Open Primaries, Independent Parties, and the Authorities Must read on Redding News Review — Lenora Fulani explains why she did not support Bill Thompson in November’s mayoral race in NYC…. *******   With more than 40% of the country being independent, opening up the primaries is an important democratic (small “d”) electoral reform that would [...]

As many of you know, I’ve been a fan of Dobbs. Yes, he has been leading the far right on issues like immigration and border security, but he opposed the Bush tax cuts, wanted to raise the minimum wage, is pro choice and favors gay marriage. Meanwhile, he values fiscally responsibility and has a pro [...]

Where the Independent Voters — and Independent Candidates — Are in 2010 You’ll never see what happened last Tuesday looking through a two-party microscope! Nope. You need an independent historyscope to get this one! I had the pleasure of hearing independent strategist Jackie Salit give her analysis of the November elections on Sunday night on [...]

Gallup is out with a poll that suggests more problems for the Dems and a 10 point shift in voter preference since July. First, the numbers… The bigger news here? Independents are swinging wildly in favor of the generic Republicans. There’s about a year to go before the 2010 elections, but this shift does not [...]

News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/29/09 As we head to Election Day 2009, everyone is talking about the Yankees and the Phillies. And a few people are talking about the Mayoral race in NYC, where independent candidate Mike Bloomberg is poised to become the first independent mayor of New York, running on the Independence Party [...]

SERIOUS AS A HEART ATTACK: THE INDEPENDENTS’ STORY By: Jackie Salit When we finally get far enough down the road on health care reform, it will become clear that a driving force in the intensity of the fight was a heart attack. Not the medical kind. The political kind. Independents swung decisively to Barack Obama [...]

News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/6/09 Independent Voters On healthcare and other hot issues: Follow the independents–The number of voters not tied to Democrats or Republicans is expanding fast. Both parties need to adjust. (By the Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board) Were the 2010 elections to occur today, 43 percent of independents say they would [...]

Gallup has some numbers that might surprise. Basically, the folks who decide the elections (the indys) are starting to consider the Republicans more and Dems better pay attention. Because the only reason they made such historic gains in 2006 is because the DNC targeted districts that wanted more moderate leadership and took seats from the [...]

Independent voters are at the center (though not necessarily centr-IST!) of the current firestorm going on in the country over healthcare, socialism, war, and nearly every other issue around. I was reading Jonathan Weisman’s article in the WSJ yesterday (see below) and was struck by some of the questions that the NBC/WSJ poll asked voters. [...]

Poli-Tea author Damon Eris, independent political blogger, talks with The Hankster about independent and third party politics, the rise of independent voters in the face of an entrenched political duopoly, and what it all means to American politics circa 2009 and beyond. Click here to sign in to the show. You’ll be able to access [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS Coverage of independent voters and health care reform from a more progressive viewpoint: Wisconsin: Health Care Vital Issue (By Cecily Wu, CQ Politics) Thus, enactment of health care legislation that can draw solid public support could enable Kagen to maintain the backing of independent voters, who Scattergood said comprise upwards of 20 percent [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS More from Quinnipiac and Field polls on independent voters’ views Deficit a Growing Concern for Public — and White House (By GERALD F. SEIB, Wall Street Journal) When Mr. Hart, the Democratic pollster, conducted a focus-group discussion with a dozen independent voters in Maryland a few days ago, he drew this conclusion: “These [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS Wherever independents fall on the supposed political “spectrum”, if they ARE on the political “spectrum”, (i.e. they do exist!) Many MSM publishers seek increasing irrelevance if they don’t see the direction that the American people are headed…. While it’s clear that independents are “all over the map” on social issues, they increasingly come [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS If you want to call it “fickle” to leave the two-party system behind in favor creating a new political culture, call me fickle! 2010: Fight for fickle kids (By: Eamon Javers, Politico) Stanford University political science professor Morris Fiorina is convinced that both political parties haven’t yet grasped the scale of the change [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS Continued look at who independent voters are/are not and Obama’s poll numbers… A reminder: Most ‘independent’ voters aren’t (LA Times/Top of the Ticket) Sick and Tired of Republicans and Democrats? New Parties Say They Offer Alternatives (By James King, Phoenix News Times) Pa.’s Sestak plans Tuesday announcement (USA Today) Poll: Pennsylvania ranks 20th [...]

Now that the House has left for summer recess, with the Senate leaving in a week, it’s a perfect time to look back and see what may have gone wrong in the Democrats’ plan to pass a major health care reform package before this week had passed. Most people tend to focus on the policy [...]

Not a whole lot of good has come the way to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) these days. The only organization I can think of that gets more right wing scorn has been ACORN, who I think mostly get picked on because they don’t fight back. Another ally, Health Care for America Now (HCAN), [...]

In my last post I detailed some of the roadblocks that have kept the Democratic leadership in Washington from finding a way to pass a major health care reform bill with a public option. They’ve whittled the cost of the bill down a few hundred billion dollars by negotiating concessions from drug companies and hospitals, [...]

While I have my doubts about this latest revelation, the obvious question remains: what Democrat would want her support? Especially since many Republicans aren’t too keen on being linked to her either. I mean…really? From Washington Times: The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP’s base said in an interview she [...]

With the President’s approval dropping and party ID numbers slipping…should Dems be worried? More at True/Slant.