Articles by Jim Ragsdale

There’s been a great deal of speculation in recent news cycles about independent presidential candidates for 2020 thanks to Starbucks former CEO Howard Schultz. The common wisdom about his prospective presidential run is clear: it would be a political windfall for President Trump and a cataclysmic blow to any Democrat seeking the White House. The problem with this kind of common wisdom is that it ensures that the competition American voters clearly want in our politics will be delayed, and effe...

Voters looking to move away from partisan histrionics and the impotence of “politics as usual” have solid alternatives to Democrats and Republicans in this year’s midterm elections. In Missouri and Maryland, there are candidates for the U.S. Senate who present a clear vision of what “Country Over Party” means, with unique insight into how a recent surge in nonpartisan political activity can affect our elections, now and into the future. These two candidates recently shared these insights and m...

If you are one of the many people who feel strongly that we need to change the direction of our politics, remember how much power social media already has over our political process. The special interests, donors, pollsters, consultants, partisan think tanks, corporate media, and lobbyists that support the existing two-party system are working hard to leverage existing social networks. They have proven to be very successful in these efforts, and often not to our benefit. Shouldn’t we be workin...