Nineteen years have passed since Angus King was elected Governor of Maine as an independent, sixteen since wrestler Jesse Ventura “shocked the world” by beating two well-funded rivals in Minnesota, and four since Lincoln Chafee vied for Rhode Island’s highest office. While history is scattered with such examples of successful independent candidacies, it is no secret that the Republicans and Democrats have a strangle hold over the political process; those outside the duopoly rarely have their voices heard.
The practice of hyper-partisan politics is rearing its ugly head for Republican and Democratic leaders. Gallup released a survey of political affiliation trends for 2013 Wednesday and things don't look good for either major party.
The number of Americans who identify with either Republicans or Democrats has either stagnated or declined significantly. Consequently, 42 percent of Americans now self-identify as independent; the highest percentage in Gallup history.
Democrats have managed to maintain a 2010-level of party registration, but the Gallup poll found:
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me .
--W.H. Auden
One of the more comforting myths of the modern political age is that the government in our country has become dysfunctional because it no longer represents the people. The reality, I fear, is much worse news: Government has become dysfunctional because it does represent the people—and the people are dysfunctional.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked new
restrictions on ballot access for third parties in Ohio. The decision is a victory for third parties in the state as well as advocates for greater ballot access for candidates not affiliated with the two mainstream political parties.
The quote, popularized by Mark Twain, who attributed it (
erroneously?) to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, speaks volumes.
Facts, as often reported, may be based on statistics. Statistics are based on data -- data which is inherently based on a collection of opinions. The danger of statistics is that what we often see reported as fact may not be as reliable as we are led to believe.
Most of the country ‘s political scene is looking toward the new year and the upcoming
midterm elections in November wondering how a new congressional makeup might change the current political deadlock or reinvigorate the last two years of President Obama’s term in office.
As 2013 came to a close, Global Democracy Ranking published its annual report on the quality of democracy around the world, including a list of the best and worst democracies. Global Democracy Ranking is a non-profit organization based in Vienna, Austria and has been studying the growth and quality of democracy around the world for a decade.
In office barely a year, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is a hot political commodity, but what does his future hold?
History is littered with personalities who rose and faded quickly. Icarus flew too close to the sun before his wings melted in a warning against soaring too high. Before Joseph McCarthy's name became synonymous with baseless accusations, he had the power to wreck careers. In the opposite corner, then-State Senator Barack Obama delivered a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and just 4 years later was elected president.
By the end of 2013, 4 out of 5 world leaders were using Twitter, according to the Digital Policy Council.
A bipartisan team of California lawmakers is pushing a bill through California's legislature that would prevent any state-related entity from disclosing information on citizens to federal agents without a warrant. State Senators Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 828, also called the
Fourth Amendment Protection Act, on Monday.