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These days there’s a lot going on in the world of independent politics. More to the point, it’s now accurate to say that there is a “world” of independent politics. This is a recent development because, for a long time, the idea that people wanted to be independents, or vote for independents, or run for office as independents, or even think as independents was considered to be a flash-in-the-pan, a form of temporary insanity, unnecessary, or impossible. But an independent movement is taking sha

Supporters of a 2018 ballot initiative to legalize psychedelic mushrooms in California were given the green light by the state attorney general's office earlier this month to circulate petitions and gather signatures. They now have until April 30 to gather and submit 365,880 valid signatures from registered voters in the first state to ever legalize medical marijuana under Proposition 215 in 1996. That ballot proposition, as well as Prop. 64 -- the 2016 voter initiative titled "The Adult Use o

In a story that continues to get more bizarre as new details emerge, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), is recovering from 5 broken ribs after a neighbor assaulted him Friday afternoon while the Tea Party Republican leader was mowing his lawn in his gated community in Bowling Green, Kentucky. What was initially reported as "minor injuries" turned out to be far more severe. It emerged over the weekend that Paul had suffered five rib fractures in the assault, including three displaced fractures (where t

The Constitution does not set the size of the House of Representatives. Until the 1920s, its size changed after every census, expanding to reflect the nation’s growing population. However, the 1920 census created controversy within Congress over which states should receive new seats. A resolution emerged in 1929 when the size of the House was frozen at what it happened to be after the 1910 census - 435 seats - regardless of population growth. U.S. population has tripled since 1910, and the fix

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz inserted two amendments into a 2018 appropriations bill last week aimed at stripping White House senior adviser Jared Kushner of his security clearance. The amendments were Wasserman Schultz's response to the controversy over revelations that Kushner was involved in a June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower. Critics say the meeting was inappropriate and possibly illegal. In comments about the amendments, Wasserman Schultz ref

Democrat Rob Quist was defeated by Republican Greg Gianforte Thursday night in a special election for Montana’s at-large congressional seat, a state President Donald Trump won by 20 points in November. A progressive movement largely inspired by Bernie Sanders, however, rallied to bring Thursday's race within single digits. Montana is considered a deep red state. Yet Quist ran as a progressive endorsed by Sen. Sanders and campaigned on positions to the left of the Democratic Party. He only lost

Recorded audio and three eyewitness accounts of a Republican candidate physically assaulting a reporter with a "body slam" and punches isn't enough for voters in the red state of Montana to abandon him. That is what happened in Thursday's special election for the state's at-large U.S. House seat -- an election that can only be described as surreal. ALSO SEE: No Holds Barred: Montana Election Gets Wild It is exactly this kind of toxic, heedless partisanship on display in the Montana special ele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC3zqk3f46w It is not often a congressional election features a reporter allegedly getting body slammed by one candidate and another who’s been a regular at a nudist colony. These, however, are the choices voters have after the secretary of state put up major roadblocks for independent and Green Party candidates. Yep, Big Sky country is the backdrop for a unique and drama-filled race. Voters will go to the polls Thursday to fill Republican Ryan Zinke's empty con

From the media blackout of a DNC lawsuit to open primaries to term limits and more, here are 5 things you may have missed in nonpartisan political and election news. 1. Media Blackout of DNC Lawsuit Go to CNN or MSNBC or NBC News or the New York Times or Washington Post and  you won't find much on an ongoing lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz for showing favoritism toward Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic pr

The AP reported Monday that the Supreme Court has rejected two cases challenging open primaries in Montana and Hawaii. The justices did not comment on their decision to leave the Ninth Circuit's rulings in place. The majority parties in both states -- Democratic Party of Hawaii and Republican committees in Montana -- filed a legal challenge against the open primary laws in their respective states, which allow voters to choose a party ballot on primary election day without consideration of their