Search query: new jersey

Over the last ten years, Americans’ trust in their government has plummeted to all time lows. Across a wide array of polls and surveys, fewer than 20% of us believe our government can be trusted to do the right thing. That skepticism is certainly justified. From 2001 to 2010, US Attorney’s Offices logged over 10,000 federal convictions against public officials across the country for myriad acts of corruption. And those were just the instances in which there was enough time, resources and evidenc

Florida holds the dubious honor of wrongfully convicting the largest number of innocent people put on death row. Since 1973, the Sunshine State wrongfully incarcerated and released twenty-three people set for a state sanctioned killing. And nationwide, 140 people in twenty-six states have been exonerated of the crimes for which they were convicted and sent to death row. If this tells independent voters anything, it’s that the criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform, with capital p

General Motors will be cutting back its pension payments by $26 billion, by offering its salaried retired employees a lump sum payment and switching to Prudential Financial Inc. to handle their retirement accounts, according to Bloomberg News. GM says the move is an effort to curb the high costs of their pension program and help balance their books. "These actions represent a major step toward our objective of de-risking our pension plans and will further strengthen our balance sheet and give u

The hardest part for a candidate when selecting their vice presidential candidate is finding the right balance. You want to select someone who adds new demographics of supporters and increases your odds of winning the general election without overshadowing yourself. The nominee doesn't want to select a candidate who is not noteworthy enough to make a difference (think William E. Miller in 1964), different or controversial enough to cause a loss of focus on the candidate's platform (think Sarah P

The current approval rate for Congress hovers at an all-time low and the political makeup of the Senate chamber is a critically important aspect to this year's election cycle. Dissatisfaction over the performance of incumbents currently serving will place significant attention on the independents vying for their seats. Here is a brief introduction to a handful of independent candidates running for Senate seats across the country in 2012. Jon Ross Barrie-“I am NOT a politician and I have never b

Senator Santorum suspended his campaign today, leaving Governor Romney as the likely Republican Party nominee with Speaker Gingrich and Dr. Ron Paul trailing, but still in the race. This is a fortuitous development for Gov. Romney, as April and May were not likely to be kind. Politics, after all, abhors a vacuum. This situation is likely to result in an exponential growth in Dr. Paul delegates, which has been the focus of the Paul campaign all along. This prediction is based on where the primari

The Republican primary race stretches on. None of the current candidates appear willing to drop out. At the same time, none of the candidates appear on track to accrue the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the party's nomination prior to the Republican National Convention in June. That leaves us on track for a contested and/or brokered convention. It's a politico's dream scenario and would be the first such event since 1952. Recall the television networks complaining during past election cycles

Among those who advocate for the “modernization” of our voting systems, internet-based electronic voting and registration platforms are often offered as an ideal solution to the problems inherent in our current registration and voting processes. A newly published paper describes the ease with which a small group of researchers was able to hack a Washington D.C. based internet voting pilot project, demonstrating that these new systems are not ready for take-off. In 2010, the Washington D.C. Board

Politico February 9: On the campaign trail... Newt Gingrich (Republican): Yesterday, Newt Gingrich finished up his Ohio bus tour, with his next appearance tomorrow at the CPAC convention in Washington D.C. He has big plans for next week, as he already has eight fundraisers planned in California. Gingrich's strategy departs from his Republican rivals, in that he ignored the trio of states that voted on Tuesday and has been directing his focus to Super Tuesday. He has been keeping quiet and opte

The Republican Party's presidential primary race may prove to be a breeding ground for third party and Independent presidential candidates in the 2012 election.  There are no less than four current contenders for the GOP's presidential nomination who may run for president as a third party or Independent candidate:  Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Jon Huntsman and Buddy Roemer.  And, given the success of Americans Elect in its ongoing effort to obtain ballot access in all fifty states, we may see any num