[courtesy of Blog for America]

Bob Barr is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee.  From the Associated Press via the Washington Post:

The Libertarian Party on Sunday picked former Republican Rep. Bob Barr to be its presidential candidate after six rounds of balloting.

Barr beat research scientist Mary Ruwart, who also sought the party's presidential nomination unsuccessfully in 1983, on the final ballot. The vote was 324-276.

Barr endorsed Wayne Allyn Root, who was eliminated in the fifth round, to be his vice-presidential nominee.

Danny
Communications Director

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

As Senator John McCain appears to have the GOP presidential nomination within his grasp, leave it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to try to transform McCain into an environmentalist with his announcement today.
 
According to the League of Conservation Voters, McCain has voted pro-environment just 26 percent of the time during his career in Congress. (Arnold's lifetime rating is in the low 50's, according to the California League of Conservation voters, though he had his best year ever in 2007 at 63 percent).
 
Among McCain's key anti-environment votes: voting to allow coastal drilling and drilling in the Artic Wildlife Refuge.
 
No, Arnold, McCain is no friend of the environment.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Rob Richie
Executive Director
Fair Vote

Facts in the Spotlight:

• Voter turnout statewide primaries in 1966: 33.5%
• Voter turnout in 38 states with such primaries in 2006: 15.4%(the lowest in history)
• Ratio of voter turnout for those over 70 vs. those under 45 in Oregon’s 2006 primaries: 3.5 to 1

As the presidential nomination season is heating up, have you ever thought about the word "primary"? Going to the dictionary, one finds that the first definition is, "first or highest in rank, quality, or importance."

Well, in the case of voter turnout, the first shall be last.

Primary elections indeed determine who wins the great majority of our nation's elections for Congress and state legislature – most districts are safe for one party, and winning the primary is tantamount to winning the general election. But in contrast to turnout in November elections, turnout in primaries is sinking like a stone.

Plunging Turnout in Primaries

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

Senate approves Michigan judicial nominees

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Monday confirmed three federal judicial nominees from western Michigan, ending a yearlong impasse amid concerns over Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet Neff's views on gay marriage.

The Senate approved the three nominees - Neff, Grand Rapids attorney Robert Jonker and Berrien County Circuit Judge Paul Maloney - to serve on the U.S. District Court for Michigan's Western District, which has seen its caseload grow because of the vacancies.

Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican seeking the GOP presidential nomination, blocked the nomination and questioned Neff's views on same-sex marriage after learning that she participated in a same-sex ceremony in 2002. Neff's nomination was approved on a vote of 83-4 while Jonker and Maloney's nominations were approved unanimously on a voice vote.

Poll: Bush approval drops to low of 29%

WASHINGTON — Opposition to the Iraq war has reached a record high, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a development likely to complicate President Bush's efforts to hold together Republican support as the Senate begins debate this week on Pentagon priorities.

Bush's approval rating has reached a new low: 29%.