Search query: arizona

Once again, Arizona is back in the headlines, and once again, it's caused a national uproar. As the same-sex marriage debate continues to snowball in the public square, the Grand Canyon state now waits to see whether or not Governor Jan Brewer will sign the controversial 'Religious Freedom Restoration Act'. Supporters of the law say that it only strengthens existing laws and seeks to ensure everyone's religious freedoms are protected against religious discrimination. Opponents of the law, howe

Although President Obama once called immigration “the most important domestic policy agenda of his second term,” political discord -- particularly within the Republican ranks -- has slowed progress on immigration policy to a snail’s pace. Major disagreements lie in decisions over amnesty for illegal aliens, which tea party groups ardently oppose, and border security. However, immigration policies have a long and complicated history in the U.S., which date back to the early republic. While Amer

With the November general election a few months away and several primary and special elections ahead, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration released a report in January outlining several recommendations to shore up voting lines, increase voter participation and registration, and improve the voter experience. The commission specifically called for states to encourage the use of schools as polling places. Yet, some state election boards and school administrations have pushed back

It seems that in every cycle there is debate about which states should hold the first presidential primary elections. Some state always seems to try to jump ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. Since 1972, the Iowa Caucuses have been first in the nation and New Hampshire has been the first "primary" since 1920. There, of course, have been states that have attempted to circumvent Iowa and New Hampshire, claiming that they don't truly represent America as they are small states with seemingly narrow

U.S. Representative Ron Barber (D-AZ) is looking at a tough fight in 2014 to keep his incumbency in Arizona's Second Congressional District. He is one of the many Democratic politicians in danger of losing their seat this year. The main danger to Barber's seat is Republican Martha McSally, a retired U.S. air force colonel who narrowly lost to Barber in the 2012 election. With one of her primary challengers -- radio talk show host Ed Martin -- dropping out, McSally is the clear GOP frontrunner i

Put the state of Colorado into a news search engine right now and you’ll get one big result: Yes, you can now legally buy marijuana for personal use in the state. However, there’s something more important going on than the ability of Coloradans to get legally high. Colorado was one of three states to see an increase of more than 30 percent in the number of registered independent voters, according to new research. While Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico saw the biggest increases, the number of

Massachusetts passed the first wage law in 1912, followed soon after by thirteen more states and the District of Columbia. However, the Supreme Court ruling in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) resulted in the defeat of a major provision of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” and further efforts would not succeed until Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. A national minimum wage was established at $0.25 per hour.A few very sobering facts: , a startling perspec

A bipartisan team of California lawmakers is pushing a bill through California's legislature that would prevent any state-related entity from  disclosing information on citizens to federal agents without a warrant. State Senators Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 828, also called the Fourth Amendment Protection Act, on Monday. Specifically, the bill would prohibit "an employee of the state... a corporation... or a political subdivision of the state fr

Numerous polls have revealed that there is widespread ignorance when it comes to politics. In 2012, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that less than half of those surveyed knew where the upcoming primary would be held, and only 53 percent knew that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney served as the governor of Massachusetts. This past summer, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey revealed that 44 percent of the participants did not realize "Obamacare" was still law, and about

Could the Republican Party be spent as a national electoral force? It will be if it doesn’t learn from its mistakes and return to a more central position in American life which includes talking to independent voters, according to seasoned election strategist Ford O’Connell’s new book, Hail Mary: The 10-Step Playbook for Republican Recovery. O’Connell doesn’t pull any punches in his analyses, which suggests that the GOP will have no chance of taking the White House in the foreseeable future if i