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How could a handful of common-sense, independent Senators defuse the partisanship around trade? By changing the way we talk about the whole issue. Most American say they believe in markets. Why? Because markets reward hard work and innovation. They deliver us better products at lower prices. They allow us to specialize in what we do best and use that income to buy the other things we need or want. Markets have delivered America 250 years of unprecedented growth and prosperity. Sure, there are

Katie Fahey, President and Treasure of Voters Not Politicians, is leading an effort to establish a citizen's redistricting commission in Michigan. She and her team have built a statewide network of donors and volunteers who gathered over 400,000 signatures to put the issue before the voters this November. I spoke with Katie about her journey--from Facebook poster to movement leader--and the genesis of the Voters Not Politicians campaign. What I learned was how committed Katie is to listening an

I watched as the microphone I had clipped to my interviewee's coat was suddenly yanked off, and she was silenced by a well-dressed woman with the teacher's union who had approached us. We were standing in front of the Supreme Court having a conversation about free speech and unions. My interviewee was also a teacher's union supporter - but she wasn't supposed to talk. She was bewildered and so was I. Let that sink in. THE CONFRONTATION Oral arguments kicked off in Janus v. AFSCME on Monday

Mark Duncan has already had a near death experience with a mass shooter. His daughter Faryn, a 20-year-old student at University of Nevada Las Vegas found herself in the crosshairs at a country music festival. Sometime during the last set, amid the loud music and flashing lights, she noticed people around her dropping to the pavement and spewing blood. Faryn managed to survive by hiding under the stage until brave strangers ushered her to safety. COPING AFTER VEGAS SHOOTING Mark's way of cop

The Unrig The System Summit in New Orleans was a historic event that brought together people from across the political spectrum who could all agree on at least one thing: Our political process is corrupt, rigged, and need of broad systemic reform. Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, progressives, independents, and more shared the spotlight together not to talk about the political issues that divide them, but the reform initiatives that can unite them. "Good things, developmental things are

Three lessons for independent and third-party candidates and activists will determine the future of our nation and our shared planet. My position is simple: We are the answer. Our nation and our democracy are in trouble. We need more than enthusiasm from the independent movement. Candidates and activists must sit at the same physical or digital table, debate specific problems, agree on a framework for specific solution sets, then move on to the next problem. Examples of such dialog began early

Welcome to one of our weekly posts, Independent Action, where we let you know the important moves independent candidates and organizations made over the past week. This week we will be discussing Greg Orman, State Senator Bob Krist, and the Unrig the System Summit hosted by Represent.Us. Greg Orman was not quiet this week, but the light around him did dim slightly. However, Orman still managed to make some headlines during a somewhat slow week for his campaign. Governor Brownback’s resignation

Vermont is the first state to legalize adults’ possession and limited cultivation of marijuana legislatively Marijuana will be legal in nine states and the nation’s capital when Vermont law takes effect MONTPELIER, Vt. — On Monday, Gov. Phil Scott officially signed a bill into law that makes marijuana legal for adults in Vermont. H. 511 eliminates Vermont’s civil penalty for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana and removes penalties for possession of up to two mature marijuana plants and

All eyes in political reform circles are on the Wisconsin gerrymandering case (Gill v. Whitford) argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on October 3, 2017. The case was brought by a group of Democrats challenging the redistricting plan adopted by the state legislature’s Republican majority and signed into law by its Republican governor. The plaintiffs claimed that their constitutional rights to equal protection and freedom of association were violated because of the disparity between the vote to

Vermont is poised to become the 30th U.S. state to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational consumption, and the first state to legalize adults’ possession and limited cultivation of marijuana through an act of the legislature, rather than by popular ballot proposition. A bill that would make marijuana legal for adults in Vermont received final approval Wednesday from the Vermont Senate and will soon make its way to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott, who vetoed a similar bill in 2017. In Decem