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This column poses a question for which I have only a tentative answer. I am interested to learn what answers readers have. How do you deal with friends who are so intolerant of political views different from their own that they consider anyone who disagrees with them evil? Those of you who follow this blog know that I have been hosting a series of political discussion threads on my Facebook page. (I wrote a book about the initial experiment, because I found the response so interesting.) Two fr

The fury over the proper posture to assume during the national anthem at NFL games represents everything that is wrong with American politics. Massive and community-destroying controversy is created by selfish and self-absorbed elites while accomplishing absolutely nothing positive for ordinary people or those in need. President Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he criticized NFL players for taking a knee during the national anthem. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/911904261

Is anything less immutable these days than a political party’s orthodoxy? We all like to mourn the death of compromise, but the truth is this: even the Republican and Democratic parties aren’t that far apart once everybody’s working from the same set of facts. One way or another, the following six political leaders broke with their party’s orthodoxy. Some wish to pursue real and lasting change in health care, while others were perhaps a little more cynical about their motivations. Whatever the

Recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, ended violently, as white supremacists clashed with counter-demonstrators, and a car driven by 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., ploughed into a crowd full of anti-racist and anti-fascist protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring at least 19 others. According to Al Jazeera, the “Unite the Right” rally, was planned for Saturday, August 12, in an effort to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate soldier and icon, General Rober

CNN Polls has been asking respondents since 1992 whether they have a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward each of the two major parties. The latest poll shows that only 29% approve of the Republican Party, and only 41% approve of the Democratic Party. See this story. Thanks to Political Wire for the link. Editor's note: This update originally published on Ballot Access News, and has been modified slightly for publication on IVN. Photo Credit: Christos Georghiou / shutterstock.com

Dr. Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, and a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, recently had some sobering words for the two major political parties in the United States. On a Washington Post podcast, Dean said, "The most reliable demographic of our voters are the young people across the board, across racial and ethnic lines," but added that this is a major problem for the DNC, because: "These people are not Democrats." Dean went on to explain: "Th

These are the best of times—and the worst of times—for independents striving to disrupt and transform our broken politics. The Best of Times Though it can be obscured in the dust and smoke of moment-by-moment partisan rancor and wrangling, tangible progress is apparent in vital areas: 1. Poll after poll shows rising, record numbers of citizens declaring themselves as Independent. Given the extensive privileges in law and custom accorded to the Republicans and Democrats, this is no small cha

Voting in America is not easy. You first have to register. You have to find your polling place. In most states, you have to take time before, during, or after work to get to your polling place. You have to wait in line, sometimes for hours. In some states, you even have to prove you are who you say you are. And then, after all that, in the vote for president at least, if you don’t happen to vote for the candidate who happens to win in your state, your vote is worth nothing. It counts for nothi

How Can Citizens Redress their Grievances of an Unfair Election Process?According to Judge William J. Zloch, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, they can’t.On August 25, 2017, Judge Zloch dismissed a significant lawsuit brought by activists fighting a grave injustice in the electoral system, the unfairness of the Democratic primary.This case, known as the “DNC lawsuit” was brought by supporters of Bernie Sanders who felt they had a cause of action against the Democra

Don’t blink or you might miss it. While much of our attention, and that of Congress, is appropriately focused on hurricane recovery, the United States Senate this week is quietly taking up the National Defense Authorization Act that will set the Pentagon’s budget and programs for next year. There are some major issues in play, and those of us who are concerned about spending, foreign military interventions, surveillance, and transgender rights need to be paying attention. Waging Wars without