Mark Colvin of the Australian Broadcasting Company has this interesting article about that rare event, the death (or, at least, decline into minor party status) of major political parties. Thanks to Sam Harley for the link.
One odd coincidence mentioned in the article is that the date of the upcoming British House of Commons election is 100 years exactly from the death of King Edward VII. Colvin traces the fall of Britain’s Liberal Party to the end of the Edwardian era.
The Independent Party of Connecticut has chosen Tom Marsh to run for Governor this year. He is an elected Selectman in Chester. Marsh was elected as a Republican, but has now switched his registration to show membership in the Independent Party. The Independent Party nominated Ralph Nader for President in 2008 and is ballot-qualified for some offices in Connecticut. He has several elected office-holders in Waterbury. See this story.
The U.S. Supreme Court has set a conference date of May 13 to decide whether to hear the Mississippi ballot access case, Moore v Hosemann, 09-982. The case originated in 2008 when the Secretary of State kept Brian Moore off the November ballot because his presidential elector paperwork was turned in at 5:10 p.m. instead of by 5 p.m. Moore was the Socialist Party’s presidential candidate.
Although California State Senator Abel Maldonado authored California’s Proposition 14, on the ballot for the June 8, 2010, election, he has never before agreed to participate in any debate over the merits of that “top-two” measure.
However, on April 27, he is participating in a debate, in Sacramento, at 9:30 a.m. Speaking against Proposition 14 is Tom Del Beccaro, a vice chair of the state Republican Party. The public is not permitted to attend. The debate is sponsored by Citizen Voice, which will put a tape of the debate on its web page no later than May 3 (www.citizenvoice.org). The debate will only be 15 minutes. The moderator is Gary Dietrich. It is being held in the studios of Pacific Satellite.
The League of Women Voters of California is neutral on Proposition 14, the “top-two” ballot measure. Here is the League’s analysis of the measure. The League does not mention that the measure makes it more difficult for ballot-qualified parties to remain qualified, nor does it mention the implementation law that says write-ins may not be counted in November for Congress and state office. But the analysis is impartial and interesting. It links to the debate earlier this month before the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, between Mike Feinstein of the Green Party and Brandon Gesicki, former campaign manager for Senator Abel Maldonado.
