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The ranks of Independent voters are rising nationwide. In Massachusetts, they are the majority. According to the state's most recent enrollment statistics, released by the Secretary of the Commonwealth late last week, 52.18% of Massachusetts' registered voters are “unenrolled,” refusing to affiliate with any political party. Democrats are the second largest block of registered voters in the state, accounting for 35.9% of the total. Just 11.6% of the state's voters affiliate with the GOP. Over t

I started writing opinion pieces and magazine articles 39 years ago. I’ve written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, and other U.S. and Canadian newspapers. Since March of 2005, I’ve written a monthly column for the Presidio Sentinel, a community newspaper in San Diego. I've lost track of the number of opinion pieces I've written, but for the Sentinel alone I’ve written 78 columns and more than 125,000 words. I’ve opined on everything from Slobodan Milosevi

All eyes on Michigan today, as the state holds its primary in what has been labeled Romney's first must-win primary. Michigan's polls show Romney and Santorum neck and neck, making today's primary critical. Another wild card is the fact that Michigan's primary is open, meaning Democrats and Independents can participate. Arizona voters also hit the polls today in what appears to be a safe win for Romney. Combined, 59 delegates are up for grabs in today's primaries. On the campaign trail... Newt

Renewable energy projects of all sizes, but especially grid-scale projects, are increasingly running into concerted opposition from NIMBYs who, while they might favor clean energy, don’t want it located anywhere they can see it. NIMBY of course is an acronym for ‘Not In My Back Yard’ while BANANAs are even more extreme, saying ‘Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.’ From the Cape Wind project offshore in Massachusetts, to homeowner associations in Arizona banning rooftop solar, to con

Tomorrow, Arizona and Michigan will hold their primary elections in what could amount to Mitt Romney's make-or-break moment in the 2012 election. Born and raised in Michigan, this state's primary is critical to Romney's campaign, but it may be a tough win for the candidate, who is neck and neck with opponent Rick Santorum in the most recent poll. The forgotten primary of Arizona could be one of the least watched races of the election, with Romney leading in the polls by 8 percentage points. On

IVN LIVE: We will be live-tweeting the CNN/Arizona Republican Party Debate tonight starting at 5pm PST, 7pm CST, and 8pm EST. You can follow our tweets at @IVNetwork and use the hashtag #4yourself to join in! And of course, we will be bringing you full coverage of the debate in tomorrow's Presidential Election Update. After a three week hiatus, the Republican Presidential Debates are back! And while this will mark the 20th debate this election season, here are a few reasons why this one matters

Thaddeus McCotter, former Republican presidential candidate and current Michigan congressman, recently warned about the GOP establishment maneuvering the 2012 presidential campaign toward a brokered convention in which party insiders hand pick a “new face” nominee. The congressman outlined four consequences he believes would result from a convention that produces a “non-candidate” apart from the remaining Republicans. Essentially, he argues that the party will be hurt more than it is helped if

This is one of those bombshell stories with multiple facets that branch off into all manner of areas: gay rights, immigration & border control, potential abuse of power, sexual assault by a priest, and a mediagenic sheriff about to run for Congress. Late last week, Phoenix New Times broke a major story saying that Pinal County AZ Sheriff Paul Babeu had a gay sex affair with a Mexican (known only as Jose, for privacy).  They broke up, and Jose now claims that Babeu threatened him with deportatio

While Americans around the country celebrate George Washington's birthday with the day off, the 2012 presidential candidates are hard at work in their campaigns for the White House. With primaries in both Michigan and Arizona a week away, the Republican candidates prepare for the return of the GOP debates, which will be held on Wednesday, February 22, in Arizona. And while there have already been 19 debates this election season, Wednesday's debate could prove to be especially important for candi

Though Independents remain skeptical of the Obama administration's handling of economic issues, as Christopher Guzman reported here at IVN last week, President Obama's standing among Independents has clearly begun to benefit by comparison with the narrowing field of candidates in the Republican primary.  As the Republican candidates continue to spar for the support of the party's base, they have begun to turn off Independents, who are more likely to identify themselves as moderate than as conser