The Hankster

Independent Registration Up in California and Montana

2012-02-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

STATE: Partisan trenches (THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - Riverside CA) New voter registration totals from the secretary of state once again show that the large political parties hold a shrinking share of the electorate, while the number of independent voters continues to grow. Democrats now compose 43.6 percent of the state’s more than 17 million registered voters, while Republicans make up 30.4 percent of voters. But 21.2 percent of registered voters — more than one in five — now identify with no political party.
Rise of registered Republicans on the Treasure Coast (WPEC - CBS 12 - St. Lucie FL) Many Independent voters are now registering Republican. Voters tell us it's happening so they can weigh in on such an important presidential primary.
Poll results show Rehberg-Tester Senate race in virtual tie (By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian) Republicans made up 28 percent of the Montana poll respondents, while 24 percent declared themselves Democrats. A surprising 46 percent said they were "independent or something else," which was the highest total among the mountain states and far above the national average. Utah was the next closest independent state (35 percent), while only 13 percent of Wyoming residents called themselves that.

Linda Killian Speaks With Independents at Cathy Stewart's Politics for the People

2012-02-12T14:38:00.002-05:00

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
4 Types of Independent Voters Who Could Swing the 2012 Elections (By Linda Killian, The Atlantic) They have come to meet Kathleen Curry, their state representative who in 2010 was running for re-election to the legislature as an independent write-in candidate, a serious uphill battle. Bruce Christensen, the mayor of Glenwood Springs, is an independent and a Curry supporter. He's lived in this town for more than 30 years, been an independent for all of that time, and been mayor for the last five. "The way you govern is you build consensus. You meet in the middle and everybody gives a little and you get something done."

Linda Killian spoke at Cathy Stewart's Politics for the People forum last month

Americans Elect - 350,000 delegates

2012-02-12T07:04:00.001-05:00

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect is not a Third Party, It’s a Second Nominating Process (By Darry Sragow - Americans Elect advisor, Attorney, Democratic strategist and USC professor, Fox & Hounds Daily) Rank-and-file American voters have never had so much power in nominating a presidential candidate. Already more than 350,000 people have signed up as Americans Elect delegates, and millions more have signed petitions to get us on the ballot in their states. With their participation we’ll pick a president, not a party.

The Ron Paul - Mitt Romney Connection

2012-02-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

2012

Ron Paul’s Long Game (By Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine/ Daily Intel) Paul’s game is to trade his supporters for a seat at the Republican table.
For Romney and Paul, a strategic alliance between establishment and outsider (By Amy Gardner, Washington Post) The Romney-Paul alliance is more than a curious connection. It is a strategic partnership: for Paul, an opportunity to gain a seat at the table if his long-shot bid for the presidency fails; for Romney, a chance to gain support from one of the most vibrant subgroups within the Republican Party.

New York Partisan Redistricting Fight Continues

2012-02-12T07:01:00.001-05:00

NEW YORK REDISTRICTING

Reform defeated; so now what? - Most proponents of independent redistricting stop short of ‘no’ vote (Queens Chronicle) The new lines would set Queens Democrats Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) against each other, as well as Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside).

Lady Rosa of Luxembourg

2012-02-02T13:43:00.003-05:00

MoMA Sanja Iveković: Lady Rosa of Luxembourg

Declaration of Independents (North Carolina to Arizona and All Points In Between)

2012-02-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

INDEPENDENTVOTING.ORG NETWORKS

DECLARATION OF THE INDEPENDENTS (By Omar H. Ali and Donna Moser, News Observer) The widely-discussed yet continually misunderstood "independent voter" is neither ideologically driven nor a closet partisan (be it Democrat nor Republican). We are not "swing voters,"' nor are we "moderates." Rather, we come from across the political spectrum and the one thing we agree upon is the need to minimize partisan control over the political process.
The Impact of Independent Voters (WUNC) Host Frank Stasio talks with three of the event’s participants: Omar Ali, associate professor of African-American Studies and History at UNC-Greensboro; Donna Moser, co-founder of North Carolina Independents; and Brittany Rodman, a young, registered independent voter.
Will Open Primaries Shake Up Politics in Arizona? (Pamela Powers Hannley, Huffington Post) Open primaries -- where all candidates regardless of party affiliation are listed on one ballot -- would give voters, rather than political parties, a greater voice in government, says Ted Downing, Ph.D., research professor of social development in the Arizona Research Laboratories at the University of Arizona and one of the initiative's architects.
Will Arizona's GOP Self-Destruct? (By Terry Greene Sterling, Daily Beast) The Arizona GOP already has a set of challenges that it hasn’t faced before. Herstam notes that an energetic petition drive for open primaries is underway. If it gathers enough signatures in the next five months, it will show up on the November ballot. If passed, the open primary system will likely unseat extremists now in the Arizona legislature. Expect both parties to oppose it.
Arizona Top-Two Initiative Has Collected 100,000 Signatures So Far (Ballot Access News) It is believed that California multi-millionaire Charles Munger, Jr., is providing much of the financial backing for the initiative, so there seems little doubt that it will qualify.

Florida Primary: Where Are the Independents?

2012-02-02T13:25:00.001-05:00

Note: It's too bad that Rob Richie and FairVote.org support closed partisan primaries. This position goes against the increasing ranks of independent voters who want and need to have a say in the first round of voting.

FLORIDA PRIMARY

Romney sweeps most groups in Florida vote (By Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs Writer) But in Florida, 18 percent of the electorate Tuesday called themselves independents. Romney won 41 percent of them, while Gingrich won 27 percent.
From msnbc exit poll:
No matter how you voted today, do you usually think of yourself as a:
Category     Gingrich     Paul     Romney     Santorum     % Total
Democrat     -     -     -     -     2
Republican     33     5     48     13     80
Independent or something else     27     16     41     15     18
Independent voters vital to general election win in Sunshine State (Written by John McCarthy, FLORIDA TODAY)
Florida should adopt open primary system (Written by Francis J. Merceret, LETTER Florida Today) Florida should adopt open primaries such as New Hampshire recently held. If the parties don’t like that, they can fund private elections or hold party-funded caucuses, as is done in Iowa or other states.
Florida's closed primary system coming under fire (By Jim Ash Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers) "I would like the parties to have a closed nominating system, but we don't want the taxpayers to have to pay for them," FairVote. Org executive director Rob Richie said.

Open Primaries, Up or Down? Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee

2012-02-02T13:19:00.001-05:00

OPEN PRIMARIES

Lawmaker Wants to Put Squeeze on Open Primaries (by Joe White, Nashville Public Radio) State Senator Stacy Campfield, a Knoxville Republican, has filed a bill to make cross-over voting more difficult.
Editorial: Let All N.M. Voters Vote (By Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board) Almost 200,000 New Mexicans who have taken the trouble to register to vote have decided not to declare an affiliation with a political party. And every primary Election Day, those almost 200,000 New Mexicans are told not to trouble themselves by casting a ballot.
Mo. Primary Election Looms (by Don Corrigan, Webster Kirkwood Times) The argument against the open primary in Missouri is that it allows pachyderms to vote on the donkeys' ballots and vice versa. Although I consider myself an Independent, I have upset some of my GOP buddies when I've told them that I've participated in their pachyderm primaries. I think open primaries make sense.

ROMNEY'$ unconditional guarantee!

2012-02-01T04:46:00.001-05:00

little known facts in history

2012-01-28T23:43:00.002-05:00

Gail Elberg and Lorraine Stevens organizing the unorganized on January 28, 1972 in response to Fred Newman saying -- in an intense collective meeting of diverse (and contentious) collective sixties types who sound off on any given topic - as they please! - AND have the (correct) (and incorrect) positions up the wazoo, as it were:

"I don't care who you are (or what you think about or how you are feeling today)... Go out there and organize the people."

So far, so good!

NH

What if Americans refuse to endorse either of the views that dominate the parties?

2012-01-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

OPINION

by Bill King

Houston Chronicle

Before the State of the Union, I decided to drop by the Smithsonian Institution. I was walking through the Museum of American History and stopped at an exhibit about the American flag that was hoisted over Fort McHenry on the morning of Sept. 14, 1814, that signaled the fort had withstood a furious British bombardment the night before.

Several days before the battle, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key had been taken prisoner by the British and was confined to one of their ships lying just offshore. Key watched the battle rage through the night and without modern communications, had no idea of the outcome until he saw a huge American flag still waving above the fort in the dawn's early light. His pride in his country's triumph inspired him to write "The Star Spangled Banner."

Seeing this enormous flag (30 feet by 42 feet) only a few feet away from me and thinking about its history gave me goose bumps. While I was looking at the flag, several dozen of my countrymen filed through the viewing area. All seemed to be equally moved in its presence. There were no Democrats or Republicans, no blacks or whites, no Christian or Muslim, just Americans, swelling with pride over the storied history of this flag.

What I witnessed at the State of Union address that night could not have been more different. I am not necessarily referring to the speech itself but rather the circus on the floor during the speech. About every two or three minutes, all of the Democrats in the room would leap to their feet to cheer one of President Obama's lines while the Republicans would sit scowling with their arms crossed. The more partisan the president's line, the more enthusiastic the Democratic response and the more dour the Republican response.

In the last couple of years there have been attempts to get Democratic and Republican members of Congress to sit together, but the efforts have been largely unsuccessful. With some notable exceptions, such as Rep. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, sitting with Rep. Gabby Giffords, the two parties' seating was mostly segregated. As a result, members in about half of the room kept jumping to their feet while the members in the other half sat on their hands. The whole spectacle could not have been more sophomoric.

There were a few moments that united the room. The longest and loudest applause from every corner of the room came when Giffords entered the chamber. The parties also rose in applause together when the president praised our troops. But those moments were exceptions.

Near the end of the president's speech, he said, "When we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can't achieve." It was one of the few lines of the speech that brought the entire chamber to its feet. But after an hour of watching the partisan reactions, the words, while grand, seemed hollow.

During my visits around the Capitol before and after the address, I repeatedly heard how we should not expect much until after the election on the major issues facing the country. On issue after issue, I heard that the parties are just too deeply divided to find much consensus. Both parties apparently believe that in the election to come, Americans will give them some kind of a mandate to push their agendas.

But what if they do not? What if Americans refuse to endorse either of the views that dominate the parties? What if voters once again decide to return divided government to Washington because the thought of either party being totally in control scares them to death? Do we then have to wait until 2014 to tackle the problems facing our country? And if not then, 2016? 2018? 2020?

In the same day I saw a symbol of America's past, one of unity of purpose and vision, and one of America today, a state of disunion. The question is which will represent America's future.

Email King at weking@weking.net or follow him on twitter.com/weking.

Liveblogging 2012 State of the Union Speech, January 24

2012-01-24T21:02:00.004-05:00

Here's a link to a transcript of the President's address from OpEdNews

Unfortunately, President Obama has given short shrift in his SOTU speech to the thousands and millions of Americans who are leaving the two parties. How come?

Party over people will not take us forward.

Back to the grassroots! Organize, organize, organize the unorganized!

NH

10:02: Consolidate Federal bureaucracy... lower the temperature, end the notion that the 2 parties have to battle. "I'm a Democrat" says the President.... quotes Lincoln about role of government (Lincoln was a Repub?) Get rid of regulations that don't work..... govt spending....

9:59: Washington is broken (that's cynical) -- debate in Washington over debt crisis... Divide is due to corrosive influence of money in Washington... Limit congressional spending, oversight, etc. Neither party has been blameless, both parties should put an end to it

9:53: Fair values - stop payroll tax to prevent loss of $40 from paycheck...

9:19: Will fight obstruction and the failed policies that brought on this economic crisis... revive manufacturing, etc. Jobs ideas....

9:11: Pres Obama seems to be using the military as an example of competence and responsibility...

9:10: The President is introduced by Speaker Boehner.

9:07: I'm switching to C-Span.... I'll be looking for any appeal to ordinary nonpartisan independent Americans in President Obama's speech tonight... Michelle O looks great as usual!

9:06: Sawyer: exhausting year of partisanship

9:05: Ok, ABC's Diane Sawyer is not off to a good start already by saying that Dems and Repubs come together tonight.... hmmm..... But I digress....

#1 Reform Issue for Independent Voters: Open Primaries!

2012-01-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

OPEN PRIMARIES

The Nation: Six GOP Questions (by John Nichols, NPR - John Nichols is a writer for The Nation.) 6. South Carolina held an open primary election, as compared with Iowa's caucuses and New Hampshire's relatively closed primary. While the first-caucus and first-primary states saw only marginal improvements in turnout, South Carolina's was way up. And, by all accounts, South Carolina counted the votes accurately and produced a clear result — as opposed to the Iowa mess that fostered the lie of Romnevitability. Isn't it time to create a uniform and functional system for nominating candidates? Shouldn't caucuses, which invariably draw narrower portions of the electorate, be eliminated? And shouldn't all states have open primaries where everyone who wants to vote Republican can do so? And shouldn't the rules be structured so that all serious contenders can have a place on the ballot — even in Virginia?
Appeals court upholds Washington state's open primary system (By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times) In a decision that could foreshadow survival of California's new "top two" primary system, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a similar Washington state ballot initiative that changed the way voters choose candidates in primaries.
American Independent Party Opens its Primary to Independent Voters (Ballot Access News) On January 22, the American Independent Party of California held a meeting of party officers, and voted to tell the California Secretary of State that it will permit independents to vote in its 2012 primary. Of course, because of Proposition 14, the only partisan primaries will be for President. The American Independent Party allowed independents to vote in its primaries in 2008 and earlier years, but in 2010 it changed its rules and didn’t allow independents to vote in its primary.
Dems Pre-Endorsements Presage Tough 2012 (Posted by John Myers, KQED/ Capital Notes) Again, these meetings and subsequent endorsements are notable because of the brave new world of party primaries, ushered in by 2010's Proposition 14 top-two system. It's a world unsettled, too, by new district maps that have left more open seats than at any time in recent history.
Election 101: Who are Florida primary voters, and how are they different? - In Florida, only preregistered Republican Party members can vote in the GOP presidential primary. That’s different from South Carolina and New Hampshire. Here's a look at the various types of elections. (By Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor) In Florida, only preregistered Republican Party members can vote in the GOP primary. That’s different from South Carolina, where independents and even Democrats could cross over and participate in the Republican primary if they wanted to. It’s also different from New Hampshire, where independents (but not Democrats) could go GOP.
Skipping Florida smart for Ron Paul (By Adam C. Smith, Times Political Editor, Tampa Bay Times) There's another logical reason: Paul never had much chance of doing well in Florida, which is the first contest in the primary season where only registered Republicans can vote. Paul does best in caucuses and "open primaries" where his army of devoted, young followers can vote Republican whether or not they have any strong allegiance to the GOP.
U.S. needs to reform elections (LETTER Greenville online) Set filing dates three months before primary elections. Schedule open primaries for all 50 states on the same day. Hold general elections three months later.
On politics: Voting reform must be bold, far-reaching (By RAY HACKETT, Norwich Bulletin) Let’s stop the pretense that we’re “preserving the sanctity of the party” by pretending we don’t want to open primaries to unaffiliated voters while we continue to turn a blind eye to this election-related version of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”… Second, let’s give voters a real choice, a real reason to come to the polls. Let’s be bold and declare that all candidates who qualify for the ballot will be treated equally. Let’s stop the hypocrisy of pretending that public financing provides an equal playing field — because it doesn’t if you’re something other than a Democrat or Republican.
Latina-led Movement Urges Democratic Latinos to Vote in “Open Primaries”- Anyone But Romney (Hispanically Speaking News.com) Arizona-based National Tequila Party Movement is issuing an action alert to encourage Independent and Democratic Latinos to vote in the numerous state open primary races across the country.

Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network Celebrates MLK

2012-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK
Birthday salute to Dr. King at National Action (By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews) There's not enough room here to recount all the speeches and comments, and there were some precious ones from Erica Ford on stopping the violence; from Dr. Lenora Fulani, who reminded listeners that "poverty is also violence"; and from City Comptroller John Liu, who announced that without King, "I wouldn't be standing here today," he said.

Reform Party Going for Utah Ballot, Independents Speak Out

2012-01-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES, PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS

Group circulating petitions to get Reform Party on the Utah ballot (By Nkoyo Iyamba, Deseret News) "When Ross Perot ran in 1992, there were two states that he came in second in the polls," said state party organizer Jaime Dives. "One of those states was Maine and the other state was Utah." Dives is circulating petitions to get the Reform Party on the Utah ballot for the 2012 election cycle. She needs 2,000 signatures from registered voters by Feb. 15.
Political parties challenged to race to register voters (By Lee Davidson, The Salt Lake Tribune) While Republicans and Democrats already have said they plan major voter registration drives this year, Randy Miller, president of the Utah League of Independent Voters, appeared at the news conference to say his group also will push to register more people as unaffiliated voters.
Libertarian Party of Florida hosting major Presidential Debate in Orlando (Karl Dickey, West Palm Beach Libertarian Examiner) The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the US, and is influential in both the Tea Party and Occupy movements due to their strong fiscal conservative positions and socially liberal views. Polling data indicates that as many as 60% of independent voters consider themselves, “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.”

2012 Presidential Race: Where Are the Independents Going?

2012-01-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

2012

South Carolina and the independent vote (VIDEO The Fix author Aaron Blake looks ahead to the South Carolina primary and how independent voters could play a big part. (Washington Post)
Ron Paul's Weak Support Among Registered Republicans Will Hurt Him In Closed Primaries (By: Noah Rothman, …ology.com) The exit polls from South Carolina’s semi-closed primary do not bode well for the Paul. He mirror’s Romney’s appeal among registered independent voters; Romney narrowly won this group with 25 percent to Paul’s 23 percent. Ideologically, Paul performs very well among those that describe themselves as “moderate,” “somewhat liberal,” or “very liberal.” Among voters that describe themselves as “conservative,” between 9 and 11 percent voted for Paul.
State of the Union Speech To Feature Sharper Tone (By LAURA MECKLER and CAROL E. LEE, Wall Street Journal) The risk for Mr. Obama, voiced by some members of his own party, is that such a tone may please only the base. "People aren't walking around saying 'the reason why my kid may not attain the American dream is because somebody else is doing extraordinarily well,' " said Jim Kessler, a senior vice president at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank. Support from independents was critical in 2008, and they "really do want to look for someone putting country over party," he said.
The Third-Party Rail - As the donkey battles the elephant, some say: There’s got to be a better way. (By John Heilemann, New York Magazine) A contest between two incarnations of the status quo is, of course, a decent definition of what an Obama-Romney general election will be: two smart, cool, and diffident candidates, each without a populist bone in his body—though both will try like crazy to pretend that’s not the case—offering nothing that will look to millions of voters like fundamental change. An independent candidate who can offer a real alternative to them, stylistically and temperamentally as well as substantively, could be a genuine game-changer in 2012.
South Carolina Exit Poll for Republican Race (CBS News) No matter how you voted today, do you usually think of yourself as a Democrat (4%), Republican (71%), Independent (25%)...
Independents Remain One Of Obama’s Biggest Election Hurdles (Written by NewsOne Staff) The poll revealed that only 31 percent of Independents viewed the President positively, while two-thirds of Independents were unhappy with the President’s economic progress. These poll findings mean that much of the swing voter base is up for grabs, although it should be noted that most Independents also have a negative view of Republicans.

Independents on the Move in Utah and Iowa

2012-01-20T10:40:00.001-05:00

INDEPENDENTVOTING.ORG NETWORKS

Political parties challenged to race to register voters (By Lee Davidson, The Salt Lake Tribune) While Republicans and Democrats already have said they plan major voter registration drives this year, Randy Miller, president of the Utah League of Independent Voters, appeared at the news conference to say his group also will push to register more people as unaffiliated voters.

Did Independents Make a Mark in Iowa? (Jacqueline Salit, President, IndependentVoting.org) Insofar as participating independents expressed a preference in Iowa, they sided with the anti-establishment Ron Paul. But the notion that the Iowa results provide a read on the sensibilities of independents overall is false.

A Third Party in a Two-Party System? Better to Change the System

2012-01-20T10:21:00.001-05:00

Polls are showing that the majority of Americans support a "third party" or a "third party candidate" and yet our current partisan political system will not tolerate a challenge from a so-called "third" party or candidate. At the same time, Americans are no dummies -- the fastest growing electoral constituency is nonpartisan independent voters. Hmmmm.......

THIRD PARTY?

Group circulating petitions to get reform party on the Utah ballot (By Nkoyo Iyamba, Deseret News) Despite Utahns voting primarily Republican, Dives said most Utah registered voters aren't registered with a political party. "If you go to the lieutenant governor's office and ask for the roll, you'll see that there are more unaffiliated registered voters than there are Republicans and Democrats combined," Dives said. She believes this group is ready for an alternative to the perceived two-party system in America.
Obama fares well against third-party challenge (By BYRON TAU, Politico) Via POLITICO's Alex Burns, a Democratic polling firm finds that President Barack Obama's support holds up well if an independent candidate like Michael Bloomberg or Ron Paul were to enter the race.
Dude, where's my candidate? (By: Kenneth P. Vogel and Abby Phillip, Politico) “We don’t want to let the process be taken over by the Gary Colemans and the Mary Careys or the Naked Cowboys,” said Bailey. “There are people out there who could get some support, but don’t have the qualifications, and that includes some people out there in the political process already.”
Young Voters Propel Ron Paul's Campaign - Young voters gravitating to oldest guy in the field (By Beth Fouhy, NBC Dallas Ft Worth Channel 5)

Independent Voters and the 2012 Election: Tough Crowd!

2012-01-20T10:12:00.003-05:00

The New York Times/ CBS News poll that came out Wednesday reveals a disenchantment by independents with Pres. Obama. No indication of any enchantment with the dwindling Repub possibilities... Record high percentage of Americans identify as independents...

Poll Shows Obama’s Vulnerability With Swing Voters (By JEFF ZELENY and DALIA SUSSMAN, NY Times) President Obama opens his re-election bid facing significant obstacles among independent voters, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, with the critical piece of the electorate that cemented his victory four years ago open to denying him a second term.
Obama hurting with swing voters, poll shows (By MJ LEE, Politico) Just 31 percent of independent voters indicated a favorable opinion of the president in a New York Times/CBS News poll out Thursday, compared to a 38 percent favorability rating among all voters.
Obama losing luster with independent voters: poll (Reuters) + Judicial Watch on Washington Corruption poll: The vast majority of registered voters (68%) believe President Obama has either worsened (27%) or not improved (42%) government transparency as he promised during the 2008 presidential campaign. Only slightly more than half of registered Democrats believe Obama has improved transparency.
Survey: Campaign finance reform could be major 2012 issue (by Aaron Puebla, Campaigns & Elections) According to a new survey from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, conducted for Democracy Corps, 62 percent of voters oppose the Court’s Citizens United ruling, which permitted unlimited campaign spending by corporations and unions. And more than three-quarters of voters say they would like to see candidates make campaign finance reform a “key” issue in 2012.
A Libertarian Democrat Considers Mitt Romney - So much for the hope that Obama would move the party in a back-to-the-future Jeffersonian liberal direction. (Terry Michael, Reason.com) Then, within 10 months of taking office, he started a second war in Afghanistan. And he took three full years to withdraw troops from Iraq, negotiating until just weeks ago to keep troops there. As his premier domestic policy initiative, Obama rammed through a Democratic-controlled congress a welfare program for pharmaceutical companies, the centerpiece of which was—yes—a mandate forcing millions to buy coverage.
Polls show Ron Paul emerging as key player in 2012 race (by Chris Hinyub, IVN) A new poll finds that a third-party bid by presidential hopeful Ron Paul would help re-elect president Obama, but not before taking away 9% of the President’s independent support and 17% of independent voters from Romney. In a separate poll, Paul was found to be competitive against Obama in a head-to-head contest as the GOP nominee.
What If Voters Just Don’t Like Mitt Romney? (Benjy Sarlin & Kyle Leighton, TPM2012) While Republican voters are starting to come around to his candidacy, the rest of the country doesn’t seem too pleased with what they see. Romney’s lost six points on favorability among independent voters since Pew’s last poll in November, leading to a 13 point gap on the metric, 33 - 45.

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 - More Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27% (by Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup) In recent decades, Gallup has observed a pattern of increased independent identification in the year prior to a presidential election, and a decline in the presidential election year. The only exception to that was in 1992, when independent identification increased from 1991, perhaps the result of President Bush's high approval ratings in 1991 and Ross Perot's independent presidential candidacy in 1992.
Voters, redeclarers keep poll workers busy (Nashua Telegraph) She and June Caron managed to keep up with the stream of voters, many of whom admitted that if they didn’t redeclare as independents right away, they could very well forget to do it at all. “That group (independents) has been the majority of our voters so far...”
Independent Voters on the Rise but Do They Matter? (Huma Khan, ABC News) Forty percent of voters identified themselves as politically independent in 2011, according to a new Gallup poll released today, the highest number recorded in the poll yet. The previous high for independents was 39 percent in 1995 and 2007. Democrats won both presidential races in the following years.
Opinion: The center is back — and Obama needs to be there (By Mark Penn, The Hill) And the more centrist the Republican nominee, the more centrist the president needs to be in order to win in 2012. The huge ideological gap that would have made running against the Republicans an easy romp is disappearing as the exit polls show that even primary voters are choosing practicality over partisanship. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney won with those voters who thought he had a better chance to beat President Obama in November.

Wikipedia: Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge - SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T07:44:00.000-05:00

Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge

For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.

Contact your representatives.

Your ZIP code:

Google: Stop Piracy, Not Liberty - Oppose SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T07:39:00.001-05:00

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

Craigslist: Stop PIPA & SOPA

2012-01-18T07:35:00.001-05:00

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

STOP PIPA & SOPA
S968 & HR3261 are
threatening CL and
the rest of your
Internet. Most of
the web sites you use
strongly oppose these
bills. Find out why, and
how you can help put
a stop to this madness
before it's too late!

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

TechPresident: Why We're Against PIPA/SOPA and For the Internet

2012-01-18T07:29:00.002-05:00

PDM Editorial: Why We're Against PIPA/SOPA And For the Internet

BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, January 17 2012

A Personal Democracy Media Editorial

Last year, when Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and when House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Lamar Smith introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), they probably had no idea that they, along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, would awaken a sleeping tiger. After all, the proposed legislation was fairly technical in nature and would cost the government little to implement. But in the days and weeks that followed, it has become exceedingly clear that Leahy and Smith and their allies in the entertainment industry misread the political landscape. Instead of a slam dunk designed to crack down on so-called "online piracy," the bills have backfired on Hollywood, fostering the emergence of a significant new force: a civic-business alliance to defend the freedom of online speech and sharing and to protect the basic values and structure of the open Internet.
Others have already done an excellent job of describing and explaining all the reasons why PIPA and SOPA should be defeated. See Joi Ito and Ethan Zuckerman's post explaining the MIT Media Lab's reasons for opposing the legislation; Tim O'Reilly's strong argument that the whole problem of online piracy is overstated and unproven, the CATO Institute's explanation as to how it threatens to set off a massive wave of online censorship, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's detailed explication of the dangerous consequences that these laws would create for online speech. In sum, if passed, these bills as originally proposed would wreak havoc with the Internet's DNS system, place a needlessly heavy burden on websites to police user-submitted content leading to lots of prior restraint and unilateral content takedowns without due process, hurt innovation, and inspire the Chinese government and other repressive regimes in their own efforts to throttle online activity. Oh, and by the way, the government already has the power, more narrowly constrained, to take down foreign rogue sites (though it has used it in sloppy and worrisome ways, which is another reason to go slow on expanding those powers)....
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bread, roses and development

2012-01-15T19:07:00.001-05:00

Free at last

2012-01-15T07:01:00.001-05:00

NYC Night Decending

2012-01-14T18:08:00.002-05:00

PHOTO: Cathy Stewart

Kresky: America's Two Political Reform Movements (It's an Inside/ Outside Kind of a Thang)

2012-01-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend this insightful article on the issue of political reform during this year's major political contest. Harry Kresky, counsel to independentvoting.org, speaks out for millions of independents across the country in a wide-ranging commentary that touches on No Labels' 12-point reform package, President Obama's appointments (to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board) and his non-appointments (to the Federal Elections Commission):

"Appointing independents to the FEC is one way of breaking down the partisans' control of the political process itself. Shouldn't the 40 percent of the electorate who self-identify as independents have representation on the body that oversees the electoral process?"

America's Two Political Reform Movementsby Harry Kresky

Originally Posted on Huffington Post: 1/12/12 07:20 PM ET

President Obama's "recess" appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has caused a partisan political flap. The GOP is threatening court action to redress what they see as an effort to circumvent the Senate's authority to confirm presidential appointments. The White House, with an eye on the 2012 election, responded that the people's business, particularly the business of protecting the middle class, will not be impeded by anti-consumer Republicans in Congress. A fine sentiment. But, if the White House only resists the partisanship of the Republicans, and never challenges the partisanship of both parties, it can have a hollow ring.

And so it goes inside the beltway. While the question of how to reform partisan politics looms large, No Labels, a political reform organization founded in 2010 and counting members and former members of Congress and government, businessmen, academics, pundits and political consultants among its founders and supporters, has weighed in on the controversy. Its solution: a 12-point package of Congressional rules changes announced in December that includes requiring the Senate to act on all presidential nominees within 90 days of their being named by the president.

Interestingly, while Obama made his controversial recess appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board, he did not choose this moment to fill any vacancies on the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). The FEC continues to function, (badly, according to a January 6, 2012 New York Times editorial), with five of its six commissioners continuing to serve despite the expiration of their terms.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress, with the apparent acquiescence of the White House, prefer to let the agency continue in a state of bipartisan gridlock. The FEC has three Democratic and three Republican Commissioners. Legally, however, the Commission need not be bipartisan, the only requirement is that no more than three Commissioners are members of the same political party. It could be nonpartisan or multipartisan. The obvious solution, and one which IndependentVoting.org and other reform advocates such as Theresa Amato, executive director of Citizens Works, have advocated, is the appointment of several independents to the FEC (See February 2, 2010 op-ed in the Kansas City Star).

This and other "independent" solutions to overcoming partisanship inside (and outside) the beltway, including nonpartisan elections and open primaries, are back-burnered by No Labels and other reform organizations whose focus is on asking the partisans in Congress to reform themselves. No Labels had this to say when it announced its 12-point program for reforming Congress:

Our dozen proposals to make congress work mostly don't require new laws or any new spending, and they don't favor any party or particular cause. These are simple, straightforward proposals to break gridlock, promote constructive discussion and reduce polarization in Congress. They can be adopted, almost all at once, when the next Congress convenes in January 2013.

Leaving aside the difficulties inherent in asking Congress to reform itself, there is another set of reforms relating to how Congress gets elected, surely a critical component of engaging the question of who members of Congress should be accountable to -- the parties or the people who elect them. Appointing independents to the FEC is one way of breaking down the partisans' control of the political process itself. Shouldn't the 40 percent of the electorate who self-identify as independents have representation on the body that oversees the electoral process?

Others are Top Two primaries and nonpartisan redistricting reform. Top Two does away with party primaries that are dominated by small numbers of party activists, who tend to be more ideological. Instead, all candidates run on one primary ballot with the top two going on to the general election. Independents can fully participate, unlike the closed party primaries which bar them. Another outside-the-beltway reform is nonpartisan redistricting that aims to break up the current system which allows parties to bargain with each other for "safe" districts where the winner of the party primary is assured election in November.

Nonpartisan election administration, top two and redistricting reform take aim at the power of the parties themselves seeking to break their hold over the electoral and governing process. These reforms are premised on the belief that you cannot change what members of Congress do in Washington without changing how they get there.

Their advocates do not claim they can be realized "almost all at once... by 2013." They will be achieved by bottom-up fundraising, coalition building and organizing. The states that have adopted Top Two have done so in referendums in California and Washington state where the reform was adopted by a substantial majority. A petition drive to put a Top Two referendum on the ballot is underway in Arizona. States with Initiative and Referendum are also the most likely to enact meaningful redistricting reform.

Outside-the-beltway reform activists believe that the difficult and long-term effort it takes to achieve these reforms is a good thing. In the process of winning them and using them, the American people will become more developed and politically sophisticated and take direct responsibility for our democracy. Those who occupied Wall Street and Cairo's Tahrir Square were responding to the fact that career politicians who benefit from the status quo cannot be counted on to change it. Those interested in political reform should to take that to heart.

"Compromise is not a dirty word" --Bono

2012-01-14T15:09:00.001-05:00

Where Are Independents in 2012???

2012-01-12T19:48:00.000-05:00

Check it out!

INDEPENDENTVOTING.ORG NETWORKS

Did Independents Make a Mark in Iowa? (Jacqueline Salit, Executive Editor, The Neo-Independent magazine, Huffington Post) First, a closer look at the numbers. Independent voter participation in the GOP caucuses might have been up as compared with 2008, but the participation by independents as a whole was way down. In 2008, an estimated 66,000 independents came out to vote in both parties' Iowa caucuses, more than twice the number of independents who chose to vote on Tuesday. In 2008, 75% chose Democratic balloting, and 41% of those voted for Obama. In other words, the conspicuous feature of Tuesday's Iowa caucus was the number of independents who stayed home.
Why We Need To Care About The Iowa Caucus (Written by WFMY News 2 CBS-Greenville NC) In recent days, lots of attention has been directed towards the Iowa caucus. At nearly 1,000 miles away, North Carolinians may be wondering why this is important to them. WFMY News 2 spoke with Dr. Omar Ali, Independent Political Analyst and Historian at UNC Greensboro to bring you more information.
Independents, Third Party Candidates Mull Galbraith Legacy (by Phillip M. Bailey, WFPL News 89.3 Louisville) Kentucky independents and third party advocates are reflecting on the death of perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith, who brought attention to candidates outside the two main political parties… Michael Lewis is chairman of Independent Kentucky, a non-partisan group that supports legislation to allow independents to vote in primary elections. He says Galbraith helped citizens who weren’t interested in either party get involved in the political process.
Mississippi Politics: Can Independents Help Reform? (Monica Betts, Politics365) One Independent Activist and Voter, Marla Nottingham of Brookhaven, MS, felt the election blues and decided she would petition for voters to have the right to vote in “open primaries” as Independents and vote for a politician of their choice whether Independent, Democrat or Republican. In 4 days Marla gathered 1,500 signatures in her home town.

Election Reform 2012: Virginia Loyalty Oaths, Partisan Redistricting Damage to Democracy, No Confidence in Congress, Rise of Independents

2012-01-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

ELECTION REFORM DIGEST
Wednesday, January 4, 2012

VIRGINIA LOYALTY OATH IN PRIMARY

Va. GOP will require loyalty oath in presidential primary (Andrew Cain, 12/29/11, Richmond Times Dispatch) Anyone who wants to vote must sign a form at the polling place pledging to support the eventual Republican nominee for president. Anyone who refuses to sign will be barred from voting in the primary. During a brief meeting Wednesday at the state Capitol, the State Board of Elections voted 3-0 to approve three forms developed by the election board's staff to implement the loyalty pledge requested by the state GOP.
Virginia Republicans to require loyalty oath for primary voters (By Ben Pershing, Washington Post/ Virginia Politics) The pledge has no legal weight — voters are free to sign the form and then disregard it if they choose — but it is meant to discourage mischief-making by non-Republicans. Virginians do not register to vote by party, making it possible for Democrats and independents to show up and vote in the Republican contest.

REDISTRICTING

Partisan redistricting damaging to democracy (LETTER Asbury Park Press) There should be a national election law that makes each congressional district in that state reflect the partisan makeup of that state. If a state has 35 percent Republicans, 25 percent Democrats and 40 percent independents, then that’s how the congressional seats should be determined.
Lerner: Providing a fair alternative (By SUSAN LERNER, executive director of Common Cause/NY, Newsday) We are excited to work with Newsday to give New Yorkers the chance to participate in the redistricting process, by giving them a starting point to design their own fair, nonpartisan district maps for the Assembly, State Senate and House through the new, interactive UMAPNY website.
Redistricting battles to continue in new year (By Josh Lederman, The Hill/ Ballot Box) New Jersey came in just under the wire, with a bipartisan panel picking a Republican-drawn map two days before Christmas that will likely pit Reps. Steve Rothman (D) and Scott Garrett (R) against each other. * Democrats in Ohio gave up their challenge in December to a GOP-friendly map that had prompted complaints against both parties. Democrats accused House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) of putting his thumb on the lever, but also faulted national Democrats for failing to intervene and help out in their fight. * And a bloody redistricting tug-of-war in Arizona between Republicans and the state's independent commission seems to have fizzled out after the GOP, led by Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Ariz.), ran out of feasible options for contesting a map that Republicans charge unfairly benefits Democrats.
Federal judges block West Virginia redistricting (By Steven Allen Adams, Reuters) The panel said in a two-to-one decision that the plan drawn up by the state's Democratic-led legislature, which left West Virginia's three congressional districts virtually unchanged, did not provide equal representation in each district… In West Virginia, the court said the legislature had focused too much on maintaining the status quo rather than making each district as equal in population as possible. It gave the legislature until January 17 to submit an interim plan or said the panel would choose its own plan.

FRUSTRATION WITH CONGRESS

Frustration with Congress Could Hurt Republican Incumbents - GOP Base Critical of Party's Washington Leadership (Pew Research Center report December 15) Independents, who have expressed great frustration with Washington gridlock over the course of the past year, are particularly critical of the Republican Party. By a 54% to 30% margin they say the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party, is more extreme in its positions, and they are twice as likely to label the Republicans than the Democrats as the less honest and ethical party (42% vs. 21%). Yet independents have few positive things to say about the Democratic Party either. Both parties’ leaders get poor approval ratings from independents (14% approve of GOP leaders in Congress, 23% of Democratic leaders). And when independents are asked which party can best handle the most important problem facing the nation, as many volunteer “neither” as say the Democrats or the Republicans.

RISE OF INDEPENDENTS

Voters leaving Republican, Democratic parties in droves (By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY) A USA TODAY analysis of state voter registration statistics shows registered Democrats declined in 25 of the 28 states that register voters by party. Republicans dipped in 21 states, while independents increased in 18 states. The trend is acute in states that are key to next year's presidential race. In the eight swing states that register voters by party, Democrats' registration is down by 800,000 and Republicans' by 350,000. Independents have gained 325,000.
California State Judge Expedites Hearing in Minor Party Lawsuit Against Top-Two System (Ballot Access News) The California Superior Court Judge who is hearing Rubin v Bowen has set a hearing date of February 7, 2012, for Rubin v Bowen, RG11-605-301, Alameda County.

American Elects, Ron Paul and the Third Party Option

2012-01-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

AMERICANS ELECT

Has Ron Paul thought of this? (Clarence Page, Times Daily.com - Tennessee Valley) But I am skeptical that adding another candidate selection process will solve more headaches than it creates, although from a journalist’s standpoint, it could be fun to cover. That’s why I was not joking with my Paul-Clinton ticket question. A web-based alternative nominating process is almost tailor-made for Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s army of web-savvy supporters if he loses his Republican presidential bid, as widely expected. A groundswell of support for him already is beginning to appear among Americans Elect delegates.
Opinion: Now is the Best Time for a Third Party to Rise (By Solomon Kleinsmith) A centrist third party could prosper in today’s political environment and end the stalemate in Washington. There is a large body of moderate Republicans, disaffected Democrats and dissatisfied independents looking for the kind of political home that this party could provide. Unhappiness with the political options now available to Americans will sooner or later translate into a groundswell for alternatives.

2012 Iowa Caucus/ New Hampshire Primary: Where are the Independents?

2012-01-12T19:15:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't bother you with last week's news but it's the current topic of msm... I tried to pick out some of the more interesting items relative to independent voters. More to come! - NH

2012
PPP: Obama's base as enthusiastic as conservatives (By BYRON TAU, Politico) The Democratic-leaning pollster Public Policy Polling [SEE BELOW] finds that African-Americans, tea party supporters and young people are the three most motivated demographic groups going into the 2012 election cycle.
Enthusiasm and the 2012 Election (Public Policy Polling) Obama's path to reelection is difficult and if the election was today and the Republican nominee was Mitt Romney I think he'd probably lose. That's because his standing has fallen so far with independents and with the more conservative wing of his own party. But it's not because those core groups that fueled his victory in 2008 have lost their enthusiasm.
Independents represent a major unknown in the N.H. primary (By Sandhya Somashekhar, Washington Post) Independents are a finicky and fickle bunch. They are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of the country, with a majority saying things are badly off track. Social issues do not concern them. Many voted for President Obama. And now, this critical voting bloc — which makes up roughly 45 percent of the New Hampshire electorate — is about to take center stage. If the Iowa contest exposed the conflicted mood and sharp divisions within the GOP, then New Hampshire will offer a snapshot of a hard-to-pin-down sliver of the electorate that has an outsize impact on elections, particularly in this swing state.
Ron Paul says he got youth, Independent vote (Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register) Ron Paul said this morning that a large number of young people and Independent voters supported him in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, proving his campaign can go the distance.
Shields, Brooks on the Macro and Micro Stories of the Iowa Caucuses (Judy Woodruff, PBSNewsHour on YouTube) The "sleeper story" is how Ron Paul is resonating among independent voters, NewsHour regular Mark Shields adds.
Americans Elect: Obama's Third-Party Tar Pit (By Jared E. Peterson, American Thinker) Anyone with the remotest interest in replacing Barack Obama as America's president in 2012 should take his eyes off Iowa and the boring ups and downs of the race for the Republican nomination. The real action that may well decide our next president is quietly going on elsewhere, in the state offices that qualify candidates and parties for the November 2012 presidential ballot. You may not have heard much about a shadowy group called "Americans Elect"…

Kentucky Independents' Michael Lewis Speaks About Gatewood Galbraith Passing

2012-01-12T18:51:00.000-05:00

Former Kentucky governor candidate Gatewood Galbraith dies (WDRB-Louisville) Lawyer and frequent candidate for Kentucky governor Gatewood Galbraith has died. The Fayette County Coroner's Office says family members found him at home on his bed, "unresponsive." It said he had been ill for several days with congestion in his lungs and suffering from "cold-like symptoms which had been complicated by chronic asthma and emphysema."

If you live in Kentucky and want to participate in a bottom-up movement to include independents and ordinary Americans in our political process, contact Mike at the grassroots affiliate of independentvoting.org at Independent Kentucky. Kentucky has a fast growing population of independent voters. With independents being 40% of the electorate nationally Independent Kentucky is working to make strides in educating independent voters and making sure the movement is heard.

IK Leadership Team
	Chairman: Michael P. W. Lewis Email: michael@independentkentucky.org			Co-Chairman: Alexander Kemble Email: admin@independentkentucky.com