The attack on cigarettes begins…

The attack on cigarettes begins according to 2008 Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr. Barr writes on his blog for the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the The Food and Drug Administration is trying to ban clove cigarettes.

Barr writes, “…if someone enjoys the taste of burning cloves and wants to smoke a cigarette containing the substance, what the heck — it’s fine with me. Well, it’s apparently not fine with the freedom-loving folks at the FDA, and they recently banned clove cigarettes.”

Barr wraps-up saying other tobacco better watch out their favorite product may be gone, “This clearly is an agency flexing its regulatory muscles, and is on the prowl for new and bigger game to bag.”

SOURCE:

http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2009/11/06/fda-begins-its-move-against-cigarettes/?cxntfid=blogs_bob_barr_blog

Senate candidate to produce monthly TV show…

Independent/Third Party candidate for Senate from Connecticut Dr. John Mertens will produce monthly television shows to be, “shown on public access television stations around the state”.

The Mertens campaign website describes the shows as, “30 minutes of in-depth discussion of a different issue each month between the candidate and guests.”

The first show which will be first telecast on November 6th will focus on U.S. Drug Policy. The guess reportedly include, “Cliff Thornton, Green Party Candidate for Governor in 2006… Joseph Brooks, retired Connecticut police captain…”

SOURCE:

http://mertens2010.blogspot.com/2009/11/dr-john-mertens-produces-first-monthly.html

Scozzafava feelings hurt, offered to join Third Party…

Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava who dropped put of the New York 23rd Congressional District and then endorsed the Democrat apparently has had her feelings hurt and has been offered a spot in a Third Party.

Jude Seymour writes on WatertownDailyTimes.com that Assemblywoman Scozzafava’s feelings were hurt by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Seymour quotes Assemblywoman Scozzafava saying, “There was no sense of compassion in this man at all… I know a lot of people that were hurt by the tone of the campaign that Mr. Hoffman ran.” Assemblywoamn Scozzafava said Hoffman never asked for he endorsement after she quit the race.

Seymour also writes that New York Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay will invite Assemblywoman Scozzafava to, “carry his party as her main affiliation”. The Assemblywoman said she has no plans to change parties – but we have also seen her change her mind pretty quickly in the past.

SOURCE:

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20091105/NEWS03/311059964

Is GOP brand so damaged it cost a conservative seat in Congress?

Is the Republican brand so damaged it cost a conservative seat in Congress? If appears the New York 23rd Congressional District special election will go to Democrat Bill Owens. This was after some polls put Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman leading the race with 51% of the vote less than one week prior to election day.

It seems that Hoffman dropped about five percent in the very last days of the race. Was it because of something Hoffman did, was it Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava backing the Democrat after she pulled out of the race, was it the performance of Democrat Bill Owens, was it the visits from high-profile Democrats, or was that because the Republican Party started backing Hoffman?

Hoffman seems to have had much more momentum and better polling results as the Third Party option with some Republicans supporting him versus the Republican establishment publicly backing Hoffman.

SOURCE:

http://elections.nytimes.com/2009/results/upstate.html

Daggett falls victim to Corzine fear…

Independent New Jersey Gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett may have fallen victim to Corzine fear. With 99% of the votes counted Chris Daggett came in third place with 5.7% of the vote.

That 5.7% of the vote was about five to ten percent lower than recent polls showed. The Thirds has to believe most of those five to ten percent of people that left the Daggett went to Republican challenger, and now Governor-elect Chris Christie.

We believe this shift had to do that people wanted Governor Jon Corzine out of office even more than seeing their man in the office. Governor Corzine’s final election numbers were about two-percent higher than poll averages, but Governor-elect Christie’s final tally was about seven-percent higher than poll averages. That was the number of people that bolted from Daggett.

If Governor-elect Chris Christie wanted to make a real splash in New Jersey politics he should offer Chris Daggett a spot in his cabinet. Daggett could head-up Department of Environmental Protection again. You could also make arguments for Daggett to lead the Civil Service Commission, Department of Treasury, Department of the Treasury, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Office of Economic Growth, Department of State, and Department of the Public Advocate. With his Governmental management background you could even argue Daggett could run the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

Results with 99% reporting:

Chris Christie (Republican) 49.0%

Jon Corzine (Democrat) 44.4%

Chris Daggett (Independent for NJ) 5.7%

Kenneth R. Kaplan (Libertarian Party) 0.2%

Gary T. Steele (Leadership, Independence, Vision) 0.1%

Jason Cullen (People Not Politics) 0.1%

David R. Meiswinkle (Middle Class Empowerment) 0.1%

Kostas Petris (For The People) 0.1%

Gregory Pason (Socialist Party USA) 0.1%

Gary Stein (Various titles) 0.1%

Joshua Leinsdorf (Fair Election Party) 0.0%

Alvin Lindsay, Jr. (Lindsay for Governor) 0.0%

SOURCE:

http://elections.nytimes.com/2009/results/new-jersey.html

Independent Mike Bloomberg wins NYC Mayor re-election…

Independent Mayor Mike Bloomberg wins New York City Mayoral re-election. In a vote that was a lot closer than most polls projected, Mike Bloomberg won a third term in office. He tweeted out to his supporters, “Thank you #NYC Humbled, proud, & excited to have the opportunity to serve you for another 4 yrs!”

With 99% of the vote in the tally stood at:

Michael Bloomberg (Independent & Republican) 50.6%

William C. Thompson Jr. (Democrat) 46.0%

Stephen Christopher (Constitution) 1.7%

Rev. Billy Talen (Green) 0.8%

Francisca Villar (Party for Socialism and Liberation) 0.3%

Jimmy McMillian (Rent Is Too Damn High) 0.2%

Joseph Dobrian (Libertarian) 0.2%

Daniel Fien (Socialist Workers) 0.1%

SOURCE:

http://elections.nytimes.com/2009/results/index.html

http://www.twitter.com/mikebloomberg

Two independents stay in office in Virginia…

Two independents running for Virginia House of Delegates win re-election.

Independent Lacey E. Putney continued his reign in office. Winning 64-20-15-0.1% in a race against Democrat Lewis B. Medlin Junior, Constitution Party candidate Will Smith II, and other write-in candidates. Putney has been in office since 1962.

Also, Independent Watkins M. Abbitt Junior won his re-election 99-1% in his race only against write-in candidates. Abbitt has been in office since 1986.

SOURCE:

https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2009/37C2EDEB-FACB-44C1-AF70-05FB616DCD62/UnOfficial/8_p1_s.shtml

https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2009/37C2EDEB-FACB-44C1-AF70-05FB616DCD62/UnOfficial/8_p3_s.shtml