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Primaries: Recent News

2010 California Primaries: Voters OK Open Primaries, Reject PG&E
LOS ANGELES — Blaming political parties for California’s dysfunction, voters have replaced their partisan primary, but there’s no guarantee it will change government. The passage of Proposition 14 gives the nation’s most populous state an open primary where voters can cast ballots for any candidate. “Californians hate their state’s politics and they are looking for measures to change it,” said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College. But it’s doubtful Proposition 14 will be the panacea to political stalemate in Sacramento, Pitney added. Democrats will likely continue representing liberal regions of the state, with Republicans elected in the fewer Republican areas. One of five measures on the ballot, Proposition 14 was backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has long argued that centrist candidates rarely win primaries dominated by party activists. He praised voters for “bringing real accountability to government and putting the people back in charge of the politicians.” Despite their willingness to reform primaries, voters rejected Proposition 15, a measure to experiment with public funding of political campaigns. Also Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly adopted Proposition 13, a measure that would exempt earthquake-safety improvements from property taxes. Other ballot measures that were too close to call were proposals to impose voter oversight of public power and authorize insurance companies to charge higher rates to drivers who have not always carried car insurance. Republican and Democratic parties complained that Proposition 14 would give well-funded special interests the greatest sway over the election process, arguing that candidates would be beholden to big-money donors, not voters. Third parties said they feared their candidates would be shut out of general elections because minor candidates typically draw fewer votes. Until now, California voters have been limited in most primary elections to casting ballots for candidates of only the political party they are registered with. Decline-to-state voters are the only ones who can pick a party ballot of their choice. But by the 2012 primaries, a voter in the nation’s most populous state will be able to cast a ballot for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation. However, presidential candidates would still compete in a party primary. Under the new system, two candidates of the same party could face off in a general election in state and federal races. Thomas Garner, 65, said he voted for an open primary because he can’t see a difference between Republicans and Democrats. “They fight like cats and dogs, but in the end they’re all the same. The system is broken,” said Garner, an attorney from San Diego. Proposition 14 is patterned after a law in Washington state that has been in effect since 2008. That law was upheld by the U.S.

DCCC Launches ‘Palin’s Primaries’ Site Inviting Palin To Get Involved GOP Primaries
The latest Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee 2010 campaign tactic– A familiar one: use Democratic disapproval of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin against the Republicans. The DCCC launched their ‘Palin’s Primaries’ website on Tuesday, which “will track the most divisive and messy House Republican primaries in the country.” All of this is presented in the context of campaigns that Palin could get involved in. The DCCC hopes that her involvement would trigger self-destructive results, as in last November’s New York Congressional election, in which Democrat Bill Owens defeated Palin-backed Republican Doug Hoffman after his more moderate opponent, Dede Scozzafava, was forced out for not being conservative enough. “Undeterred by the embarrassing loss she helped bring to House Republicans in last fall’s special election in Upstate New York, Sarah Palin announced she wants to get involved in more Republican primary races this year so we’re more than happy to help her out,” Jon Vogel, Executive Director of the DCCC said in a release. “Contested primaries aren’t civil war; they’re democracy at work and that’s beautiful,” Palin said at the National Tea Party Convention in early February. The DCCC, however, begs to differ, claiming that the kind of contested primaries that Palin supports could end up being highly divisive, damaging to the GOP and great for Democrats. The website currently features analysis of eight primary races, each labeled mockingly in black writing on hands that may or not resemble Sarah Palin’s..

Anger trumping accomplishments in 2010 primaries
The candidates who are channeling the public’s anger best are winning, especially on the GOP side. Republican – United States – Politics – Relationships – People.

Primaries 2010: McCain Crushes Conservative Challenger
United States – Marco Rubio – Democratic Party – Florida – Government.

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