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In December, I wrote an article on a particularly egregious case of the famous legislative "revolving door." After sixteen years in the South Dakota Legislature, Senator Deb Peters announced her resignation to take a job with the state's healthcare association. Two things about that story were particularly galling: Peters did not make her decision public until after starting her new role, and just a few weeks previously she stood for and won a seat in the South Dakota House. It turns out, as I

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In defiance of President Donald Trump, who has taken a barrage of criticism from Republicans and Democrats for standing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S. Senate issued a stunning bipartisan rebuke to Saudi Arabia's government and royal family Thursday, for the Washington Post journalist's murder, and for the escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with a 56-to-41 vote to end U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabia's war against t

Reason's Matt Welch says it well: "Ever since election night of 2016, it has been clear that the Libertarian Party, through all its fits and starts over the decades, has managed to create a uniquely attractive prize: likely ballot access in all 50 states for a presidential candidate at a time of unusual major-party upheaval and discontent. All this for the low, low price of wooing fewer than 1,000 delegates at the 2020 national convention." Here's a short list of 2020 possibilities: Mitt Romn

Washington, D.C. - On Friday, former President George Herbert Walker Bush died at the age of 94, passing away just months after his wife Barbara. Serving as the 41st President of the United States, Bush’s administration oversaw the end of the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm. As Bush's casket proceeded up the west-facing steps outside the Capitol building cannon fire roared across Washington. Bush called these steps “Democracy’s front porch." As the nation honors its 41st president, it is

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. officials familiar with the matter told CNN Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department is about to announce a federal rules change that would ban so-called "bump stocks" throughout the United States. An official announcement from the Trump administration is forthcoming within a few days the report says. "Slide Fire" or "Bump" Stocks Defined: A gun stock or shoulder stock is the "butt" of a long gun (such as a rifle) that is placed against the user's shoulder when firi

Washington, D.C. - Ohio will be the first state in the nation to use blockchain technology for tax payments. Businesses will be able to pay 23 types of taxes via bitcoin. But if blockchain is secure enough for a government to collect money from companies, why hasn't it been given the green light for widespread use in securing our votes? West Virginia used a new blockchain pilot program to allow military men and women, as well as their families, to cast their votes in the midterm elections usin

Washington, D.C. - Tulsi Gabbard is keeping the focus and political pressure on President Trump's foreign policy in the Middle East. Rep. Gabbard, who represents Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, fired off a much-publicized tweet before Thanksgiving that focused on President Trump and Saudi Arabia after agents of the Saudi Arabian government assassinated journalist and Washington Post columnist Ahmad Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. https://twitter.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Here in Washington, just after Thanksgiving, the newly elected members of Congress will begin week two of orientation to learn how to hire staff, where the bathrooms are located, and the basic infrastructure involved in operating as a legislator. And as the nation heads into a holding pattern over the holiday season, the debate rages over the current power structure on Capitol Hill and whether the parties' successful stifling of the debate will continue as 90 new members of C

Like most everyone else, I am thrilled to see a new Congress that looks more like America than ever before. I am lifted by their new energy and commitment. I am delighted that their first shared effort was a sit-in protest demanding action on climate change, held inside the U.S. House of Representatives and the office of the Democratic Party leader. I pray for the success of the freshman class of 2018. The key is whether Republicans and Democrats can get past hating each other to solve problems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It’s official. This year was the costliest midterm election in US history. Outside spenders forked out $1.31 billion. That’s an increase of 61% over the 2014 midterms. The total over-all cost of $5.2 billion is a 35% jump over 2014. The political advertising side of a campaign is a massive investment. Rhetoric filters into living rooms across America at all hours of the day and night, while a candidate gives a stump speech to a crowd of thirty. According to Advertising Analy