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Let me start by acknowledging my own biases. I believe that President Obama’s announcement tonight that he will not deport some five million undocumented immigrants who meet certain conditions of residency and family status is 1) a humane response to protect real families and real people with compassion and dignity; 2) an economically sound policy that acknowledges workers who have already been absorbed into the economy; 3) a political masterstroke; and 4) probably unconstitutional. I say proba

No one party is going to hold the majority for long. For all the rhetoric from the vice president, by the end of Election Day, the results were not that surprising. The Democrats were not going to keep control forever and the Republicans need to realize neither will they. Now that the midterms are over, the next tough pill to swallow are the next two months of watching and waiting to see what comes out of the 2014 lame duck Congress. These 5 areas will show how far the Republicans can reach acr

The main talk of the 2014 election has been which political party will control the Senate after the votes have been counted. Democrats have been on defense throughout most of the country as President Obama's approval rating remains low. So with just a week to go before Election Day, how will the numbers fall? Here are my predictions. In this election cycle, Democrats have 38 seats that are safe or not up for re-election while Republicans have 42. So that is where my numbers start.Democrats are

With the weeks closing in on the 2014 midterms, polls are tightening up, candidates are attempting to attract undecided voters, and specific issues are capturing headlines. Gone are the days that the primary arguments against Obama revolved around Obamacare. That was the battle-cry in 2010 and after a fiscal cliff that was delayed, a sequester, a partial government shutdown, and a national debt hike, the Affordable Care Act still took off like Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose. The general theme in t

The Affordable Care Act, or what proponents and opponents refer to as Obamacare, President Obama’s signature achievement, has long been unpopular with Republicans. Now, independents seem to be unhappy with the law as well. A recent CNN poll suggests that only 7 percent of independents would keep the law as is. With midterm elections just weeks away, Democrats seeking office have been keeping their distance from the highly unpopular law -- which in August reached a new low in popularity -- perha

Abysmal congressional approval ratings have become the norm in our hyper-partisan political environment and government dysfunction is now cited as the most pressing issue facing our nation. Problem solving and compromise have been replaced by party politics and congressional gridlock, bringing our government to a halt in 2013. But it would be a mistake to say that Republicans and Democrats don't compromise on anything. Over the last 200 years, they have worked together to create districts that

With all the speculation surrounding 2016 presidential candidates, the names Hillary, Paul, Christie, and Rubio appear in the headlines. That is understandable because they are the biggest names and dream candidates for several pivotal groups. Some of them may run against each other, but to quote from Highlander, “there can only be one.” This writer is also guilty of prognosticating Democrats and Republicans’ futures in the next cycle. Republican, Democrat, or neither... a great president does

I always love seeing quotes from founding father Thomas Jefferson; especially, any about Jefferson's hatred for public debt. Jefferson's overall ideology was one of a smaller federal government with little to no debt, but a deeper look into Jefferson's political life reveals that he had a characteristic that is becoming less and less common -- he was willing to change his political views when necessary (and sometimes when only expedient). In the end, Jefferson's flexibility allowed him to "go

1. Illinois Times runs op-ed saying open primaries and redistricting reform would help ease partisan gridlock in Washington. "Open primaries would help moderate the nation’s politics, as would bipartisan redistricting commissions capable of doing away with gerrymandered districts. Increasing voter participation and improving the integrity of our elections would also help. " The only problem is we are not defining what "moderate the nation's politics" actually means, and we have to distinguish

On Monday, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) published an op-ed in the New York Times declaring that in order to “save America” it was necessary to “end partisan primaries.” In the article, Schumer said that his motivation stemmed from the increasingly problematic polarization of Washington politics, which is exacerbated by a primary system where energized ideologically-driven groups turn out in droves and push candidates to even further extremes to court these voters. Schumer, instead, c