Today)

NBC's decision to exclude Dennis Kucinich from the debate last night was upheld by court, but Democracy Now! did an interview...

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Up to 80% new registrants are Independent voters (Arizona Star)
• Mike Malott: In praise of independent voters (Press & Argus/Livingston Daily MI)
• Low turnout in Michigan for independents (CNN Political Ticker)
• Independent votes in Michigan Repub primary spread with McCain leading (Detroit Free Press)
• Uncommitted wins African American and independent vote in Michigan (Detroit Free Press) and (The Nation)
• McCain hopes Lieberman will draw independents (Reuters)
• S.C. will test Obama's crossover appeal (Politico) Look at whether Obama breaks 50 percent of the black vote and 25 percent of the white vote, and whether African-Americans exceed 50 percent of the overall electorate. If he meets all of these measures, Clinton should watch out.
• Unity08 Founders Now Pushing For Bloomberg Bid (CBS News Horserace )
• USSC to hear rich Democrat's McCain-Feingold challenge (Legal Newsline)
• Beyond the Values of the Dolls-And deep into their backstories and political views. Inanimate? Like hell they are. (by Lynn Yaeger, Village Voice)
• The 'Oops' Factor (by Mumia Abu-Jamal, Indybay) On African American women presidential candidates
• Hillary v Obama Some Observations (African American Political Pundit)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Primary may depend on independent voters (By: EDWARD SIFUENTES, North County Times) "Clearly, as we've seen in Iowa and New Hampshire, independents are having a profound impact in the primary process," said Jim Mangia, co-chairman of IndependentPrimary.com, an organization that supports open primaries.
• Hillary's Win in New Hampshire (We The Purple, Marcia Ford)
• Now Replaying: Michigan Independents For McCain? (Washington Post)
• Independent and determined New coalition lambastes 'criminal' lawmakers (Times Argus)
• Democrats likely to win presidency, for what it's worth (Ryan Cooper, Springfield MO News Leader) Results in Iowa show that moderate and independent voters are leaving the GOP and voting for Obama.
• Clinton Drifts Away From Center (Forbes)
• Obama Picking Up Support in Harlem (By KAREN MATTHEWS (AP Google)
• Hillary losing support of blacks (Washington Times)

Michigan independents + Uncommitted Dems + Ron Paul + Dennis Kucinich + Mike Gravel = A challenge to the status quo?

In Michigan, the independent voter, long thought to be McCain’s base, could end up making the difference.... (The Hill) Michigan does not have partisan registration. And according to the Detroit Free Press, McCain knows that winning here is contingent on independents showing up at Tuesday's primary. "The variables of what the independent voters do and the Democratic voters do make it very difficult to predict," he said.

Dems are not expected to have much of a turn out since the DNC asked Dem candidates not to put their names on the ballot and is saying the delegates won't be seated at the (national) convention as a punishment to the state Dems who changed the primary to January 15 (tomorrow) -- before Super Tuesday on Feb. 5. Hillary, Mike Gravel and Dennis J. Kucinich are still on the ballot, but Edwards and Obama took their names off. Some Dems are suggesting their supporters vote "uncommitted"..... Here, you can read about it on Blogtalk: An Uncommitted Vote? by Ariel Alexovich on the New York Times blog The Caucus.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

The hunt for independents in freshly blue New Hampshire (Providence Journal) --be sure to watch the video from hankstertube at the top of The Hankster to hear from Betty Ward of the influential New Hampshire Committee for an Independent Voice.....

• They hear freedom ring when he speaks-RON PAUL: An eclectic group of supporters rallies around the presidential candidate. (Alaska Daily News)
• Clinton gets lots of help from her friends-Emily's List, AFSCME, AFT foot the bill (Los Angeles Times)
• The Ron Paul Movement Makes Polls Irrelevant (by True American blog)
• Democrats need to jettison Lieberman as a troublesome traitor (The Enquirer-Cincinnati)
• Political match dot com.... (Seattle Times)
• Primary incompetence-Michigan primary SNAFU (Toledo Blade)
• McCain closing gap with Romney-In N.H. poll, Obama inches ahead of Clinton (Boston Globe)
• Nashua Telegraph endorses Barack Obama
• Sen. Barack Obama is a formidable alternative to Sen. Hillary Clinton, the prospect of whose presidency he describes, though using kinder terms, as "been there, done that." (Concord Monitor)
• Obama reaches deep into S.C.-His political machine could break through the state's longtime barrier to black candidates. (St. Petersburg Times)
• New Orleans North shore voters likely to decide congressional race-politics of the white affluent district of N.O., 24% independent (Times Picayune-NOLA online)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Michigan non-affiliated voters can choose their ballots (D or R that is), parties will decide if they can vote in primary (Roseville Press Tribune)
• N.H. Libertarian Party Wins Lawsuit Over Voter List (Ballot Access News)
• In Florida, Dems may risk losing some of their support from independent voters because of the primary controversy. (Miami Herald Tribune)
• Arizona's new breed of independent voters is strongly against the war in Iraq and is breaking for Democrats (arizona daily star)
• Democrats See Health Care as Top Issues; Republicans Say National Security-Independent voters said the government corruption were their big priorities. (Associated Content) * Independent Iowa Letters in Play for Ron Paul (FreeMarketNews)
• Michigan Primary set; key Dems off ballot-Clinton is the only top-tier candidate on the Democratic ballot. The other Democrats on the ballot are Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel. All Repubs will be on the ballot (The Detroit News)
• Black voters focus on Clinton, Obama (Chicago Tribune)
• On Oprah and our votes (Clarence Page - Chicago Tribune)
• Iowa win vital for Obama, poll says, It could be proof for black voters (Detroit Free Press)
• Clinton tops Obama among African-Americans (Politico)
• Black voters tilt toward Clinton: study (Boston Globe)
• Oprah and Babs are OK; Gore is the rock star (Chicago Sun Times)
• Obama’s Night at the Apollo (New York Press)

pq

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Michigan voters prefer open primaries with no party declaration, but the parties want names and addresses (Battle Creek Enquirer)


• Without term limits in California, there'd be no competition at all -- but not without nonpartisan redistricting.... (Daniel Weintraub in Sacramento Bee)


• Who's standing for Perot Voters? Not Lou Dobbs.... (Ben Smith, Politico, in CBS News)


• New Hampshire Adwatch: McCain--too little too late--Courts Independents (AP Google)


• Virginia voters will have to sign loyalty oath to vote in Repub presidential primary (WVEC Hampton Roads)


• Oklahoma pols seem worried: For I&R issue, collect 160,000 signatures in 90 days, and make sure your petitioners reside in the state -- and there's no residency requirement for orgs that oppose the issue (National Review)


• Bloomberg appeals, but won't run the race (Huffington Post)


• Barack Obama: Live at the Apollo!! (Amsterdam News), Obama speaks with the Amsterdam News and November 29th Community Board meeting conflicts with Obama Apollo appearance (UPTOWNflavor)

pq

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• New N.H. residents tend to be Dems or independents (Boston Globe)

• Don't mistake Lieberman for a Democrat (LETTER to Roanoke Times)



• THE END GAME: Clinton Hits Rough Patch As Iowa Showdown Nears; Rivals Strike From Left As She Courts Center (Wall Street Journal)



• Michelle Obama says Barack is best hope for blacks (Lexington Herald News)



• Ron Paul could remake the Repub Party for the future by running as a third-party candidate (Southern Political Report)



• Bloomberg Crams On Foreign Policy: Proof That He's Planning '08 Bid? (Huffington Post)



• Michigan primary voters must declare party (Grand Rapids Press)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• NY1 Poll Shows Clinton "Has No Challenge At This Point" For The Empire State. Rock Hackshaw writes in Room 8: "This time around Fulani’s beef seems to be flavored with a little race-consciousness. She believes that Hilary Clinton is currently being rammed down the throats of blacks and people of color in New York again (my words here), just as it was done in 2000 when they imported her to be the senator."
• Obama thrills crowd - 'LET'S GO CHANGE THE WORLD'- Speech at historic S. Carolina courthouse recalls 2004 Democratic Convention address (Chicago Sun Times)
• South Carolina primary tests parties' core backers-Black Democrats enthusiastic; white evangelicals tepid over the GOP field (Houston Chronicle)
• Ralph Nader sues Democratic Party (KLAS-TV Las Vegas)
• Bloomberg The Revolutionary: He has the money and the message to upend 2008. Michael Bloomberg's American odyssey. (By Jon Meacham NEWSWEEK)
• All Eyes Look to Michigan: A Report From the Presidential Hustings-open primary (Human Events)
• Clackamas County is big enough to expand size of commission- vote yes on 3-272 for expanded commission and nonpartisan election (The Lake Oswego Review)
• Judge won't close election-law loophole on write-ins that close party primaries (St. Petersburg Times)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• DEVELOPING DEMOCRACY (The Transpartisan Times )
• Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich meet New Hampshire independents (Primarily Yours)
• Mich. primary could cost Democrats-Fight with DNC over date could aid Republicans by drawing independents (Boston Globe)
• Does Obama's Message Match the Moment? Reconciliation May Be Hard Sell to Angry Party (Washington Post)
• Oklahoma Ballot Access Initiative Starts Over (Ballot Access News)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Clinton, Giuliani Behave Like It's Already Fall '08--can you take a year of this? (RealClearPolitics)
• New Hampshire/Michigan: It's not a 2007 primary yet (Concord Monitor)
• New Hampshire candidate forum on global warming sparsely attended (Concord Monitor)
• Michelle Obama in Iowa (The Trail, Washington Post)
• Alabama: Redistricting fight is likely coming up (Thomasville Times)
• Ohio: Attorney files suit in ballot exclusion-Longtime Republican says she is independent (Akron Beacon Journal)
• New Jersey: Libertarian candidates qualify for public funding-Campaign manager for D-14 Assembly hopefuls says they're 'in it to win' (East Brunswick Sentinel)
• Minnesota: World has changed -- so why not change how we pick a president? (Rochester Post Bulletin)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Tuesday Repub debate: Independents turned off by reduced Dem field (Detroit Free Press) and here's an accounting of the debate (411mania.com)
• More independent voters in Minnesota than partisans (Mankato The Free Press) and Editorial: Poll results should wake up major parties-Fewer Minnesotans identify with Democrats, Republicans. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Don't give your voter mojo away! REFUSE TO REGISTER WITH A PARTY (OpEdNews)
• Old Media Impact on Indies Has Diminished (Wide Open: Cleveland blog)
• Obama, Edwards Withdraw From Michigan Primary (All Headline News)
• Peter Hutchinson to take over top job at Bush Foundation [no relation] (Minneapolis Star Tribune) and here (Pioneer Press)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Paul Jacob, of Virginia, a national leader of the term limit movement-Indictment hits petition effort (Sapulpa Daily Herald) and Out-of-state petition circulators may be out of luck this time (The Edmond Sun)
• New Hampshire-Independents Meet with Kucinich. (Democratic Underground )
• Democrats will lose again if war in Iraq continues (LETTER to The Daily Advertiser)
• New consultancy for independent candidates-D’Amore, Hillsman, Oliver & Barkley (Politico)
• Repub hopefuls grab chance Dems refused in Michigan (Detroit Free Press)
• Republicans Want More Minority Involvement (The Tampa Tribune)
• Alabama: 'Not your grandmother's Baptist preacher' has concerns about how politicized faith has become (Decatur Daily)