Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party’s 2008 presidential candidate, has this column endorsing Arizona’s new law concerning law enforcement and immigration.
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On April 28, the Constitution Party of Kansas filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The case is called Constitution Party of Kansas v Biggs. The complaint has two parts: (1) a challenge to a state law that makes it illegal for out-of-state residents to circulate petitions to create a new party in Kansas; (2) a challenge to a state law that makes it impossible for a voter to register into a party unless that party is already qualified. UPDATE: the case, 10-4043, is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Sam A. Crow, a Reagan appointee.
The 10th circuit has already ruled favorably on both issues, in cases in other states, and Kansas is in the 10th circuit. The 10th circuit struck down a ban on out-of-state circulators in Oklahoma in 2008, in Yes on Term Limits v Savage. The 10th circuit struck down a ban on letting voters register into unqualified parties in 1984 in Baer v Meyer, a Colorado case.
On April 30, the last day for filing for the Florida primary, billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. This announcement is a surprise; see this story. U.S. House member Kendrick Meek, a Democrat from Miami, had been thought to be the certain Democratic nominee, but now commentators are thinking that the identity of the Democratic primary winner is uncertain. The primary is August 24.
Colombia holds a presidential election on May 30. Recent polls show a lead for Green Party nominee Antanas Mockus. See this story. Mockus has 39% and his closest competitor, Juan Manuel Santos of the Unity Party, has 34%.
If no one gets as much as 50%, there will be a run-off on June 20. The Green Party has enjoyed electoral success in many nations around the world, but it has never before actually had an office-holder in any nation who was head of government.
See this 6-minute segment of the show “Colbert Nation”, broadcast the night of April 29 on Comedy Central network. California’s Lieutenant Governor, Abel Maldonado, author of Proposition 14, appeared on the show to make the case for his measure. The segment opens with a news clip about the Florida U.S. Senate race, and then leads into Maldonado’s appearance.
A sophisticated viewer who watches the segment will realize that Colbert was making fun of Proposition 14. The Sacramento Bee has already written up the segment and says that Colbert ‘endorsed’ the measure. See this story. The Bee understands that Colbert was being tongue-in-cheek, because the story puts “endorsed” in quotes. Nevertheless, it is unusual, and perhaps unprecedented, for Colbert to have a guest who speaks for a ballot measure, and if anyone wishes to ask the show to invite someone from the other side, the show can be reached at 212-649-6200.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| California’s Proposition 14 – Abel Maldonado | ||||
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