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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A Sangamon County judge on Thursday rejected the Republican Party's attempt to have a Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor struck from the Nov. 4 ballot.

Judge Patrick Kelley denied GOP attorneys' appeal of a State Board of Elections decision to allow Chad Grimm of Peoria on the ballot. His name will appear alongside those of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.

The GOP attorneys had challenged the validity of the voter signatures gathered by several Libertarian petition circulators. Grimm, a fiscal conservative who advocates minimalist government, could draw votes that otherwise would go to Rauner in what's expected to be a close race.

Kelley found that the evidence supported the board's decision, noting that the court could overturn it "only if it finds the rulings are clearly erroneous."

Illinois GOP attorney John Fogarty had argued that thousands of signatures were invalid because they were illegible, not genuine and because petition circulators didn't reside at their stated addresses.

While approving the Libertarian's candidacy, the board ruled that Green, Constitution and Independent party candidates should not be on the ballot because the parties gathered too few valid signatures. Democratic Party attorneys had challenged the validity of the signatures for the Green candidate, who could have taken votes away from Quinn.

Fogarty declined comment Thursday on whether attorneys would appeal. Illinois GOP spokesman Andrew Welhouse said the party would "continue to work in every part of Illinois to elect Bruce Rauner and Republicans up and down the ticket."

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A Sangamon County judge is expected to rule Thursday on an appeal by Republican attorneys to remove a Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor from the November ballot.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley heard arguments in which the GOP attorneys questioned the validity of signatures Libertarian candidates gathered to get on the ballot.

Political analysts say Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Chad Grimm could draw votes that otherwise would go to Republican candidate Bruce Rauner in the expectedly close race against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

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UPDATE: Judge: Libertarian Candidate Can Be on Ballot

Chad Grimm

SPRINGFIELD, IL (AP) A Sangamon County judge on Thursday rejected the Republican Partys attempt to have a Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor struck from the Nov. 4 ballot.

Judge Patrick Kelley denied GOP attorneys appeal of a State Board of Elections decision to allow Chad Grimm of Peoria on the ballot. His name will appear alongside those of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.

The GOP attorneys had challenged the validity of the voter signatures gathered by several Libertarian petition circulators. Grimm, a fiscal conservative who advocates minimalist government, could draw votes that otherwise would go to Rauner in whats expected to be a close race.

Kelley found that the evidence supported the boards decision, noting that the court could overturn it only if it finds the rulings are clearly erroneous.

Illinois GOP attorney John Fogarty had argued that thousands of signatures were invalid because they were illegible, not genuine and because petition circulators didnt reside at their stated addresses.

While approving the Libertarians candidacy, the board ruled that Green, Constitution and Independent party candidates should not be on the ballot because the parties gathered too few valid signatures. Democratic Party attorneys had challenged the validity of the signatures for the Green candidate, who could have taken votes away from Quinn.

Fogarty declined comment Thursday on whether attorneys would appeal. Illinois GOP spokesman Andrew Welhouse said the party would continue to work in every part of Illinois to elect Bruce Rauner and Republicans up and down the ticet.

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Judge: Libertarian candidate for Illinois Governor can be on ballot

Stumbling on perhaps the sole belief she shares in common with many readers of Salon, Ann Coulter writes in her latest column that people who vote for libertarian candidates are idiots. But because this is Ann Coulter were talking about, she cant help but take it a step further and threaten to drown these voters if they dont do what she wants.

And what Coulter wants, quite simply, is for the Republican Party to win control of the U.S. Senate in this years midterm elections. For the next six weeks, nothing matters more to the country than Republicans taking a majority in the Senate, Coulter writes. All that matters is winning.

To that end, Coulter demands that GOP Sen. Pat Roberts campaign ceaselessly in his home state, so as to expose independent candidate Greg Orman as the scurrilous one-time Democrat he truly is. She also demands that [e]veryone reading this column donate to Scott Brownimmediately, because he is, apparently, a very strong candidate.

Coulter thinks this is due to Browns willingness to demagogue about amnesty, which proves hes one of the few candidates smart enough to make immigration an issue. (In that regard, he joins a rare club, one that only includes every other serious candidate for Congress.)

The right-wing pundits most important demand, however, is not for GOP voters or politicians. Its for conservatives who may vote for a libertarian instead of a Republican. These folks, Coulter writes, are idiots who care more about their integrity than their fellow Americans.

If you are considering voting for the libertarian candidate in any Senate election, Coulter signs off, please send me your name and address so I can track you down and drown you.

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Ann Coulter: Libertarian voters are idiots who deserve to drown

Emails making the rounds among leftist voices show former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might not be the shoe-in Democratic presidential pick after all many consider too hawkish and far too buddy-buddy with Wall Street.

The emails, obtained by The Hill, show a growing dissatisfaction among progressives.

The progressives have formed a group called Gamechanger Salon, and its made up of roughly 1,500 activists, journalists and political watchers who trade thoughts and policy proposals and discuss the looming White House run.

And the general consensus is Mrs. Clinton is not their first choice.

Some of the emailers criticized her hawkish tendencies, The Hill reported. Others chided her as a Wall Street wanna-be or at the very least, a friend of Big Business. And still others say shes not done enough to press for climate change policy reforms, The Hill said.

[A] Clinton presidency un-dos all our progress and returns the financial interests to even more prominence than they currently have, wrote Melissa Byrne, an Occupy Wall Street activist, in a November 2013 email, The Hill reported.

Many more would rather see an Elizabeth Warren presidency though the Massachusetts senator has publicly stated several times her refusal to run.

The establishment Dems need to be punished and the best way for that to happen is for Warren to beat Hillary in the primary on a populist message, wrote Carl Gibson, a progressive activist and Occupy.com writer, The Hill reported.

And even though some of the emails are months old, the call from the progressive camp for Mrs. Clinton to stand down her White House aspirations if they even exist has only grown stronger, The Hill reported.

Concerns havent changed, and progressives are probably more worried at this point rather than less, said Mike Lux, one of the website groups active members, to the Hill.

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Hillary Clinton blasted by the left in secret emails

Fotmer Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi

A former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has lamented the decay in the education sector, insisting that no political party in the country has a framework for education.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance leader said this at the 2014 Founders Day Lecture which was held in commemoration of the 105th anniversary of Kings College in Lagos on Thursday.

He said, Today, I do not think any party in Nigeria has a vision about education; that is the truth. I am a politician and I belong to a political party but I can tell you that there is none that has a plan and I can back this up with the statistics of the result of WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination).

When Tony Blair (ex-United Kingdom Prime Minister) was campaigning, he emphasised education and when he got there, he dealt squarely with the issue of education. Here we promise one thing when we are campaigning but deliver another thing when we are in office.

The former governor added that one of the reasons why Nigerias standard of education was low was not because of lack of funds but the governments inability to effectively monitor the usage of funds which goes into the pockets of third parties instead of the schools that need them.

He boasted that he discontinued the trend in Anambra State and the state came first in WASSCE nationwide.

In Nigeria, all we talk about is minimum wage and not minimum productivity. People are paid better here than in Ghana and other countries and yet they produce more. In Anambra we did not increase funds but only increased the monitoring. The money went where we wanted it to go, he said.

At the event themed, Vision for Education in Nigeria, the chairmen of both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party were supposed to speak on the vision of their respective parties in the area of education.

While the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, was represented by a former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni; the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, did not attend and sent no representative.

Continued here:
No political party has plan for education Obi