We can all agree that Washington is broken. Gridlock ensues as the divide between the Republicans and Democrats reaches Grand Canyon size proportions. Watching the Republicans put party over country in their defense of Donald Trump during the impeachment trial showed how hyper-partisanship is withering of our democracy, even raising questions of whether our constitutional system can survive. I'm sure our Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves.  

By: Mark Schmitt (The Fulcrum Op-Ed)

A presidential campaign is a contest of ideas, not just personalities. As candidates set out policy priorities and develop proposals, we learn more about what they care about, but we also see in their reflection what voters and party activists want to hear. The proposals that even the failed candidates embrace, and the priority they give them, can foreshadow ideas that will take hold in the future.

The beginning of the 2020 presidential election was an unmitigated disaster. Results that should have been reported the night-of in Iowa instead took days as a result of technical issues with an app and inconsistent numbers being reported. Politicos were baffled while accusations of a rigged process arose after the candidate with the most votes didn’t leave with the most delegates.

Brace yourselves voters!

Donald Trump's third State of the Union Address was-- exactly like every other SOTU address any of us has ever seen in our lifetimes.

Okay, maybe not exactly like every other State of the Union. The president is still-- well-- Donald Trump. And this address was to a Congress that just impeached him. So there was a little bit of nervous energy. All eyes were on Nancy Pelosi, as she sat behind Trump during the address.

Cities and counties in Florida that want to limit dark money or foreign donors in their own elections would be stopped under a surprise proposal now moving through the Legislature.

Curbing money in politics at the local level has become the cause of choice for advocates of tougher campaign finance rules, who find themselves blocked from any chance at nationwide success in the partisan gridlocked Congress.

The effort launched this week by Republicans in charge in Tallahassee looks to be the most prominent move yet by a state to preempt such local statutes.

The most basic right in a healthy democracy is the right to vote. Without this right, governments can turn into the worst of autocracies and dictatorships, ignoring the needs of citizens and abusing the power of the state. Voter discrimination is not a new phenomenon and has been around since the very beginning of the United States.

When we talk about voter discrimination in the U.S., many obvious examples come to mind.