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Like most everyone else, I am thrilled to see a new Congress that looks more like America than ever before. I am lifted by their new energy and commitment. I am delighted that their first shared effort was a sit-in protest demanding action on climate change, held inside the U.S. House of Representatives and the office of the Democratic Party leader. I pray for the success of the freshman class of 2018. The key is whether Republicans and Democrats can get past hating each other to solve problems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It’s official. This year was the costliest midterm election in US history. Outside spenders forked out $1.31 billion. That’s an increase of 61% over the 2014 midterms. The total over-all cost of $5.2 billion is a 35% jump over 2014. The political advertising side of a campaign is a massive investment. Rhetoric filters into living rooms across America at all hours of the day and night, while a candidate gives a stump speech to a crowd of thirty. According to Advertising Analy

Democrats have a supermajority in Sacramento, having won or leading in 58 of the Assembly's 80 districts and could hold as many as 60 or 61 seats after all the ballots are counted. But that far from guarantees legislative wins when you consider the factions taking shape. Three distinct caucuses have created large blocs of votes which will no doubt fight for the direction of California and their respective groups. The Caucuses The Conservative caucus has 24 members and is led by Marie Waldro

Dear newly elected Congresspeople, Yes you, the newbies, the previously little-knowns, the everyday men and women who finally had enough, and who responded to the call of their communities and fellow-citizens to do something by running for public office. For most of you, it was the first time. You did it! You ran and you won! You had to overcome gerrymandering, voter suppression, maybe even voter fraud. You needed multiples of normal turnout, and you succeeded. Huge numbers of voters came out

I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am an independent who believes that at this moment of partisan dysfunction and division that the health of American democracy depends on the capacity of the American people to come together, to grow and to develop. While the media is saturating us with a focus on the results of who won and who lost in the midterm elections, my attention is drawn to signs of the emergence of a bottom up nonpartisan developmental politic in our country that breaks throu

Medicare Part D beneficiaries may receive some much-needed relief on the cost of their prescription drugs starting in 2019. Back in 2010, the Affordable Care Act set a timeline to close the coverage gap. The so-called “Part D Donut Hole” was initially scheduled to close by 2020. But legislation signed this year, through the recently enacted Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), is expected to go into effect in 2019— closing the gap one year early. The Medicare “Donut Hole,” a nickname for the g

Washington, D.C.- You don’t often see this sort of disclaimer: “We made 25,975 calls, and 642 people spoke to us.But remember: It’s just one poll, and we talked to only 642 people. Each candidate’s total could easily be four points different if we polled everyone in the state. And having a small sample is only one possible source of error.” That is right at the top of a single poll result on the New York Times website's live polling section. It posted results in real time with every phone call

Democrats and pollsters expecting Josh Harder (D) to surf into Washington on a blue wave in California's 10th Congressional District Tuesday were met with the reality that all politics is local. Blood is thicker than water, the old saying goes, and in California's Central Valley, water is the community's lifeblood. So said incumbent Rep. Jeff Denham (R) in the days leading up to the election. There local farmers have come to rely on Denham to fight for their access to scarce irrigated water to

Washington, D.C. - The Republicans have held on to the Senate by grabbing some center-left leaning districts, while Democrats scooped up the 218 they needed to topple GOP control of the House of Representatives. Those numbers weren't necessarily surprising for many Americans. But the details surrounding this election are fascinating. Candidates broke barriers across gender (more than 100 women were elected), race, religion and sexual identity. And inside those states and districts, unique situa

San Diego, Calif.- According to a recent NPR poll, nearly 80 percent of voters are concerned that the negative tone and lack of civility in Washington will lead to violence or acts of terror. That toxic tone has become commonplace in contentious races for many years. But there are representatives, and candidates, who have stuck to a more civil approach to politics. Videos for two candidates in California's 77th Assembly district in San Diego demonstrate the two different approaches. Assemblym