Search query: south carolina

Credit: Ron Hill Imagery By most accounts the 2012 presidential election is going to be close. With Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Barack Obama lambasting each other over petty disclosures might it be outside actors that end up deciding the election? Third parties have had a notoriously difficult time in the United States. If one retreats all the way back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the ensuing battle between the mislabeled Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the two-party

Credit: Real Clear Politics Swing states can effect an election and therefore effect legislation, but how can the upcoming legislation effect swing states votes? Any of the past few years annual budgets have been tough for the United States, which is now $15 trillion in debt. However this year, massive portions of the budget are scheduled to be slashed according to the sequester, meaning even more cuts to the budgets, and for struggling states, a heap of trouble. The sequester is a result of t

Credit: texastribune.org The United States has some of the lowest voter turnout and voter participation rates of any industrialized country in the world. Low voter turnout is typically ascribed to voter ignorance and apathy or to the lack of choice in our two-party dominated political system. Another factor is what we might call the “busy work” burden imposed on voters by government regulations. In order to vote, individuals must register to vote with their state's board of elections according

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released today gives new insight into employment numbers, state by state, for the month of June. Compared to the month before, unemployment has increased in 27 states. Meanwhile, 11 states, as well as the District of Columbia, reported a decrease in unemployment in June compared to May. 12 other states reported no change. Looking more long-term, 47 states have reported a decrease in unemployment rates when compared to a year ago. The report is bad news for New Yo

Credit: maps.com Randy Brock, Republican candidate for Vermont Governor, probably didn't mean it to come out this way, but his successful Friday fundraising pitch that focused on Republican Governors turns out to be a boost for current Vermont Governor, Democrat Peter Shumlin. Or so it seems to anyone paying attention. The center of Brock’s pitch is that “a recent study showed that of the 17 states that elected Republican governors in 2010, every single one has reduced its unemployment rate.”

This election, an estimated five million eligible voters will be disenfranchised from the political process due to new voter identification laws. These de-facto voter suppression laws not only make it harder to register to vote, but also place restrictions on voting, creating an obstacle to eligible voters who lack government issued identification. The Brennan Center for Justice released a study in which they outlined the changes in voting laws we face in the 2012 election and the adverse affec

Governor Rick Perry of Texas joins a list of growing states who say they will refuse to implement Medicaid expansion in their states. The one-time presidential hopeful stated yesterday, “If anyone was in doubt, we in Texas have no intention to implement so-called state exchanges or to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.” Gov. Rick Perry’s decision makes Texas the sixth state to opt out of Medicaid expansion so far. Texas joins Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Wisconsin in using

Today the Supreme Court upheld the health care reform's Affordable Care Act. As is to be predicted, politicians had strong reactions both for and against the act. President Obama’s main rival in the November elections, Republican Mitt Romney, lead the pack with talk of repealing the act: “What the Court did today was say that Obama care did not violate the Constitution. They did not say that it is good law or good policy. If we want to get rid of Obama care, we are going to have to replace Pre

Last week, IVN commented on a lawsuit brought by alleged delegates to the Republican National Convention. The Republican National Committee, while stating that suit was frivolous at the same time organized all the named defendants into a united defense against this litigation. There is no indication yet that the complaint in the action was served on any defendant or that the RNC has voluntarily appeared and moved to take any pretrial actions. What is clear: Ron Paul's delegate count continues to

Recently on the campaign trial President Obama’s strategist, David Axelrod was heckled by Romney supporters in Boston. This turned into a controversy when Romney refused to apologize for his supporters and President Obama was subsequently interrupted during an immigration policy address, unrelated to campaign politics. By not condemning the hecklers, who are a part of his team, Romney is accused of implicitly endorsing them. Gov. Romney was quoted on the subject saying “American politics has a l