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Is anything less immutable these days than a political party’s orthodoxy? We all like to mourn the death of compromise, but the truth is this: even the Republican and Democratic parties aren’t that far apart once everybody’s working from the same set of facts. One way or another, the following six political leaders broke with their party’s orthodoxy. Some wish to pursue real and lasting change in health care, while others were perhaps a little more cynical about their motivations. Whatever the

Don’t blink or you might miss it. While much of our attention, and that of Congress, is appropriately focused on hurricane recovery, the United States Senate this week is quietly taking up the National Defense Authorization Act that will set the Pentagon’s budget and programs for next year. There are some major issues in play, and those of us who are concerned about spending, foreign military interventions, surveillance, and transgender rights need to be paying attention. Waging Wars without

419-3. Three Republicans voted against a bill that, in part, provides $7.85 billion in emergency financial assistance to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said no to the aid package. Minutes before the vote, Amash tweeted that funding for the disaster relief should be offset instead of being added to the deficit. https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/905465795416862720 Trump Sides with Democrats It’s alre

Assange Ready to Publish Word that the FBI was not willing to release its findings into the Hillary Clinton email scandal, due to concerns over public interest, caused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to make it abundantly clear on twitter, that his organization will publish all email's related to Clinton. In a story on IVN, the FBI stated that they didn't think the public was interested in the findings and therefore denied the FOIA request that was initially filed in 2016. WikiLeaks founder

The Constitution vests the president with the power to pardon anyone he or she wishes. It’s one of the clearest authorities the Founders established. As with any power granted an elected official, the ability to issue a pardon must be used wisely and respectfully. As a governor, I had similar authority. A process was in place to consider requests for clemency and insure that pardons were granted carefully and appropriately. There is a similar process in place for the occupant of the White Hou

Election Hacking Concerns Need Solutions, Not Partisan Bickering There is arguably nothing more important to our democracy, than keeping elections safe and free from hackers. In a piece on IVN, Editor Shawn Griffiths notes: "We've known for some time that state voting machines are incredibly vulnerable to cyberattack. Is this breaking news? No. White hat hackers (ethical hackers) in recent history have demonstrated time and time again just how easy it is to hack into the machines." So, the q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyy6SPmbqJo It's certainly true that the most valuable things in life don't come easy. That is the case with health care reform. No question, Obamacare needs to be fixed and improved. It's failing across the country. All parties have admitted the system is collapsing on itself. And there is no question the fractures in Congress need to be healed if any significant repeal and replace bill can be passed. The last 48 hours in the Senate have been a painful and i

Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is a process where “state officials automatically register eligible citizens using reliable information from other government lists. All would be given the chance to “opt out” or decline registration.” This policy proposal seeks to resolve the issue of having a barrier at the polls. According to the Pew Center on the States: “One in four eligible citizens is not registered to vote and one in eight voter registrations in the United States is invalid or signif

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.

Senate Republicans threw a curveball into the complicated Obamacare repeal vote. The GOP introduced yet another amendment to their bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. The new version, posted on a Senate website, removes the so-called Cruz amendment. Authored by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the amendment would have allowed insurers to sell much-less-generous, and hence less expensive, individual health plans.It's not clear if that amendment will remain out of the bill as Senate Republican leader