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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x52hu0ilm4E Video Credit: RT A widely circulated article by Fox News Tuesday reports that the U.S. Army, struggling to meet its recruitment quotas, will be lowering its standards for new recruits by lifting a previous ban on recruiting "people with a history of mental illness, self-mutilation and drug abuse to serve in the military." The Army signed off on the new policy earlier this year because it is behind schedule to meet its target of recruiting 80,000 new

Turn on CNN or Fox News, and you would have to assume that all American politics settle nicely into two buckets -- two opposite extremes. With the patterns of brinksmanship and divisive politics that have defined much of our political dialog in recent years, it's easy to see how people form this opinion about the USA. However, the truth is that extremist tactics are typically much less successful than moderate ones. Out of all of the important political decisions that define our way of life in

We talk about the political divide in Washington and the gridlock that prevents anything from getting done on Capitol Hill. Yet, if there is one thing both parties can agree on, it is the topic of defense, war, and foreign policy. That was evident this week when the Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act in a 89-8 vote. The bill authorizes $700 billion in military spending for the next fiscal year. The US is now on track to have the largest military budget in the decade-plus wa

Editor’s note: This article, written by Rob Richie, originally published on FairVote’s blog on August 16, 2017, and has been modified slightly for publication on IVN. Next spring, states will start voting in primaries for the regularly scheduled congressional midterm elections in every state. On August 15, however, two states held primaries to fill vacancies -- for U.S. Senate in Alabama as the permanent replacement to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and for U.S House in Utah to fill Jason Chaff

RANKED CHOICE VOTING GETS SHOT IN THE ARM In a story that was first published on FairVote's blog, Rob Richie looks at the latest Primaries and how to Uphold Majority Rule. Richie writes, "Next spring, states will start voting in primaries for the regularly scheduled congressional midterm elections in every state. On August 15, however, two states held primaries to fill vacancies -- for U.S. Senate in Alabama as the permanent replacement to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and for U.S House in Ut

There is a new party on the rise in Utah, and it wants to end taxpayer funding for closed partisan primary elections. Utah uses a semi-closed primary system for statewide and congressional offices. This means the parties get to choose whether or not to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in "their" taxpayer-funded primaries. Democrats currently allow registered independents to participate in their party's primaries. Republicans do not. Yet the unaffiliated voters barred from these crucial

FairVote reached its 25th anniversary in June. I’ve directed the organization since its inception. It’s been quite a ride, with highs and lows, but with overall progress toward building support and earning advocacy success for big structural reform ideas in the service of our mission: greater choice, a stronger voice and a representation democracy that works for all Americans. I’ve never felt more optimistic about the chances to bring our core vision of reform into the mainstream of American p

President Donald Trump made a last-ditch plea to U.S. Senate Republicans Monday to fulfill seven years of campaign promises to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's signature health care law. The Senate will vote today on whether to open debate on an overhaul of the law, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promising an open amendment process and a "robust" debate. President Trump said, "To every member of the Senate I say this: The American people have waited long enough.

In a recent interview for IVN, Gary Johnson consultant Ron Nielson said Johnson "would be a fantastic senator" if he chose to run in 2018 against New Mexico's Democratic junior senator, Martin Heinrich. When pressed on whether Johnson would consider making a bid for the U.S. Senate next year, Nielson had no comment, saying: "Well you’d have to ask Gary. I have no idea. No doubt that Gary would be a fantastic senator. He would do an amazing job and be great at that task. I have no idea if that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9P15Ed05vI As GOP senators roll out their newest version of health care reform, a new Gallup poll shows U.S. adults are as divided as Congress on the government's best approach to reforms. The largest segment in the poll, 44 percent, want "significant changes" to the existing Affordable Care Act, but they want to keep it in place. According to the survey, 30 percent favor repealing and replacing the law, and 23 percent want to keep the ACA as it is. Gallup's J