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“The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the (European) past as was the necessity, which Americans faced, of broadening the concept to include black men.”-  James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son" From the founding onward, race has been the American fulcrum, the nexus by which the country is united or divided, with the African American community pivotal in the long struggle for a broad-based inclusive American democracy. Race and place perpet

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWUXpMO3-88 Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute convened the Terminate Gerrymandering Summit on January 10 at the University of Southern California. The Summit brought together campaigns, academics, activists, and redistricting commissioners to celebrate the victories of the 2018 midterms. The first panel from the Terminate Gerrymandering Summit and Fair Maps Incubator Launch featured Arnold Schwarzenegger and le

Those of us who inhabit the space in American politics between the 40-yard lines have watched with dismay as the nation’s two major parties retreat to their respective ideological end zones. As election after entrenched election passes, we have to wonder about the potential for a third party that would occupy the ground near midfield that has been abandoned by Democrats and Republicans. I’m a former California Republican, now an independent. In California that means I’m NPP — registered as “no

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is leaning strongly toward running for president in 2020 as a third-party candidate -- the wisest course for him. But if he does, he should make systemic political reform part of his agenda. That’s because, out of sight of most of the media, there’s a growing movement around the country actively working to “unrig” a system that now works for the Republican and Democratic Parties, their donors and affiliated special interests, rather than the American people. The movement

There were two elections on November 6. The first was a national referendum on President Trump that saw Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives after nearly a decade out of power, while Republicans added seats in the Senate. The national election results continue to be the subject of endless punditry as races in Arizona were reversed and returns in Florida were subject to mandatory recount. It was a contest between two parties – Team Red and Team Blue – that will end up costin

DENVER, Colo. - If Denver For Psilocybin canvassers can gather 4,726 signatures in the Mile High City by January 7th, a voter initiated ballot measure to legalize "magic mushrooms" as they're colloquially called will be put to a citywide vote in May of 2019. If the measure makes it onto the ballot and receives enough votes to become law, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative would make the possession, consumption, and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms for adults over the

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The biggest story in the 2018 election cycle was not what color of wave we saw. It was not President Donald Trump using the Ecuadorian immigrant caravan as a campaign issue. It was not the Democrats’ focus on the president’s behavior while holding the Oval Office. The biggest story in 2018 was the voter revolt against the political status quo. Political and election reform had its most groundbreaking year in half a century, and most media outlets didn’t pay attention. From

This is my post-election column where I analyze the impact of independent voters who came out in force last Tuesday, almost 34 million of us. Huge. The stats and takeaways are at the end of this column, dear reader, so if you prefer to cut to that chase, scroll on down. Suffice it to say that independents are swinging between cycles of disruption and cycles of stabilization, all the while searching for systemic changes that will take us to new ground. Independent rather than partisan ground. Th

I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am an independent who believes that at this moment of partisan dysfunction and division that the health of American democracy depends on the capacity of the American people to come together, to grow and to develop. While the media is saturating us with a focus on the results of who won and who lost in the midterm elections, my attention is drawn to signs of the emergence of a bottom up nonpartisan developmental politic in our country that breaks throu