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The first debate in the Kansas race for U.S. Senate was held at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas on Saturday. In the first face-to-face meeting, Republican incumbent Pat Roberts continued his attempts to characterize independent candidate Greg Orman as a liberal Democrat. Orman called into question Roberts' voting record, particularly issues where Roberts sided with Democrats on appropriation bills. In the span of about 45 minutes, Roberts attempted to associate Orman as a "Harry Rei

In July, an appeals court upheld an earlier ruling from a lower court that said military commanders ultimately were not responsible for the actions of their subordinates in regards to sexual assaults, even if those actions directly rob a service member of their basic civil rights. This is just one more example of service members being denied the same court protections as civilians. In the future, this could affect retention and morale within the services. In 2012, a group of 12 former Navy and

California's state government is changing. Since voters approved the top-two primary system in 2010, a new type of representative has a chance to make it to Sacramento. At least, that's what Democrat Bill Dodd says. He's running in California's 4th Assembly District. "The open primary system allowed me to compete and win the election in June" said Dodd. "Never before would a moderate, business-friendly Democrat like me have been able to win in a partisan primary." Source: Sunlight Foundation

When major party candidates are faced with the prospect of running against an independent candidate, they are often faced with a dilemma they are not prepared to deal with. Our political system has evolved (or devolved) to the point where it encourages the two-party system, and campaigning is generalized by popular battleground issues. Independent candidates challenge this paradigm, as many have political views that do not fall within the traditional "left-right" scale. Greg Orman's independen

The shooting death of an unarmed black civilian by a white police officer this month has made Ferguson, Mo., a flashpoint for some of the most divisive issues in America today. Reports show that Michael Brown, 18, died after Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson responded to an emergency call. Accounts about what happened vary, but an autopsy showed that Wilson reportedly discharged his weapon six times. Since then, Ferguson has seen protests, riots, looting, curfews, and even more death. The crisis

Thirteen-year-old Stephanie Roman-Reyes can identify with the tens of thousands of refugee children in danger of deportation along the southern U.S. border. Huddled beneath a tree in Lafayette Square with her infant sister and mother, the Queens, New York middle-school student began crying as she talked on Thursday about her father, whom authorities returned to Mexico three years earlier.“For me, it’s tough not to have a dad by my side,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “It’s really depres

While the U.S. political scene is often described as polarized, many members within the major political parties can agree on one issue: privacy and surveillance. From Democrats like Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin to Republicans like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, support for the current system of NSA surveillance and data collection is one of the clearest examples of what bipartisanship looks like in Washington. Generally speaking, centrism indicates a reluctance to make significant changes

A plume is haunting America -- the plume of legal marijuana. The November ballots of two states, Oregon and Alaska, and the District of Columbia will include initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana. If passed, they will join Washington state and Colorado, who passed their own legalization measures in 2012. Florida voters will decide on a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana, but not its recreational use. Oregon The November ballot will include the Oregon Legalized Mari

Despite consistently low approval ratings of Congress, candidates outside the Democratic and Republican parties have faced an uphill battle gaining enough exposure and credibility to get elected. Since 1877 (the end of Reconstruction), there have been 111 third party or independent candidates elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Since 1949 (the Modern Era), there have only been six. How many independents are sitting in the House today? Zero. That’s right, zero. All 432 current represe

The current era, dubiously named “the New Gilded Age” by more than a few journalists, is characterized not only by extreme inequality of wealth, and therefore power, but also the concentration of power in a very small class of people. The idea of an American oligarchy used to be accepted only in small dissident circles, but it has now entered the mainstream. Princeton political scientists released a study in April concluding that the U.S. is a democratic republic only in theory. The real power