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The  very form and structure of two-party politics ensures the  marginalization and exclusion of Independents from the nation’s  mainstream political discourse, allowing Republicans and Democrats to  engage in their well-rehearsed charades. Hypocrisy is just one of the  names for the game. The  charge of partisan hypocrisy is one of the most common criticisms  Democrats and Republicans level against one another. Essentially, it is  a critique of what we might term political relativism.  Democr

Proving yet again that they are a potent force, Independents will be a significant factor in contributing to the likely Republican takeover of the House, and possibly the Senate. According to the latest POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll, the electorate will likely vote next week in a manner that entails greater ideological alignment with the Tea Party, effectively challenging the Obama administration’s agenda of change.  In potentially cleaning out both chambers of Congres

At this point, it is all but guaranteed that Republicans will hold the House of Representatives come the election in November. Commentators from Nate Silver to Jon Stewart to Karl Rove to Rush Limbaugh for once have reached a consensus on this point, and as of now, the only battle being fought is over the size of that upcoming majority. Its existence has long since been conceded as an inevitability.  But what then? Once the GOP has seized back the mantle of power, what is to come, and how can w

Barely a month after his record-breaking "Randslide" victory in Kentucky's Republican Senate Primary, Rand Paul came to Washington DC for a fundraiser with his father, Congressman Ron Paul and Senator Jim Bunning, the man whose U.S. Senate seat Paul would be vying for in November's general election. As a Rand Paul supporter and a summer intern for a youth leadership organization in our nation's capital, I had the opportunity to attend the event- in fact I'm the "long-haired intern" Dave Weigel

Countering Glenn Beck’s Tea Party-oriented rally, labor and minority activist groups convened in Washington DC over the weekend, taking on an overtly partisan tone to energize the left-leaning base for the upcoming midterm elections. Partisanship at One Nation, the name of the rally, appeared to be a bit more blatant than what occurred at the Restoring Honor Rally held just a few weeks earlier.   Beck specifically asked his audience to leave political signs at home via the official website adve

Running out of options to avoid a collision course with a 1994-like Congressional disaster, left-of-center Democrats are desperately challenging Republicans over the volatile issue of illegal immigration.  The puzzle piece fitting most prominently into their strategy at this point is California, where immigration is the hottest issue since the era of Pete Wilson and Proposition 187. At the forefront of the heat is gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who is currently being accused by liberal at

Political theater literally arrived at Washington DC thanks to a free comedic act from faux news man Stephen Colbert last week.  And if there’s anyone to thank for Colbert’s appearance on Capitol Hill regarding immigration policy, it would be Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), from California’s 16th congressional district in the San Jose and Silicon Valley. Being the quintessential entertainer, Colbert used Lofgren’s invitation to slip into his Comedy Central character, modeled after Fox News pundit

Here’s a challenge:  look at the list of speakers featured at this weekend’s Coffee Party’s convention (September 24-26 in Louisville) and figure out who any of them are.  There’s not a single Glenn Beck-level celebrity there.  Instead, we have people of substance that no one has ever heard of.  That’s not the way to win hearts and minds in an age of 24/7 media. The Coffee Party claims the Radical Center, where nobody in particular gets excited about anything.  It is not opposed to government,

In a major effort to pass some sort of immigration reform legislation before the November midterms, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has attached a controversial piece of immigration legislation as a rider to a defense appropriations bill expected to be voted upon next week.   While it’s not an ultimate comprehensive immigration reform bill, it is at least a step in that direction and could very well set the stage for later passage of comprehensive reform. The current legislation Reid i

California would be one of the last places expected to be the site of a major Tea Party rally; yet such a rally took place in Sacramento over the weekend.  The Sacramento rally was one of several across the country that also included others in St. Louis and Washington DC. The Tea Party’s ability to make a noticeable presence in Sacramento says something about the movement’s ability to resonate with voters. It will be intriguing to see how much the Tea Party can chip away from the Democratic vot