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When President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency to advance construction of a wall on the United States’ southern border, debate sparked over whether such use of broad executive power would come back to bite the Republican Party should a Democratic president do the same. And perhaps that president should: with a myriad of legitimate crises facing our nation and our world, perhaps we should be embracing innovative ideas to address them. For those decrying excessive federal ove

Spoiler alert! As we get closer to 2020, a number of Democrats are going to preach about how they will bring national unity, while beating their chests to be the King or Queen of everything that is not “right.” Trump will do the same from his soapbox against everything that is “left.” Meanwhile, Schultz must rid himself of the biggest scarlet letter in US politics, which BOTH sides use to derail a viable third option from emerging. Independent voters, however, are not letting their opinions

The state of our Union is both hopeful and broken, strong and fragile. By our very nature, Americans lean toward optimism. Our pioneering history drives us toward problem solving; our go-to strategies aim for forward progress. Our fierce independence feeds our demands for individual rights and liberties. We derive strength from our Constitutional intentions and protections. These values and qualities inspire the world and shape our expectations for fairness and justice. At the same time, Ameri

The state of our Union is both hopeful and broken, strong and fragile. By our very nature, Americans lean toward optimism. Our pioneering history drives us toward problem solving; our go-to strategies aim for forward progress. Our fierce independence feeds our demands for individual rights and liberties. We derive strength from our Constitutional intentions and protections. These values and qualities inspire the world and shape our expectations for fairness and justice. At the same time, Ameri

This column was supposed to be a victory lap of sorts. The NH House Election Law Committee met on February 13, to deliberate about and vote on HB 728, a bill to implement ranked choice voting (“RCV”) in New Hampshire. It offers staggered implementation, starting in 2020 with the first-in-the-nation NH presidential primary. We thought we had the votes for it to pass favorably out-of-committee to the House floor (though we knew it would be close), and we were anxious to move to the next step! The

A new bill was introduced in the New Hampshire legislature that would implement ranked choice voting in the state's first-in-the-nation presidential primaries. However, the New Hampshire House Election Law Committee voted Wednesday to hold off on a vote for a year, giving policymakers more time to study the proposal. The bill, HB 728, is not dead. However, the committee's decision does mean that ranked choice voting will likely not be used in the 2020 New Hampshire primaries. “Unfortunately, t

There is a dirty word in American politics, worse than “crook,” more terrible than “philanderer,” and more despicable than “liar.” The word is “spoiler.” A crook, a philanderer, and a liar sully the character of an office, or enrich themselves at the public trough, or violate the public trust. These offenses are punishable, sometimes forgivable. But “spoiler” is the Scarlet Letter. The perpetrator has committed a special crime, one that changes the course of events as they were meant to be. The

The 2020 Democratic field is already larger than it was in 2008. So far, 11 Democrats have launched or formally announced their intentions to launch a presidential bid, and more are expected in the coming weeks and months. One of the biggest names many are still waiting on, however, is US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Is Bernie 2020 going to happen? The answer could come very soon. Here are some things to look at: 1. Sanders and Biden Lead in the Polls Interesting enough, the two candidates w

As a business owner and lifelong resident of Michigan, I am proud to have stood with so many of my fellow citizens soliciting signatures for days and weeks on end to get the “Nonpartisan Redistricting” and “Promote the Vote” initiatives on the ballot and successfully passed in the 2018 midterm election. They were a big win for Michigan democracy and important steps on a journey to a more representative government. Yet, there remains a large obstruction in our path to achieving a healthy, functi

The presidential field is quickly emerging for the 2020 election. Ten Democrats have already officially launched their campaigns  Meanwhile, President Trump is still waiting to see if he will face a primary challenge at all. Regardless of political party, the partisan presidential primary process determines not only which candidates are willing to run, but the issues, tone, and target audience for their message. This year, we expect a number of Democrats to preach about how they will bring nat