Donklephant » New York City

New York City Mosque To Move To…New York City

Justin Gardner — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:37:04 +0000

I refuse to call it the Ground Zero mosque because, well, it’s not at Ground Zero. It’s close, but it’s not at the site…which I think most people who opposed it think it is.

But here’s the thing…looks like it’s moving to another part of the city.

From Haaretz:

After weeks of heated debate over plans for an Islamic community center near Ground Zero – the site of the 9/11 attacks on New York – it seems Muslim leaders will soon back down, agreeing to move to a new site.

The decision follows a high-profile campaign against the project that included advertisements on New York buses showing images of the burning Twin Towers, an iconic landmark razed when al-Qaida terrorists flew packed passenger planes into them in 2001. The New York Republican party is also said to be planning a hostile television campaign.

Every hack politician who has actively pushed this should be ashamed of themselves. This is a completely worthless debate, driven, might I add, by the same folks who cry every single day about their constitutional rights being violated.

And lest they forget another important point about why a mosque would be appropriate near Ground Zero…a reminder from the Village Voice…

Muslims were victims of 9/11, too. Sorry, but it’s true. And one was an NYPD cadet.

Heads up Republicans…politicizing this might drive some of the base to the polls this year, but it’ll drive nobody else. And as you continue to ostracize groups that are expanding, instead of having an open tent, you’re marginalizing your party in the long run. Because for every voter you keep with nonsense issue like this (and revising the 14th amendment), you lose 2 new voters in the future. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

UPDATED:
Looks like the report was false. The mosque is going forward.

The official Twitter account of Park51, the developer constructing the center, has now stepped in to deny the story. “Reports by Haaretz are completely false,” tweeted @Park51. “We are committed to plans of building Park 51 to serve the community of Lower Manhattan.

Score one for American media. And cross Haaretz off your list of sources for news on this story.

Good.

UPDATED UPDATE:
However, David Patterson is trying to get the mosque to move…

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) will meet with the imam and developer of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero “later this week” to discuss the possibility of removing the mosque to an “alternate location”, according to Rep. Peter King.

King, an outspoken opponent of placing the mosque and Islamic cultural center so close to where terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, received a call from Paterson this morning.

“We are working with the developers on a staff level but there have not been any formal discussions between the Governor and Imam or developer,” said Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Paterson. “However, we expect to have a meeting scheduled in the near future.”

Something tells me this will keep on going and going and going…

Faisal Shahzad Admits To Time Square Bombing Attempt

Justin Gardner — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:31:24 +0000

And he says that he acted alone.

We shall see…

From Reuter:

“He’s admitted to buying the truck, putting the devices together, putting them in the truck, leaving the truck there and leaving the scene,” the law enforcement source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“He’s claimed to have acted alone. He did admit to all the charges, so to speak,” the source said, adding that investigators were still looking into his activities during a recent trip to Pakistan.

If links were found between the failed Times Square bombing and Pakistan’s Taliban, which claimed responsibility for it, Pakistan could come under renewed U.S. pressure to open risky new fronts against Islamic militants.

Meanwhile, some conservatives are balking at reading an American citizen his Miranda rights?

– “I think obviously that [mirandizing Shahzad] would be a serious mistake until we’ve — at least until we find out as much information as we have, and there are ways — legal ways — of delaying that.” — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

– “I hope that [Attorney General Eric] Holder did discuss this with the intelligence community. If they believe they got enough from him, how much more should they get? Did they Mirandize him? I know he’s an American citizen but still.” — Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

John McCain? Mr. Habeas Corpus himself? Seriously?

Even Joe Lieberman is getting in on the “no miranda” act…

I think it’s time for us to look at whether we want to amend that law to apply it to American citizens who choose to become affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, whether they should not also be deprived automatically of their citizenship, and therefore be deprived of rights that come with that citizenship when they are apprehended and charged with a terrorist act.

So how exactly would we be able to determine that an American citizen’s rights be revoked before we know whether or not they did what they’re accused of?

Oh those pesky rights!

Oddly enough, Glenn Beck and I see eye to eye on this one…

Beck added, “He’s a citizen of the United States, so I say we uphold the laws and the Constitution on citizens.” When Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade interjected, “But he’s a threat to the country. That’s different,” Beck responded, “So are a lot of citizens of the country. … We don’t shred the Constitution when it’s popular.”

“So are a lot of citizens of this country.”

I never thought I’d say this, but thank you Glenn Beck!

More as it develops…

More On Faisal Shahzad, Times Square Bombing Suspect

Justin Gardner — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:24:25 +0000

By now you know that he was nabbed last night at JFK International Airport, but do you know how it happened?

From Politico:

The number from a disposable cellphone led FBI agents to the suspect arrested Monday night for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on Saturday evening, according to a senior official.

“They were able to basically get one phone number and by running it through a number of databases, figure out who they thought the guy was,” the official said.

A huge law-enforcement force tracked the suspect through the afternoon and evening. He was arrested at 11:30 p.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

The vehicle identification number had been removed from the bomb-laden 1993 Nissan Pathfinder left in Times Square. But investigators were able to lift it from a second location on the vehicle, and used that to track down a Connecticut man who said he had sold the Pathfinder for cash about three weeks ago.

The man had offered the vehicle on Craigslist, and FBI agents were able to recover the number from a disposable cellphone that had been used by the buyer.

The suspect didn’t still have the phone. But using a lot of technology and access to database, agents located the suspect.

Here’s my question…that last part…he didn’t have the cell phone, but they were able to use “a lot of technology and access to database”…what does that mean? Was he part of a database? Did they already know who he was? Was he on some list?

Also, here’s one nugget I think many of us haven’t seen yet…he almost got away!

After media reports late Monday that authorities were looking for a Pakistani-American man, Shahzad fled to Kennedy airport, boarding a flight for Dubai before law enforcement called the plane back to the terminal and the arrest was made.

Regardless, glad to see that the government caught the guy that they think did it…but we should all be cautious given our record in the past.

Here’s more on Shahzad, how he became a citizen and what that means:

Despite becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009, Shahzad spent much of the past year outside of the country, mostly in Pakistan where his wife, Huma Mian, is currently living. Details of his activities abroad remain unclear, but a picture of his life in American began to emerge Tuesday.

Shahzad, along with his wife and children, a boy and a girl, lived for about three years in a two-story Colonial-style three-bedroom home in Shelton, Conn., former neighbors said.

Neighbors offered diverging descriptions of Shahzad but agreed that he kept to himself. One, Brenda Thurman, said Shahzad had told her husband he worked on Wall Street, while another neighbor, Audrey Sokol, said she thought he worked in nearby Norwalk.

“He was a little bit strange,” she said. “He didn’t like to come out during the day.”

Sokol, a teacher who lives next door to Shahzad’s old house, said that he would wave and say hello and that he seemed normal to her.

Shahzad was currently living with a roommate in a mixed-race, working-class neighborhood of multi-family homes in Bridgeport, Conn. Authorities removed filled plastic bags from that house overnight and a bomb squad came and went without entering as local police and FBI agents gathered in the cordoned-off street.

He became a citizen in Hartford, Conn., and passed all the criminal and national security background checks required for citizenship, officials said.

The officials familiar with the inquiry say investigators plan to go through his citizenship application line by line to see if he lied about anything.

If Shahzad did try to blow up that SUV in Times Square, he’ll represent what many Americans fear: a foreign born naturalized citizen turned against us within our own shores. Basically, somebody who would be nearly impossible to stop from carrying out something truly horrific since he’s “one of us.”

Still, I would argue that this seems no different than a lone nut getting angry and flying his plane into a building…except this attempt wasn’t successful. The media spent maybe a day or two on that story. How long will they spend digging into Shahzad’s past, motives, etc.?

More as it develops…

BREAKING: Times Square Terrorist Bomb Plot Said To Have International Ties

Justin Gardner — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:55:19 +0000

Looks like their may be a Pakistani connection after all, but it still doesn’t appear that those who initially claimed responsibility are tied to this.

From ABC News:

The Washington Post, quoting Obama Administration sources, said the attempted bombing “increasingly appears to have been coordinated by several people in a plot with international links.”

Other law enforcement officials said the investigation was closing in on the driver of the vehicle and an unknown number of others connected to him.

“This is moving very fast because they left behind a treasure trove of evidence in the unexploded car,” one US official told ABC News.

And here’s more on the former owner of the vehicle and who he sold his SUV to…

Officials told ABC News Senior Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas that the Connecticut owner of the vehicle told them he had sold the Nissan SUV last month in an unrecorded sale to an “Arabic or Latino looking man” in his 20′s or 30′s, for a few hundred dollars in cash.

The license plate on the car was apparently stolen from an auto repair shop outside Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to law enforcement officials.

The authorities told ABC News that the previous owner provided a description of the man who bought the car, and told investigators the vehicle was sold for several hundred dollars in cash, with no written records identifying the purchaser.

By the way, the administration has officially deemed this a terrorist act. So that’s why the title was written that way.

More as it develops…

Video of Times Square Bomb Suspect

Justin Gardner — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:05:01 +0000

From the looks of the video, this guy could have been caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Still, investigators can’t ignore any leads right now.

More as it develops…

NEWS ALERT: Media Gets Some Stuff Right About Independent Voters!

Nancy Hanks — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:40:00 +0000

The Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat continues to reverberate (or is that ricochet?) in the media [for a quick round-up of latest Charlie Cook in National Journal, Robert Reich on Huffington Post, Dan Balz in Washington Post and Kristi Keck on CNN, see today's Hankster] and independent voters remain center stage (the newly elected Senator is that guy who posed nude for Cosmo, right?…) To wit:

Howard Fineman gets it right with one of the most grounded descriptions of independents in print in Independent Minded (Newsweek).

Also of note, Elizabeth Benjamin, who took Ben’s place at the Daily News when Mr. Smith went to Washington with Politico, gets it right in Bloomberg’s Independence (Pay)Day by making the first ever in print distinction between the grassroots NYC Independence Party Organizations and the Upstate-Anything-But-Independent-”We’re proud to be the party of business”-MacKay crowd.

And then there’s Thomas Friedman’s critique of Obama’s first year where Friedman laments the disappearance of the President’s “amazing, young, Internet-enabled, grass-roots movement he mobilized to get elected”. Mr. Friedman apparently misses the distinction between running for office and governing the country, but hey, 2 outa 3 ain’t bad!

Oh, and be sure to follow the dialog about what exactly the Tea Party movement is and where it came from, latest by Ben McGrath in The New Yorker.

Much (much) more over at The Hankster… Oh, an by the way, The Hankster is also blogging at the new Third Party and Independent Daily edited by Damon Eris. Check it out!

Open Primaries, Independent Parties, and the Authorities

Nancy Hanks — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:04:26 +0000

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 promote non-partisanship and allow independent voters access to the first round of voting. Californians will vote in June 2010 on a “Top Two” version of open primaries, and while this concept is very popular at the grassroots, the loudest opposition is coming from minor party spokespeople like Rich Winger of Ballot Access News. However, Jon Fleichman at Fox & Hounds Daily (a news site dedicated to the principle that “an economically healthy California is a boon for all citizens”) unintentionally makes the best argument in support open primaries. ***** And speaking of third party voices, I was glad to see that the Independent Political Report picked up The Hankster’s coverage of the attacks on the Working Families Party–maybe one day IPR will recognize the NYC IP as well…. ******* Mike Bloomberg apparently has something else in common with Fred Newman (in addition to their both being independents): neither of them gives grades! ******* NY Post’s Frederic U. Dicker has really lost it — he seems to be living in a place where up is down…. ******* And finally, lots of interesting analysis of health care, Obama, independents, and the current nature of our political culture. ****** Oh, and one more thing! Technorati’s got itself a brand new bag. See why I care at The End.

MUST READ

The Independence Party and the Black community: A power partnership (By Lenora Fulani, Redding News Review)

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Applicants to California Redistricting Commission Broken Down by Political Party Membership (Ballot Access News)

Voter angst: Nation might see third party rising (Chris Austin, Knoxville News Sentinel)

OPEN PRIMARIES/ POLITICAL REFORM

Effort launched to end marginalization of independent voters (By MARTIN WISCKOL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

The Dark Side of the California Open Primary Proposal (By Richard Winger, California Progress Report)

Open primary won’t open Legislature (Richard Winger, San Bernardino Sun)

Colorado Legislator Will Introduce Bill to Ease Independent Candidate Prior Registration Hurdle (Ballot Access News)

Maybe it’s time to drop political labels (By Mizell Stewart III, Evansville Courier Press – IL)

Nestande wants change in the capitol (The Desert Sun) Will you support the open primary initiative on the June ballot? Yes. I believe in the competitive market place of ideas. I am confident that the principle of local control of government vs. a model of command and control from Sacramento and Washington, D.C., will prevail regardless of party affiliation.

Random Thoughts on the Political Scene (By Jon Fleischman, Fox & Hounds) The so-called “open primary” is supposed to reduce the role of special interests in the legislature, right? Yet the measure, if passed, would make it vastly more expensive for anyone to get elected to the legislature (successful candidates will have had to campaign to every voter in their district, twice). Hmmm.

GOVERNORS RACES

Independent candidate to join Senate debates (By DAN RING, Mass Live/The Republican) Brown, Coakley and Kennedy will face off in the first televised debate on Tuesday. The debate will be taped, and it is scheduled to be aired on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston from 8 to 9 a.m. on Dec. 27 and on WSBK-TV Channel 38 in Boston from 7 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 28.

Decision-making publicity suits Goodman just fine (By Michael Mishak, Las Vegas Sun) Goodman was changing his party affiliation from Democrat to nonpartisan, a necessary step if he decides to run as an independent candidate for governor next year — something he’s been hinting at for months.

REFORM PARTY

Reform Party Calls Teleconference National Committee Meeting (Ballot Access News)

WORKING FAMILIES PARTY

What Is Bill Thompson Doing With His Email List? Organizing 2.0 and This Next Generation of Web Apps (Chrissie Brodigan, Huffington Post)

Working Familes Party “Taking Heat” (Independent Political Report)

Target Practice (BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Daily News/Daily Politics)

Source: More WFP Subpoenas (By Azi Paybarah, NY Observer)

Councilman-elect Dromm Subpoenaed (By Azi Paybarah, NY Observer)

BLOOMBERG

Obama gets an ‘A’ for effort from Schwarzenegger (From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart, Political Ticker)

Losers abound in NY politics this year (Fredric U. Dicker, NY Post) Among the losers: * Bloomberg, whose surprisingly narrow election victory weakened him even further. and “the leftist Working Families Party”

BLOGS: RECOMMENDED READING

Dean’s Blind Spot (Ronald Brownstein, the Alantic)

GROWING CLOUT OF INDEPENDENTS IS A GOP NIGHTMARE (American Opinion, by Jackie Salit)

The Flawed Logic of William Kristol (By: SJGulitti, FireDogLake/The Seminal) To date, had independents firmly embraced the principles of the conservative movement generally or the G.O.P. in particular, the percentage of voters identifying as Republicans would show a marked increase and so far that is not the case. I would argue that the shift to the right among independent voters is far from solid and is conditional, being subject to a set of factors that will likely change by the time of the 2012 election.

Why Obama Is Failing (By Robert Parry, Consortium News) By failing to do the hard work of building institutions, the progressive community has largely sidelined itself, sitting in the stands and booing the players on the field.

THE END

On the 3rd anniversary of The Hankster, I complained in a post that I was losing authorities on Technorati. Well, I’m not sayin’ somebody was listenin’, but… Technorati has changed! They changed the way they calculate authorities and guess what — we’re doin’ swell! Watch out, HuffPo, The Hankster’s gaining on you! And here’s the reason: independents are the fastest growing political constituency in the country. Keep up the great work, indies! And keep challenging those authorities, wherever you run into them!!

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 promote non-partisanship and allow independent voters access to the first round of voting. Californians will vote in June 2010 on a “Top Two” version of open primaries, and while this concept is very popular at the grassroots, the loudest opposition is coming from minor party spokespeople like Rich Winger of Ballot Access News. However, Jon Fleichman at Fox & Hounds Daily (a news site dedicated to the principle that “an economically healthy California is a boon for all citizens”) unintentionally makes the best argument in support of open primaries. ***** And speaking of third party voices, I was glad to see that the Independent Political Report picked up The Hankster’s coverage of the attacks on the Working Families Party–maybe one day IPR will recognize the NYC IP as well…. ******* Mike Bloomberg apparently has something else in common with Fred Newman (in addition to their both being independents): neither of them gives grades! ******* NY Post’s Frederic U. Dicker has really lost it — he seems to be living in a place where up is down…. ******* And finally, lots of interesting analysis of health care, Obama, independents, and the current nature of our political culture. ****** Oh, and one more thing! Technorati‘s got itself a brand new bag. See why I care here at The End.

MUST READ

The Independence Party and the Black community: A power partnership (By Lenora Fulani, Redding News Review)

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Voter angst: Nation might see third party rising (Chris Austin, Knoxville News Sentinel)

OPEN PRIMARIES/ POLITICAL REFORM

Effort launched to end marginalization of independent voters (By MARTIN WISCKOL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
The Dark Side of the California Open Primary Proposal (By Richard Winger, California Progress Report)
Maybe it’s time to drop political labels (By Mizell Stewart III, Evansville Courier Press – IL)
Random Thoughts on the Political Scene (By Jon Fleischman, Fox & Hounds) The so-called “open primary” is supposed to reduce the role of special interests in the legislature, right? Yet the measure, if passed, would make it vastly more expensive for anyone to get elected to the legislature (successful candidates will have had to campaign to every voter in their district, twice). Hmmm.

GOV RACES

Independent candidate to join Senate debates (By DAN RING, Mass Live/The Republican) Brown, Coakley and Kennedy will face off in the first televised debate on Tuesday. The debate will be taped, and it is scheduled to be aired on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston from 8 to 9 a.m. on Dec. 27 and on WSBK-TV Channel 38 in Boston from 7 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 28.
Decision-making publicity suits Goodman just fine (By Michael Mishak, Las Vegas Sun) Goodman was changing his party affiliation from Democrat to nonpartisan, a necessary step if he decides to run as an independent candidate for governor next year — something he’s been hinting at for months.

NEW YORK POLITICS

Working Familes Party “Taking Heat” (Independent Political Report)
Target Practice (BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Daily News/Daily Politics)
Obama gets an ‘A’ for effort from Schwarzenegger (From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart, Political Ticker)
Losers abound in NY politics this year (Fredric U. Dicker, NY Post) Among the losers: * Bloomberg, whose surprisingly narrow election victory weakened him even further, and “the leftist Working Families Party”* HUH??? Did Mr. Dicker overturn the election???

BLOGS: RECOMMENDED READING

Dean’s Blind Spot (Ronald Brownstein, the Alantic)
GROWING CLOUT OF INDEPENDENTS IS A GOP NIGHTMARE (American Opinion, by Jackie Salit)
The Flawed Logic of William Kristol (By: SJGulitti, FireDogLake/The Seminal) To date, had independents firmly embraced the principles of the conservative movement generally or the G.O.P. in particular, the percentage of voters identifying as Republicans would show a marked increase and so far that is not the case. I would argue that the shift to the right among independent voters is far from solid and is conditional, being subject to a set of factors that will likely change by the time of the 2012 election.
Why Obama Is Failing (By Robert Parry, Consortium News) By failing to do the hard work of building institutions, the progressive community has largely sidelined itself, sitting in the stands and booing the players on the field.

THE END

For more news for independents, see The Hankster

Where the Independent Voters–and Independent Candidates–Are in 2010

Nancy Hanks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:45:25 +0000

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 her regular national conference call which is attended by around 150 activists around the country every six weeks.

Jackie is a long-time independent activist based in New York City, the president of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party (aka IndependentVoting.org), the executive editor of the Neo-Independent Magazine, and the campaign manager of Mike Bloomberg’s Independence Party campaign. She’s someone I follow very closely — and so should you if you care about independent politics.

A statement released by the campaign via email on Wednesday after the election said: This year, the IP delivered 13% of the total votes cast – the largest percentage ever by a minor party for a cross-endorsed mayoral candidate.

The Hankster (my blog) and Donklephant (where I am a guest blogger), in addition to The Independent View (NYC IP activist Michael Drucker’s blog) and the NY Daily News’ Brawl for the Hall blog seemed to be the only media outlets that even referenced this astounding result from the election. And then today, I caught Maine’s independent mayoral candidate Alex Hammers’ post on The Moderate Voice “Independents are a Sleeping Giant”.

In the CUIP conference call, Jackie emphasized that, far from being the “margin of victory” for Bloomberg’s win as an independent in NYC, the vote on the IP line was the foundation of the campaign. At a time when the votes of both major parties Dems and Repubs went down, the 15 year old grassroots Independence Party doubled its vote.

It is indeed wonderous that no other media picked this up.

But if your framework is a bipartisan — indeed partisan — system, you don’t pay a lot of attention to the margins, no pun intended! You don’t see what’s happening on the horizon. You’re not looking to the future — you’re looking to the past and how pollsters have been able to parse the vote based on prior elections. Polls are supposed to be predictive. They’re interesting, and we all follow them. But predictive?

You’d have to have a 6-billion-person polling operation to figure that one out. And still, you’d get it wrong because what the NYC mayoral race points to is the power that independents have as an organized force. It’s something like what the unions used to call “strength in numbers” when we still sang Solidarity Forever and meant solidarity forever for everyone.

Old-fashioned as it may be, independents in NYC have banded together, we have talked with each other, we have made endless phone calls night after night year after year, we have fought back against a stupid and vicious state party chair, we have constituted 5 county committees under state law that are directed by a collective 94-person executive committee, and have inched our way forward into NYC politics as players.

We just led New Yorkers to elect our first independent mayor.

In my book this is something that ordinary people can be proud of. And that ordinary people — nonpartisans — all over the country can learn from and emulate.

And indeed they are. Take Joelle Riddle in Durango CO, a former chairwoman of the La Plata County Democratic Party who won her post in 2006 with party support and decided to go independent in August, would have to run as a write-in candidate after inadvertently missing a deadline to change her registration.

“I seek to remedy this burden that falls unequally on small political parties and independent or unaffiliated candidates, unfairly discriminating against them and not affording them the same privileges as the major political parties,” she wrote in a statement announcing her decision Tuesday.

Partisan politics isn’t the future of our country, but the search for an independent alternative might be.

You/we independents can do it. If we’re organized.

You’ll never see what happened last Tuesday looking through a two-party microscope! Nope. You need an independent historyscope to get this one!

It is indeed wonderous that no other media picked this up.

We just led New Yorkers to elect our first independent mayor.

In my book this is something that ordinary people can be proud of. And that ordinary people — nonpartisans — all over the country can learn from and emulate.

Partisan politics isn’t the future of our country, but the search for an independent alternative might be.

You/we independents can do it. If we’re organized.

-NH

News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/6/09

Nancy Hanks — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:31:13 +0000

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 vote Republican (in a generic congressional ballot), while 38 percent would vote Democratic, the Pew Research Center finds. That’s quite a shift from 2006, when independents favored Democrats over Republicans, 44 to 33 percent.

Open Primaries

South Dakota Democrats Will Allow Independent Voters to Vote in their Primaries (Ballot Access News)

Re-enfranchising New Yorkers (by Richard Flanagan, Gotham Gazette) Voters overwhelmingly rejected Macchiarola’s plan for nonpartisan elections, 70 percent to 30 percent. But only 13 percent of registered voters bothered to show up for the off-year election of 2003, and many had ties to the unions, interest groups and political clubs that benefit from the status quo and know how to pull the levers of the current system to their advantage. They were loathe to expand the electorate and risk the surrender of power.

Independent Gov Races

In an unsettled political environment where voters are exercising independent options, independent candidates like NJ gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett pick up support….

Poll: New Jersey gubernatorial race a virtual tie (From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart)

Daggett gets little help from ballot position (Press of Atlantic City) New Jersey laws reserving the top two spots on any ballot for the two major-party candidates. Last month, Daggett – along with Libertarian Party candidate Kenneth Kaplan – took the step of filing suit against the practice.

Daggett for guv? Why not? (By ALEX GECAN, For The Trentonian)

Bloomberg 09

NYC Dem machine targets independent run by Mike Bloomberg with 2 darts: money (the Mayor is very wealthy…) and term limits (which the Dem-controlled City Council extended….) Good luck with that! Meanwhile, it’s the NYC Independence and the Working Families Parties that are supplying the spark in this year’s city-wide elections. In a city of 5-1 Dem registration, that’s gotta hurt the clubhouse…

Bloomberg’s Line Dance (BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Daily News/Daily Politics)

Voters Like Mayor, but Not His Path to 3rd Run (By MICHAEL BARBARO, NY Times)

New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg received the endorsement of the Hotel and Motel Trades Council (From msnbc’s First Read with Chuck Todd)

After term limit tiff, Bloomberg still gets hotel endorsement (ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, NY Daily News/Brawl for the Hall) The only union with a major field operation that remains unpledged is 1199, which voted for Thompson during the WFP endorsement process. Neutrality is not out of the question for 1199, a union source said.

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 vote Republican (in a generic congressional ballot), while 38 percent would vote Democratic, the Pew Research Center finds. That’s quite a shift from 2006, when independents favored Democrats over Republicans, 44 to 33 percent.

Open Primaries

South Dakota Democrats Will Allow Independent Voters to Vote in their Primaries (Ballot Access News)
Re-enfranchising New Yorkers (by Richard Flanagan, Gotham Gazette) Voters overwhelmingly rejected Macchiarola’s plan for nonpartisan elections, 70 percent to 30 percent. But only 13 percent of registered voters bothered to show up for the off-year election of 2003, and many had ties to the unions, interest groups and political clubs that benefit from the status quo and know how to pull the levers of the current system to their advantage. They were loathe to expand the electorate and risk the surrender of power.

Independent Gov Races

In an unsettled political environment where voters are exercising independent options, independent candidates like NJ gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett pick up support….

Poll: New Jersey gubernatorial race a virtual tie (From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart)
Daggett gets little help from ballot position (Press of Atlantic City) New Jersey laws reserving the top two spots on any ballot for the two major-party candidates. Last month, Daggett – along with Libertarian Party candidate Kenneth Kaplan – took the step of filing suit against the practice.
Daggett for guv? Why not? (By ALEX GECAN, For The Trentonian)

Bloomberg 09

Bloomberg’s Line Dance (BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Daily News/Daily Politics)
Voters Like Mayor, but Not His Path to 3rd Run (By MICHAEL BARBARO, NY Times)
New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg received the endorsement of the Hotel and Motel Trades Council (From msnbc’s First Read with Chuck Todd)
After term limit tiff, Bloomberg still gets hotel endorsement (ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, NY Daily News/Brawl for the Hall) The only union with a major field operation that remains unpledged is 1199, which voted for Thompson during the WFP endorsement process. Neutrality is not out of the question for 1199, a union source said.

For more news headlines for independent voters, see The Hankster

The Hankster: Where the independents are 8/10/09

Nancy Hanks — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:10:15 +0000

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 of the 8th District electorate.
What’s Bad for the GOP Is Good for Fox News (By John Cook, Gawker) But while cable news is niche, politics is mass. The chart above shows GOP party approval in as reported by New York Times/CBS in national polls going back to 2006 and Fox News’ total primetime audience, in millions, over the same time period. Fox News can and does thrive with a primetime audience of 2.5 million, many of which are the aforementioned zealots. The Republican Party needs more than that to function electorally. And the aforementioned angry zealotry that’s in vogue on Fox News is distasteful to the independent voters that the GOP needs to court.

OPEN PRIMARIES

What’s the LP’s problem with an “open primary”???

San Francisco Libertarians Ask California Newspapers to Use â€œTop-Twoâ€, not â€œOpen Primaryâ€, to Describe 2010 Ballot Measure (Ballot Access News)

BLOOMBERG 09

Mike Bloomberg is running for Mayor of NYC as an independent on Column C, the Independence Party line. This is potentially a very significant development for the independent movement nationally, and of major importance to mayoral control of schools and progress in education. Stay tuned!

White House Was Unlikely, Bloomberg Tells Biographer (By SEWELL CHAN, NY Times)
CAMPAIGN TIES EYED/ BOARD ON ALERT AS ADVOCATE RACE HEATS UP (NY Post, Maggie Haberman) The CFB has in the past fined campaigns for improper coordination, including Annabelle Palma’s City Council run for support she received from the powerful SEIU 1199. Most recently, Freddy Ferrer’s failed run against Mayor Bloomberg in 2005 was fined for improper coordination with outside groups.
Bloomberg: I Never Thought I Could Be President (By JENNIFER MILLMAN, NBC New York)
State Senate Extends Mayoral Control of Schools (By JENNIFER 8. LEE, NY Times/City Room)
N.Y. Senate Renews Mayorâ€™s Power to Run Schools (Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times)

News Headlines for Independents 8/6/09

Nancy Hanks — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:45:35 +0000

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 together on the need for political reform. Stay tuned!

Libertarians decry Blue Dog deal on government-controlled health care (Libertarian Party, Small Government Times)
Poll: 72% Say Obama Won’t Keep Healthcare Promises (NewsMax.com/Inside Cover) “President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress appear to be losing the public relations war over their plan to revamp the nation’s healthcare system,” observes Peter A. Brown, the polling institute’s assistant director…. The poll also indicates the all-important independent voters are slipping away from Obama. Among independents, 59 percent to 36 percent say healthcare reform would substantially increase the federal deficit. And by 77 percent to 17 percent, they say Obama can’t keep his promise of instituting healthcare reform while holding the line on the deficit.
BARACK OBAMA:Â When More Than Half Dislike Your Ideas, It’s More Than ‘The Right-Wing Base’ (National Review Online/Campaign Spot)
California voters increasingly ‘tolerant’ – Democrats’ shift behind the trend (By John Marelius, San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE)
Field Poll California: Attitudes shift on abortion, same-sex marriage (Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle) “We look more and more to the opinions of nonpartisan voters to see which way the wind is going, and they’re good indicators,” DiCamillo said. “They’re joining the Democrats in this shift over time on same-sex marriage and abortion, and that’s an interesting development,” he said. “Republicans, by contrast, show no movement (on those issues) whatsoever.”
Poll: GOP moving in opposite direction from California voters (BY JACK CHANG, in SACRAMENTO BEE, Miami Herald)

OPEN PRIMARIES

Thanks to Peter Allen for this:

Open Letter to Charlie Crist on Open Primaries (Peter Allen, The Hankster)

BLOOMBERG 09

Mayor BloombergÂ became an independent in the summer of 2007 (2 years ago…), having been elected in 2001 with his margin of victory on the NYC Independence Party, and again in 2005 which saw the emergence of an influential black and independent alliance — 60% of the independent vote and 47% of the black vote. Mike Bloomberg has been endorsed by the NYC Independence Party for re-election this year.

The Question Mark Next to Bloomberg’s Name (John R Bohrer, Huffington Post)

For more independent news, see The Hankster.

Bloomberg May Run on Republican Ticket

Alan Stewart Carl — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:25 +0000

Never one to miss an opportunity, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may run on the Republican ticket next mayoral election while still remaining a declared independent. Apparently, despite being an apostate to the national party, local borough GOP leaders are willing to let the still-popular mayor put his name on their line.

If youâ€™re keeping score at home that makes Bloomberg a former Democrat turned Republican turned Independent turned quasi-Republican again. In a nation of rigid partisanship, Bloombergâ€™s ambiguous party affiliations seem almost refreshing. That is if you donâ€™t think they seem downright opportunistic.

Iâ€™ve always been rather ambivalent about Bloomberg. Heâ€™s smart and a capable manager — party hopping aside, heâ€™s provided stable, middle-of-the-road leadership for New York City. But thereâ€™s something uninspiring about the man, a truth even he probably realized when he failed to build grassroots support for an independent run for president. Even those of us in the centrist frame of mind barely gave Bloomberg two looks.

Still, a mayor doesnâ€™t need to play well nationally. New Yorkers like him enough to make his quest for a third term realistic and I doubt many will hold it against him if he shifts (or kinda shifts) party affiliations once again. After all, no matter what letter has sat beside his name, heâ€™s always been the same straight-forward, if not particularly vibrant, guy.

Spring training hopes eternal

donar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:57:50 +0000

Bloomberg Clear To Run For 3rd Term

Justin Gardner — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:26:33 +0000

All hail the new Tammany Hall!

From NY Times:

After a spirited, emotional and at times raucous debate, the New York City Council voted, 29 to 22, on Thursday afternoon to extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to seek re-election next year and undoing the result of two voter referendums that had imposed a limit of two four-year terms. (Please refresh this post for latest updates.)

The vote was a major victory for Mayor Bloomberg â€” a billionaire and lifelong Democrat who was elected mayor as a Republican in 2001, won re-election in 2005, became an independent last year, and decided just weeks ago that he wished to seek a third term for himself in 2009 â€” and for the Councilâ€™s speaker, Christine C. Quinn. But the intense acrimony surrounding the decision left a sharply divided Council and could ultimately damage the mayorâ€™s popularity.

After Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who presides over the Council, announced the final result at 4:35 p.m., the balcony erupted in shouts of â€œThe cityâ€™s for sale!â€ and â€œShame on you!â€

I guess Bloomberg isn’t eyeing a 2012 prez run, eh?

Bloomberg Seeks A Third Term

Justin Gardner — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:08:31 +0000

And given the current circumstances on Wall Street, my bet is he’ll get.

MarketWatch has the details…

Bloomberg announced Thursday he supports changing the term limits law to run for a third term. Observers have respected Bloomberg for restoring a sense of optimism to a post-9/11 New York City while encouraging tourists to visit, keeping crime low and bolstering the city’s finances.

Bloomberg’s biggest asset in his audacious quest is the fact that nobody else has emerged as his heir apparent. Plus, he can be seen as a soothing influence on a city that is reeling from the financial markets’ meltdown. He offers practical experience from his years of working on Wall Street. It is a great asset to be able to tell voters that you understand their economic problems and can solve them.

Earlier in the year, Bloomberg professed to be studying a run at the White House. When his term expires, he’ll need a job — and a challenge. He’d love to keep the one he has.

What do you think? Smart move? Is he setting himself up for a 2012 run for President?

Bloomberg Wants To Host 1st Town Hall

Justin Gardner — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:28:00 +0000

(UPDATE: Both campaigns rejected the offer because they don’t want to limit it to just one network. Hmmm…)

Now this is a pretty brilliant move…

The guy who has some of the deepest pockets in the world, and could be a VP for either candidate, wants to use that leverage.

From Politico:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News on Sunday proposed that the presidential nominees hold a joint town hall as a 90-minute network special from Federal Hall, on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

Such a joint meeting would be a new twist in the rituals of a national campaign, and would help both candidates promote the message that they want to help put an end to a divisive era in national politics.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has challenged Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to a series of 12 joint town halls, which would be a more casual version of the formal debates that are a traditional part of general-election campaigns. The partners propose ABC’s Diane Sawyer as a moderator.

Obamaâ€™s campaign has indicated interest but has committed to nothing.

My guess is that these town halls will happen. Maybe not as many as McCain wants, but quite a few of them and that’s a ultimately a great thing for democracy.

Video: Man Gets Stuck In Elevator For 41 Hours

Justin Gardner — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:53:21 +0000

Watch this time lapsed video. It’s hypnotic.

Small Explosion Hits Times Square

Justin Gardner — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:48:47 +0000

It looks like a small device was set off next to a military recruiting station.

Here’s more…

The police said the explosive device involved in the Times Square blast this morning was â€œroughly similarâ€ to the devices used in two earlier bombings at foreign consulates in Manhattan, in 2005 and 2007, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at an afternoon news conference. The device had been placed in an ammunition box like the kind that can be bought at a military supply store. Officials said that in todayâ€™s attack, a man bundled in a gray hooded jacket or sweatshirt was seen riding a bicycle around the recruiting station moments before the explosion. Subways and traffic are running normally through Times Square.

It doesn’t look like the people from the first two incidents have been caught, so don’t hold your breath for this one either.

And, just speculating here, but I doubt this is a foreign terrorist group. Much more likely some radicals stateside wanting to cause some commotion.

More as it develops…

UPDATE:
Here are a couple videos…

Bloomberg talking about the incident…

And some reactions from residents…

More as it develops…