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In Virginia, only two candidates have qualified for the VA GOP primary election: Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Why? Because the restrictions for ballot access make it nearly impossible for candidates to gain access, causing Bachmann, Santorum, and Huntsman to not even submit a petition and preventing Gingrich and Perry from getting enough signatures to qualify. “Anyone who thinks requiring thousands of signatures to get on the ballot is compatible with a free society needs to research the history a

Supporters of independent and third party candidates have long decried the draconian laws regulating ballot access in states across the country.  They have argued that the ballot access system, which has been constructed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers over the last century, deprives voters of choice, unreasonably burdens upstart candidates for public office, and insulates entrenched incumbents from political competition. Virginia's ballot access laws are so restrictive that the majority

“We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share,” Ronald Reagan said in 1985.  “In theory, some of those loopholes were understandable, but in practice they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary, and that's crazy. It's time we stopped it….” What has so radically changed in the psyche of Reagan’s party, where today any move to normalize th

Beginning with the Iowa caucuses on January 3, 2012, more than half of the states in the nation will hold their presidential primary and caucus elections over the course of the next three months. In the coming years, however, we may well see a significant change in the way the nation chooses its president if the movement for the national popular vote compact continues to gain momentum. And it appears that supporters of the compact public opinion on their side. As many Americans discovered for t

As Texas Congressman Ron Paul gears up for a vital turn in his presidential campaign this week, a study from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) lends credence to what many followers have long suspected: Even with a strong presence in several polls, Dr. Paul is being marginialized by the mainstream media at large. According to Pew's study of the news media's narrative of Dr. Paul, it found that he received the least coverage of any presidential candidate overall

The average age of farmers and ranchers in America is increasing, and rural populations are in decline. This is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is acting to plant a new crop of much needed agricultural producers here in California and across the nation. Last week, Ag Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced this year's winners of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) 'Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program' (BFRDP). According to a NIFA news release, a tota

Public  disgust with Democrat-Republican party government is at an all-time  high in the wake of the debt ceiling debacle. As more Americans identify  themselves as Independents, will they walk the walk when it comes time  to cast their ballots next year? Americans  have long held a low opinion of Congress.  “Suppose you were an  idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself,”  wrote Mark Twain once upon a time.  If recent polling is any indication,  it appears that more

It's doubtful that "birthers" are wallowing in embarassment today over the president's release of his long-form birth certificate.  They never really cared about the piece of paper.  It was the man they were after.  And the man, to their dismay, remains our president, our first black president. This controversy reminds me of the naked racism that I grew up with.  In my home state of Virginia, non-whites were regularly asked to prove themselves more competent than whites in order to gain the vot

Contrary to the perception that Republicans are the only ones desiring a return to strict workplace immigration enforcement, the Wall Street Journal and others are reporting that immigration authorities under President Obama are utilizing harsh measures with popular restaurant chains like Chipotle. According to The Wall Street Journal, the chain has been forced to let go of hundreds of workers in recent weeks after the company received many notices from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Despite continued rhetoric that Republicans blocked the Dream Act this past weekend, Democrats have only themselves to blame for failing to gather enough votes for the bill. Republicans filibustered the partial immigration reform bill that would have granted a pathway to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, from their teenage years up into their mid 30's.  While Republicans filibustered and Democrats took the initiative to invoke cloture, the Dream Act fell five votes short of pr