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Caught in the middle of San Diego’s most recent political scandal is Ravneet “Ravi” Singh, the owner of ElectionMall Inc., who is being charged with funneling over $500,000 in illegal foreign money to San Diego candidates. Ravi Singh has become a familiar face at political events, working on digital strategies for political campaigns throughout the nation. His largest client has been, and remains to be, the California Republican Party (CRP), who hired him in 2012 to host their first “Social Me

Primaries first began in the early twentieth century as a response to increasingly strong party control over elections. At the time, voters wanted a larger say in who would be chosen as their candidate, instead of the long-standing tradition of party bosses choosing who would run for office. Progressive reformers viewed direct primaries as a way for constituencies to increase transparency and allow for citizens to participate in the electoral process. As primaries became a feature of local, stat

Nineteen years have passed since Angus King was elected Governor of Maine as an independent, sixteen since wrestler Jesse Ventura “shocked the world” by beating two well-funded rivals in Minnesota, and four since Lincoln Chafee vied for Rhode Island’s highest office. While history is scattered with such examples of successful independent candidacies, it is no secret that the Republicans and Democrats have a strangle hold over the political process; those outside the duopoly rarely have their voi

Last week, both Illinois and Hawaii passed same-sex marriage making them the 15th and 16th states to do so. Overall, 2013 has been quite a year for the LGBT community. These last two states just seem to put the icing on the proverbial cake. It all comes on the heals of the 2012 election where voters in three states (Maine, Maryland, and Washington) approved same-sex marriage and rejected a ban on it in the state of Minnesota. So, what has transpired during the year? Rhode Island, Delaware, Mi

PPP, on behalf of the House Majority PAC, did a recent poll of one of the congressional districts in Minnesota that is set to be a "swing district" in 2014. By swing district, I mean it is -- so far -- looking likely to change from a red district to a blue district, and where an established, multi-term incumbent is failing badly. There appear to be a few of these enough across the nation to change the control of the House of Representatives, If - and this is a big IF - the Democrats get a net g

Nonprofit VOTE examined the impact of nonprofit organizations on voter behavior within seven states in an August 2013 study. It found that those contacted by a nonprofit organization -- in regards to the election -- turned out at 74 percent while 68 percent of all registered voters turned out. The data from the study suggests that nonprofit organizations fight an uphill battle when trying to increase turnout since their target audience has a historically low propensity to vote. However, nonpro

Justin Amash One of the youngest U.S. Representatives and Chairman of the House Liberty Caucus, Justin Amash is among the most independent members of the House GOP and strives to distance himself from party groupthink. The New York Times noted in 2011 that Amash, “has not voted with the majority 25 percent of the time, the most of any House Republican.” He was recently criticized by GOP strategist Karl Rove, asserting Amash's “staunch libertarian stances on legislation as antithetical to tackl

Credit: Laborant / Shutterstock.com Federal education reform came out of the House last week, a revamp of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The legislation H.R. 5 -- Student Success Act -- would limit the federal role in education policy and place more power in states. The bill would undo the accountability process and measurement set forth by NCLB. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is based on standardized test scores and is used to determine a school's performance. If a school does not meet AYP goal

President Obama signs healthcare reform in 2010 // Credit: Reid.senate.gov Can a state unilaterally suspend the operation of ObamaCare within its borders? Of course not. That measure would violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. We fought a Civil War over that question. What if two states banded together to suspend the operation of ObamaCare within their common territory? Can they do that? The answer remains the same. No. But let's try this. Let's have those two states - and others

Within the nest of an eagle, three or four eggs may be incubating at one time, but once the first chick hatches, the rest, if they manage to crack their shells, will often be at the mercy of their ruthless elder sibling. The instincts of a firstborn eagle are self-preservation, leading them to peck, bully, and push the other chicks to a point of parental neglect and eventual death. Experts describe this tragic pattern as Cainism, based on the biblical brothers, Cain and Abel. “Apparently all eg