TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM: More on the Washington primary and the Oregon referendum Measure 65 for "Top Two" primaries

• Washington State Primary Turnout Worse in 2008 than in 2004 (Ballot Access News)
• New poll won't sway GOP on top two (Politicker WA) The Olympian reports that the Elway poll found 76 percent of respondents approved of the new system
• Washington State Elections Division poll on Top Two (The Olympian) 76% like it
• Top-two primary voting worked well (Daily Astorian) Real choice consists of voting for whomever you like, without the parties avidly pulling the strings. This system does that.
• Constitution Party activist points to Democratic and Republican cooperation to limit democracy (Independent Political Report (Austin Cassidy's blog)

CAMPAIGN

• A party united-Galvanized by Palin pick, GOP's conservative base ready to fight (Boston Globe) But Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist in Boston, said Palin will not appeal to moderate and independent voters, and said she is almost purely as an instrument "to fire up the base" of the Republican Party.
• Will GOP Ticket’s ‘Values’ Appeal Reach Swing Voters? (CQ Politics) “It’s a conundrum.”
• McCain Is Everyone's Maverick -- For Now (by Ronald Brownstein, National Journal) But through this campaign McCain has transformed into a more conventional Republican.
• Hillsman Gives Mixed Review to Republican Efforts-But Adman Says Obama Won't Convince Independents That McCain Is Just Like Bush (AdAge) The job that has to be done for Obama to win ... is to convince independents that this John McCain is a hell of a lot different from the John McCain in 2000."
• Poll: Palin's Speech Reassured Independents About Her (Talking Points Memo) A solid 57% of independents give her speech an "A" grade, and 56% say she is an asset to the campaign while only 27% call her a liability.
• Will Palin's tough talk win over undecideds? (CNN) John Avlon says: Instead of running a "NoBama" campaign, McCain and Palin need to remind independents why they liked McCain so much during his 2000 presidential run.
• Political Theater (By Political Realm (on Donklephant) Great description of the GOP convention
• What McCain Must Do Tonight (Taegan Goddard, CQ Politics/Political Insider) If he cannot connect with independents on the key issues -- in particular, the economy and health care -- it doesn't matter how good Sarah Palin was last night.
• The Morning After Palin (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)
• Free Press voter panel reacts to Palin's speech (Detroit Free Press) Independents completely underwhelmed.
• Second Night of the Republican Convention (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire) relentless mocking of Democrats will not appeal to moderates and independents
• The woman from nowhere (The Economist) John McCain’s choice of running-mate raises serious questions about his judgment
• It's all about the independents, GOP pollster says (The Birmingham News)
• Does Palin Have Independent Appeal? (RealClearPolitics) Richard Viguerie declared "Sarah Palin is the next Ronald Reagan."

LAST WORD
Alaska: the Un-American State (Huffington Post/Billy Kimball) When asked by her constituents, "Can I have my allowance early, Mom?" Sarah Palin has always answered yes and thus became the most popular mom in America.

Oregon Top Two Primary Measure 65/ Recent Washington Primary Results

ROUND UP ON OREGON OPEN PRIMARY REFERENDUM

• Bradbury announces his bid for governor in 2010 (Politicker OR)
• Bradbury likely to run for governor in 2010 (Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian) Dem Bradbury (who is being criticized by Repubs) said he will work with a group that is trying to encourage other states to adopt Oregon's vote-by-mail system.
• Why have primary elections? (West Seattle Herald) The real question is why we have these elections. One obvious reason was to wrest and keep control out of political party hands.
• In Our View: Top two primary is a huge success (The Columbian) The warning about Washington state’s top two primary echoed off the Cascades with near-hysterical alarm: “We could end up in the general election with two candidates from the same party! Oh, my gosh!”.... It is not the parties’ sacred nominating process; it is the people’s semifinals leading up to the November finals.
• Top-two primary (LETTERS to Seattle Times)
• The morning after the Washington primary (Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian) it's more likely that you would see two candidates of the same party advancing not in a swing district, but in a heavily Democratic or Republican district.
• Top-two primary: So much for THAT argument (Kari Chisholm, Blue Oregon)
• All Working to Plan in the 27th Legislative District (Tacoma News Tribune/Political Buzz) Opponents of the Top Two primary predicted all sorts of funny business if a system was created that let two candidates from the same party to advance to the general election. But the only race in the state where something out of the ordinary is taking place is in Tacoma's 27th.
• Editorial: ‘Top two’ primary is fairest of them all (Corvallis Gazette Times)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Kenric Ward: More voters declare their independence (TCPalm -Treasure Coast/Palm Beach FL) According to the latest figures from the state Division of Elections, a smaller percentage of Floridians call themselves Democrats than they did eight years ago (44.3 percent in 2000; 40.7 percent in 2008). So where are the voters going? Independent parties and non-partisan affiliation.

REFORM
WA: New primary election rules make voting better (Tri-City Herald) The change should come as a relief to the many independent voters who cringed every time they were forced to use the "pick-a-party" format.
LA: Competition for Congress is intense (Houma Today The Courier - LA) Return of party primaries
OR: It’s a communist plot (LETTER Albany Democrat Herald - OR) Phil Keisling and open primaries: trying to have communistic doctrine made state law.
SC: Aiken to vote on nonpartisan races (South Carolina Bureau, Augusta Chronicle) Mr. LeDuc said Aiken is one of only six cities in the state that still hold partisan elections.

NEW YORK POLITICS/INDEPENDENCE PARTY
NOTE: Both the venerable New York Times and the somewhat less than venerable New York Sun gave space yesterday to a New York City Independence Party Board of Elections filing for State Committee by Bernie Goetz (remember the guy who shot 4 unarmed black youth on a subway back in the '80s?). Goetz filed 2 signatures in an attempt to get on the ballot to run against long-time independent leader Fred Newman, the primary tactician of the independent movement here in New York and nationally. (Goetz won't make the ballot -- you need 117 to get on....) Read here:

Bernard Goetz Vying for Independence Committee Seat (Special to the NY Sun) * Goetz Enters Independence Party Race (By Jonathan P. Hicks, NY Times/City Room)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• How black voters took on the Clinton machine (Lenora Fulani, The Daily Voice)
• Campaign Advice For Barack Obama: Forget About The Center? (JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)

REFORM

• Ballot may have up to 14 initiatives (Statesman Journal)
• Activists' initiatives to dominate Oregon ballot (The Oregonian)
• Oregon “Top-Two” Initiative Submits 119,653 Signatures (Ballot Access News)
• 9th Circuit Wants Briefs on “Top-Two” Washington Primary Case, on Ballot Access and Trademark Issues (Ballot Access News)

LOCAL NEW YORK PARTY BUSINESS

• New York Republicans Might Nominate a Member of a Minor Party for US House, 13th district (Ballot Access News)
• Molinari Will Challenge Staten Island’s G.O.P. Chairman (NY Times/City Room)
• Indy Bloomberg: One Party Rule Is Even Worse Than Two (NY Daily News/Daily Politics)

Washington: The "Top Two" Primary is On

My friend and state party primary expert Steve Rankin points out that in the matter of the recent US Supreme Court decision to uphold a voter-approved "Top-Two" Washington state primary (Ballot Access News), that the Washington Libertarian Party (as well as the Dems, and not just the Repubs) had also brought a lawsuit against the voter initiative that created an open "top two" primary."


From Peter Callaghan's column in The News Tribune on Thursday:
Don’t blame the Washington State Grange for changing that. Don’t blame the voters, either. We have the top two primary because it was the best we could do given the court rulings that resulted from lawsuits brought by the parties. It took a ballot initiative to break the hold the two parties had over the Legislature and then-Gov. Gary Locke.
That said, the new system may actually be better for politics in Washington than the pick-a-party or the blanket primary system. That’s because party-driven redistricting has created mostly safe districts.


And from Tracy Warner of the Wenatchee World, a bit of history:
They scoffed in 2004 when the state Grange, the prairie populists, floated an initiative to create a new primary system, so similar to the beloved blanket primary that the ballots would be indistinguishable. This primary, however, would not choose a party nominee. On this ballot, party affiliation would be reduced to a generic label vaguely indicating political leanings. This would be a runoff. The two most popular candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation or preference.
The initiative was wildly popular, of course, and of course the parties immediately filed suit to crush it, won an injunction to prevent it from being tried, and prevailed in early court rulings. They scoffed all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which Tuesday handed them their reward. It was a surprising 7-2 vote, not even close. The voters, not the political parties, won the day, and will have their way. The top-two primary is on....

Two cheers for the independence of Washington state voters!

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: McCaskill: ‘Big state’ argument is bogus (Columbia Tribune Politics Blog)
FLORIDA: Counting every vote (Tampa Bays 10) **** Primary Independents (WMBB TV-Gulf Coast West Florida)
VERMONT: VT House approves instant runoff voting (VPR)
ALASKA: AIP preps for national election (News Miner)
WASHINGTON: A political convention that actually decides? (The News Tribune - Tacoma)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

HANKSTER LEDE: An Independent Shut Out Of A Defining Choice (Hartford Courant)

MARYLAND: Confusion, bad weather and late starts plague primary voting (Business Gazette MD) independents show up to vote, turned away

LOUISIANA: Congressional Elections, Barack Obama (BayouBuzz) March 8 Dem primary open to independents

POLLS: Some Reflections on Polling in the Primaries (RealClearPolitics HorseRaceBlog)

THE CAMPAIGN: Clinton seeks swift reply to Obama onslaught (AP) * Campaign Trail Leads To Texas, Wisconsin (CBS) * After Potomac Sweep, Can Obama’s Momentum Be Stopped? Clinton’s Determined to Try (By: Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and Associated Press) * Is It Too Late for Hillary? (Time Magazine)

WASHINGTON: Basking in Obama's glow (Joni Balter, Seattle Times)

OHIO: All eyes on Ohio (By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle) Obama has drawn a lot of independent voters, but they may be closed out in Ohio’s closed primary.

PENNSYLVANIA: 93,000 independents may not know they can't vote April 22 (Philadelphia Daily News)

SUPERDELEGATES: Democratic Super Delegates Guided By Voters, Not Backroom Deals (Bloomberg) * The Role of the Superdelegates: Could They Thwart the Choice of a Majority of Democratic Primary Voters? (By EDWARD LAZARUS, FindLaw)

REPUBS/CONSERVATIVES: Gingrich: There’s No Reason For Voters To Keep Republicans In Power (News Hounds)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Washington: Party ties mean less as voters shift their allegiance (By David Postman, Seattle Times) NOTE: Somebody should tell Mr. Postman that independents are independent because they don't like the parties.....
• California: Some voters temporarily switch parties (North County Times) NOTE: Indies can vote in the Dem primary, but not the Repub.....
• Independents' Day (Washington Post LETTER)
• South Carolina: Independents’ impact key (The State) NOTE: The Repub primary in South Carolina is today.... as is the Nevada caucus