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Credit: Ron Hill Imagery By most accounts the 2012 presidential election is going to be close. With Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Barack Obama lambasting each other over petty disclosures might it be outside actors that end up deciding the election? Third parties have had a notoriously difficult time in the United States. If one retreats all the way back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the ensuing battle between the mislabeled Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the two-party

Credit: Real Clear Politics Swing states can effect an election and therefore effect legislation, but how can the upcoming legislation effect swing states votes? Any of the past few years annual budgets have been tough for the United States, which is now $15 trillion in debt. However this year, massive portions of the budget are scheduled to be slashed according to the sequester, meaning even more cuts to the budgets, and for struggling states, a heap of trouble. The sequester is a result of t

Photo: blog.tsa.gov Over at the New York Times, reporter Scott Shane announces the beginning of a running dialogue about how to strike “the proper balance between liberty and security” more than a decade after the terror attacks of 9/11. I want to suggest, however, that framing the question the way Shane does, in terms of optimizing the “trade-off” between these competing values, begs the crucial question: Has there been a trade-off? Have all the billions of dollars and intrusive new surveillan

Credit: Bill Oetjen The Pentagon has admitted it was wrong about basic facts relating to basing the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber in Vermont, so of course the announcement was made late last week in a story spun to be about public participation. While most Vermont media missed the story entirely, the Burlington Free Press got the scoop and missed its significance, focusing instead on the extension of the public comment period on the Air Force’s environmental impact statement.   Mission accomplish

unPAC the 2012 Olympics fights to restore American unity by asking NBC not to run special interest political ads, including those from super PACs, during the 2012 Olympic Broadcast. http://www.unpac.org/olympics/ Libertarian Gary Johnson made national headlines yesterday after supporters took to Twitter to protest CNN for excluding him from polling practices. Because of his exclusion, they argue, Johnson has been shut out of the Republican presidential debates, greatly reducing his visibility.

Credit: Purple Strategies Purple Poll July 2012 In a new Purple Poll released today, voters in 12 swing states diverge dramatically on their views of the country's economic trajectory. This overwhelmingly affects who they plan on casting their ballot for in November. "Among those who believe the economy is getting better, 93% support Obama, 4% favor Romney. And among those who say it is getting worse, Romney leads Obama 84% to 7%," says the Purple Strategies findings. This economic question i

As the primary season for the 2012 election has ended, all sides are now focused on the general election and the march to Election Day in November.  On that day, millions of Americans will go to their local polling place and cast a vote for President/Vice-President.  Some will choose the Democratic candidate, some will choose the Republican candidate, and some will choose a third-party candidate such as the Green Party or Libertarian Party.  When we walk out of those voting booths, we feel as if

This weekend, the National Governors Association (NGA) will be meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia. The NGA is an annual meeting of current governors from all fifty U.S. states and five U.S. Territories. In honor of this year's meeting, here's the five memorable moments from governors past and present. Governor Chris Christie – New Jersey Governor Christie responds to a reporter questioning his tone of voice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQdZFtHJD8 Governor Angus King – Maine Governor King

Republican Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia has revoked his signature from Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform pledge, and he isn’t the only one. Until recently the pledge had been signed by every Republican in, or wishing to be in, Congress. Now, just 45 of 83 of the Republican National Congressional Committee's current group of up-and-coming politicians, known as the “Young Guns”, have signed the no-tax pledge. By taking his name off the pledge in January, Rep. Rigell says his “advice and

On June 28th the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional and will be upheld as a law. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the bill, and the total was 5 for and 4 against. Immediately after the final decision was announced, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, announced the Republicans will be scheduling a vote to repeal health care reform on July 11th. This allows the House a recess before voting on the controversial bill. “The Supreme Court’s decisi