On April 8, 2008, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Montana’s new March petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidate deadlines. The case was filed on behalf of Steve Kelly, independent candidate for U.S. Senate this year.
No hearing was held until September 18, 2008, when a hearing was held on Kelly’s request for injunctive relief. As of October 9, three weeks later, U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon has still not ruled on the request for injunctive relief. In the meantime, though, on September 30, he denied injunctive relief for another independent candidate for U.S. Senate who had not filed her case until August 27. That candidate, Patty Lovaas, had run in this year’s June Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Judge Haddon denied her request for relief on the basis that she could not be an independent candidate because a Montana law bars independent candidates who have been associated with a political party.
Right-wing blogs are started to bash Obama because he was a member (he was endorsed by) The New Party. They also seem to think the “Marxist” New Party invented fusion.
“Justice delayed is justice denighed”
The New Party changed its name to the Working Families Party in the 1990’s. The Working Families Party cross-endorsed Al Gore in New York in 2000, and cross-endorsed John Kerry in New York in 2004, and has cross-endorsed some Republican nominees for the state legislature in several states. This year in Delaware, the Working Families Party cross-endorsed three Republicans running for the legislature, and only one Democrat running for the legislature. I guess the blogs you mention don’t know very much about the Working Families Party.
This ruling may seem strange, since Lovaas. was actively seeking other candidates for a U.S. Senate debate. The details were never known, on where and when this debate would take place. Maybe she thought she could win the suit after running as a Republican in the primary? The eventual winner Bob Kelleher, may get more votes, then the last Republican who challenged Max Baucus, Mike Taylor. Kelleher thinks we need more spending just as the Republicans do, but is probably more of a left wing Republicrat.