The $1.3 trillion beast of an omnibus spending bill was way too thick for anyone’s staff on Capitol Hill to properly read before voting on it. Nevertheless, Congress passed it, less than 24 hours after setting eyes on the 2,232-page stack of papers, thus keeping the government's lights on through September. And now we’ve got a big box of surprises to go through, don’t we?

The President went on to ink the deal before he could read it, but the military must be paid and domestic expenses must be met so...

This week on Deconstructed, T.J.’s guest is Greg Orman, an independent candidate for governor in Kansas.

Orman discusses how his business background makes him well-suited for governing and problem solving, his refusal to take PAC or special interest money, the breakdown Orman’s 5 key priorities, and the challenges of running as an independent candidate.

How committed are liberals really to ending gun violence?

And do they really have the will for an exhausting spiritual and political fight to accomplish that?

If the answers are "Very!" and "Yes!" then...

I.

How much should we cut the Dept of Defense's budget?

😋

I'm a libertarian I like budget cuts.

50 percent?

I think 50 percent is what we should cut.

They're the most gun violence people in the world!

Using Trump's method of asking for too much so you can negotiate down to a better deal...

I am a businessman who never did anything in politics until about 7 years ago. However, I believe with the uncharted waters of the political environment now roiling daily, business people like myself must step up to the plate to revitalize our democracy.

We must require a higher standard from our elected officials. A new paradigm of politics -- one based on civil political discourse, critical thinking, and personal accountability -- can and should be demanded by the electorate of its leadership, and the time to do so is now.

With No Party Preference voters poised to surpass GOP registration in California, some Republicans are beginning to distance themselves from the toxic partisanship in their party.

A group titled "New Way California" held a news conference in Los Angeles this week.

The goal is for their party to adopt talking points and policies that could appeal to the surging bloc of NPP voters.

For the politically informed, the punditry on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC has gone on ad-nauseam. Partisan dialog so wholly permeates our news media these days that it can be challenging to find good information about topics outside of the constant GOP vs. Democrat slugfest.

An inquisitive person might think to escape the noise by avoiding the world of Washington and searching for something tangible in city politics. Unfortunately, even small-town mayoral elections can’t necessarily escape the polarization rampant in American government.

How could a handful of common-sense, independent Senators defuse the partisanship around trade? By changing the way we talk about the whole issue.

Most American say they believe in markets. Why? Because markets reward hard work and innovation. They deliver us better products at lower prices. They allow us to specialize in what we do best and use that income to buy the other things we need or want.

California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla has released the 2018 Voter Guide. The guide contains all relevant information related to the various propositions and candidate races voters will be asked to weigh in on this June.

This article will focus on the race for United States Senate and publish the statements that have been provided to the Secretary of State’s office.

Kevin de León | DEMOCRATIC

This month James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence during the Obama Administration, the one who lied under oath about NSA data collection while giving testimony to Congress in 2013, just slid safely into home base with nary an effort by anyone in the federal government to tag him out for perjury.

No one wants to be around when things go wrong especially in politics.

When the media is saying great things about you, handling the limelight is easy. But bad press can happen to anyone in politics, no matter how much care and planning is involved in an election campaign. It may be a statement taken out of context, or something said by your party member, or family member.