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Breaking the Frame of Respect To solve societal problems, we need civil discourse, and effective reasoning. Reasoning and civil discourse cannot be had without respect. In order to function with respect, a discourse requires two things: personal dignity, including personal space and freedom from dehumanization (or the devaluation of one's inherent worth), and acknowledgement of the positive attributes in others' positions. Once the frame of respect has been betrayed, two behaviors are sure to

While it is debatable whether Americans largely approve of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the massive free trade agreement comprising 11 other countries -- it is undeniable that the presidential candidates are responding to Americans' concerns about economic insecurity in staking out their positions on the deal. In June 2015, Congress granted the president "fast track" authority, which allows the president to negotiate the agreement with other countries and put it before Congress

1. Both parties engage in and benefit from gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing district lines for partisan gain. In 2010, Republicans invested millions in statewide races to retake state legislatures for the purpose of controlling congressional redistricting. Since then, Republicans have created highly gerrymandered maps in states like North Carolina and Virginia. Democrats are guilty of gerrymandering as well: Maryland hosts some of the most contorted, gerrymandered districts in the count

Green Party signature coordinators across the country are reporting an influx of Bernie Sanders supporters to the Greens' campaign. How far the new momentum will take the party in the 2016 election is yet to be seen. The first order of business is to get the Greens recognized on state ballots, or at least to get Jill Stein, the presumptive presidential nominee, recognized as an independent presidential candidate. As of August 1 Several ballot access deadlines hit this week. In addition to the

In the weeks since the California primary, when Hillary Clinton joined Donald Trump in becoming her party’s presumptive nominee for president, FairVote has tracked both candidates’ campaign appearances. FairVote’s similar analysis in 2012 showed just how much the candidates focus on swing states that might tip the election with our current Electoral College rules. After the conventions in 2012, Barack Obama campaigned in a grand total of just eight states and Mitt Romney added only two more. The

Tim Kaine is as vanilla middle as you can get. -- Robert Reich 7/24/2016 In Robert Reich's op-ed on Sunday, he questioned whether Hillary Clinton 'got it' when it came to selecting Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her running mate against the Trump/Pence ticket, accusing her of fundamentally ignoring the progressive nature of this year's primary. Clinton was in a terrific position of choice, already knowing the opposition's lineup before her choice was formalized -- she could have chosen anyone fr

On July 22, Wikileaks released nearly 20,000 e-mails among DNC staffers, a number of which suggest bias against the Sanders campaign during the Democratic primary. Some e-mails show high-level DNC members trying to undermine the Sanders campaign, and others reveal the attitude of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz toward Sanders and his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. In light of these leaks, Wasserman Schultz has stated that she will resign as the head of the DNC after the national convention i

As the 2016 Republican National Convention wrapped up Thursday, one aspect was clear: Americans are increasingly looking for alternative candidates outside of the two-party duopoly. According to Google Trends, searches for "3rd party candidate 2016" increased by 1,150 percent over the last week. Interestingly, states with the highest third party candidate searches in the United States were (in order): Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, and Michigan. Politico reports t

Faced with the prospect of Bernie Sanders not being the Democratic nominee, many of his supporters are taking a step in the seemingly opposite direction, lending support to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. At first glance, Trump is a surprising choice. After all, the media narrative presents Trump and Sanders as diametrically opposed: Sanders supporters are portrayed as hip -- often unrealistic and impulsive -- college students dedicated to social change, while Trump fans are charac

On July 14, congressional lawmakers introduced the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2016, which would ensure that whenever a citizen interacts with the government, they are automatically registered to vote unless they choose to decline. The bill is being led by Representative Robert Brady (D-PA). While support at the congressional level has been primarily among Democrats, automatic registration is a bi-partisan reform at its very core. Five states have adopted automatic voter registration th