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1. More than 1 in 5 Americans say replacing every member of Congress and starting fresh is the best way to fix Congress. "One in seven (14%) say bipartisan cooperation is the ticket to fixing Congress. About one in 10 (9%) want to "make members accountable to people, not their own agendas," an umbrella category that includes specific reforms such as limiting the number of recesses Congress takes, ending gerrymandering, or requiring balanced budgets. Another 11% favor enacting term limits or sho

According to a Washington Post Election Lab projection from May 2014, an incumbent in 405 of the 435 House contests has a 90 percent chance or greater of winning his or her seat, leaving only 30 seats still relatively up for grabs. Other prominent forecasters, such as the Cook or Rothenberg outfits, have similar predictions that approximately 10 percent of House races are competitive.These numbers follow a trend that has been seen in recent election cycles. In the 2002 and 2004 elections, a majo

In 2011, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman lamented that the proliferation of half-true statements and fallacious accusations during the 2012 presidential campaign had inaugurated an era of "post-truth politics." This era is particularly enabled by the features of our contemporary media-saturated political environment: the distrust of the mainstream media, the rise of alternative and slanted news outlets, and a 24-hour news cycle that emits data and soundbites at a velocity and volume that

Independence Day is usually celebrated -- most vocally anyway -- by used car dealerships and department stores. However, it's important for 'We the People' to remember who was driving the four-wheel liberty drive, no money down, no interest for 12 months, freedom machine that became the United States of America on the Fourth of July. Chief among them, was Benjamin Franklin. Any exercise to choose just one Founding Father as 'the best' is inherently a subjective one. However, the following 6 rea

In the wake of last week's startling upset of Eric Cantor, it would be easy to believe that the political middle will once again be left out in the cold. Yet something unique is happening this primary season. Political moderates, the perennial underdogs of party primaries, the forgotten footnotes to the partisan favorites, are mobilizing. It's a trend across the country, seen not just in the Republican backlash against the tea party, but in independent candidates and unique, moderate Democrats.

When a district court ruled that Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, one onlooker exclaimed, “it’s like wildfire!” What she was referring to was the recent barrage of rulings that have overturned gay marriage bans across the nation. Wisconsin joins Pennsylvania on the growing list of states that are now issuing same-sex marriage licenses. However, unlike Pennsylvania, whose Republican governor will not challenge the ruling, Wisconsin is poised for a fight. Attorney General J

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been described as “the biggest free trade deal you’ve never heard of.” The arrangement would liberalize trade by bringing down protective tariffs and “harmonizing” regulations and standards in order to facilitate the exchange of goods and services across 12 countries along the Pacific rim. While the agreement is being negotiated, experts and politicians are debating the potential effects of the TPP on the United States. Liberal economist Paul Krugman sco

In a probing and preliminary survey conducted by Harper in February 2013, a mere one percent of likely Democratic primary voters declared their preference for Tom Wolf, who had yet to officially announce his candidacy for governor of the Keystone State. A Quinnipiac poll a month later found that a full 85 percent of Pennsylvanians had not heard enough of Tom Wolf to determine whether they viewed him favorably or unfavorably. The York-based businessman, once he did formally enter the race in Apr

Demonstrating a national sea change in views toward same-sex marriage, Pennsylvania is the latest state to see its ban on same-sex marriage ruled unconstitutional in federal court. This time the law was overturned by a Bush-appointed judge, a decision supported by the state's Republican governor, Tom Corbett. Corbett has even been outspoken in his views that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The ruling also took an added step in striking down the law than other previous states.

What seemed like a long and daunting uphill battle just a few years ago, now seems like an inevitable reality. In the last 11 months, 14 states have had their bans on same-sex marriage struck down, and same-sex marriage is now legal in 18 states, including the District of Columbia. Just this week, both Oregon and Pennsylvania had their bans on same-sex marriage overturned by federal judges for being unconstitutional. Both Oregon and Pennsylvania state officials have declined to defend the laws