Former Senator Gary Hart, who co-chaired the United States Commission on National Security, spoke last Friday at a luncheon of The Denver Forum.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, in introducing the senator, said, “Gary Hart is one of our wisest public servants.”

No thoughtful person would challenge that.

No one.

Gary Hart served the people of Colorado and America for 12 years in the United States Senate. He’s the author of 21 books, holds degrees from both Yale Law and Yale Divinity, and a Ph.D from Oxford in England.

On Tuesday, March 14, WikiLeaks announced over Twitter that it had contacted major tech companies in the U.S. to help protect consumers from CIA malware:

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/841657897734033408

Privacy advocates have generally come from two directions: (1) libertarians, and (2) liberal Democrats. But on March 7, WikiLeaks’ data dump revealed some of the surveillance techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that even George Orwell couldn’t dream up. And Democrats have remained largely silent.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has added a new weapon in their arsenal to combat the Trump administration’s infringement on our civil rights – they call it People Power.

Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s "Stop Arming Terrorists Act" has garnered support in the Senate from someone with a history of arguing for legislation that pushes a more "non-interventionist" foreign policy in the face of the current political establishment -- U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was, perhaps, one of the most unusual governors in any state’s history -- but not just because he was a celebrity weightlifter and movie star. He was also extremely nonpartisan.

Whether he was “successful" as the "Governator" of California is up for debate. But what isn’t up for debate is his steadfast support for reforms that try to reduce the level of hyper-partisanship that pervades politics these days.

The American Health Care Act (AHCA), the Republican party’s proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act, has received very mixed reviews, even from GOP members, some of whom have called it “Obamacare 2.0” and “Obamacare Light.” Hospital organizations and physician

Closed party primaries have shifted political power from mainstream Americans to the lunatic fringes of both major political parties. Each party has a large, though not necessarily majority, percentage of activists that demand extreme responses to public policy issues.

When closed primaries are held, even relatively small groups have dramatically enhanced influence over the outcomes. This is true even when gerrymandering is not an issue.

How important is grassroots organizing in politics? New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley argues that a decision to prioritize TV ads over grassroots outreach cost the Clinton campaign last year’s presidential election.

Some legislators in Arkansas are joining the fight for a more open and transparent political process that includes all voters regardless of their party affiliation, or lack thereof.