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There is a dirty word in American politics, worse than “crook,” more terrible than “philanderer,” and more despicable than “liar.” The word is “spoiler.” A crook, a philanderer, and a liar sully the character of an office, or enrich themselves at the public trough, or violate the public trust. These offenses are punishable, sometimes forgivable. But “spoiler” is the Scarlet Letter. The perpetrator has committed a special crime, one that changes the course of events as they were meant to be. The

As the new year begins, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. After seeing pro-democracy measures surge on the ballot in the 2018 midterms, it’s no surprise that efforts to address our broken elections continue to dominate discussion among the public and in the halls of power. Coming off of its historic first statewide implementation in Maine, ranked choice voting (RCV) has been a key part of this conversation in state legislatures from Massachuset

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - Another State of the Union address, and an inevitably contradictive response has come and gone. Within days, no one beyond political aficionados will remember the content of either speech, or the reactions that were witnessed, beyond what talking points the parties and media outlets choose to use to manipulate beliefs. As has become the practice, one party offers hope while the other pleads for change. From a non-partisan perspective, the SOTU speech was generally well writt

The 2020 presidential field is already taking shape. Nine Democrats have announced their campaigns since December, many of whose announcements went under the radar because the lack of media coverage: * Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana * Julian Castro, former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and former HUD Secretary * John Delaney, former Maryland congressman and businessman * Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii congresswoman * Kirsten Gillibrand, US Senator (NY) * Kamala Harris, US Senator (Cal

The last time the U.S. Senate leadership brought up a resolution to approve another round of arms sales to Saudi Arabia was June 2017, and it was nearly defeated– passing by a narrow 53 to 47 votes. That's because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has had his sights set on ending U.S. arms sales to the Gulf Kingdom since long before the shockingly brazen, premeditated murder this October, of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A permanent resident of the United States living in Virginia, Khashoggi

Washington, D.C. - Ohio will be the first state in the nation to use blockchain technology for tax payments. Businesses will be able to pay 23 types of taxes via bitcoin. But if blockchain is secure enough for a government to collect money from companies, why hasn't it been given the green light for widespread use in securing our votes? West Virginia used a new blockchain pilot program to allow military men and women, as well as their families, to cast their votes in the midterm elections usin

Since 2016, energized progressives have sought to break the cycle that has seen power swing between establishment politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties for decades. After disappointing results in New Jersey and Virginia in 2017, the 2018 midterms offered another test of the progressive movement’s chief strategy for coming to power: taking over the Democratic Party. The results are a serious wake up call. The four leading progressive organizations that emerged from Bernie Sanders’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - What has all the appearances of a conspiracy by the Saudi government to murder a very high-profile Washington Post journalist in a Saudi embassy in Turkey, has become a tense international crisis involving delicate power relations among key geopolitical powers – and vast sums of money. The Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, a notable critic of the Saudi government, and a Saudi national living in Northern Virginia with permanent resident status, visited the Saudi Ara

"I hope someone kills you." Sen. Susan Collins Menaced for Kavanaugh Vote WASHINGTON, DC - In the wake of her choice to vote for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has had to endure a torrent of horrifically abusive and misogynistic comments as well as death threats on Twitter. The comments range in quality from incredibly disgusting to downright menacing. Former Dianne Feinstein Staffer Publishes The Addresses of Republican Senators' Families

First the ad. Wait for it: BOOOM! What a remarkable campaign ad. You don't see something like this very often. The ad was very well-planned, with the first names only and occupations of the Gosar siblings (e.g. rural physician, private investigator) displayed as they trash their brother's record on health care, jobs, and the environment, and then the big reveal that their last name is Gosar and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) is their brother! The ice cold look of smug satisfaction on the Brills' fa