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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

Political advisor and author Mark McKinnon says that “A messy participatory process is representative democracy at its best.” We understand what he’s getting at. The contest of ideas and the formation of interest groups is an important part of our political process. But there’s a difference between messy and rigged. Nearly half of all Americans identify as independents, unwilling to endorse either the Democratic or Republican political parties. Yet, even in an election like 2016’s presidentia

It’s no secret that the White House has had their share of problems when it comes to intelligence leaks in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. While some say that the so-called “deep state” is a myth, President Trump isn’t taking any chances. He has pushed back, most recently, by installing retired General John Kelly as White House Chief of Staff, in an effort to bring order and discipline to the West Wing. Kelly is one of a handful of retired Generals appointed to key positions in

Statistics are pointing to a another steep rise in opioid deaths within the next 10 years. To illustrate the point of just how critical the crisis has become, in the state of Massachusetts, 90% of all drug overdoses are attributed to opioids. In Connecticut, the figure stands at 86%. Days after his administration said it wasn't ready to declare it an emergency, President Trump said he’s drafting paperwork to declare the opioid crisis a "national emergency." In an announcement on Thursday, the

IVN podcast host T.J. O’Hara is joined by David Walker. Walker served as the seventh U.S. Comptroller General for the Clinton and Bush administrations, as well as the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Walker is currently running for governor of Connecticut. He and T.J. discuss the nation’s fiscal responsibility, touching on issues like social security, health care, how much public debt we have as a percentage of the economy (78% and rising!), welfare, and the problems he

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who serves as vice-chair of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Election Integrity, sent a letter to every secretary of state in the US this week asking them to send publicly-available data on their voter rolls. The information requested includes: full names of every registered voter, addresses, dates of birth, political party (if available), last four digits of social security numbers, voting history dating back to 2006, active/inactive status, cancell

Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

On HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver tackled an issue that many consider the most pressing threat to our democracy: gerrymandering. As he often does, Oliver explained the intricacies of this complex policy issue with wit and humor, much to the alarm of voters everywhere. After explaining how politicians help their own party win seats by “packing and cracking” voters into districts, Oliver left viewers with a glimmer of hope by introducing the idea of independent redistricting commissions. T

Five years ago, outside of the public eye, a conflict flared inside the inner circle of Democratic Party power. Simply put, it was this: should the Obama re-election campaign find a way to make an explicit appeal to independent voters? Five years ago, the answer was no. I know this because I was part of the discussion, though an outsider to it, whose counsel was firmly rejected. And though Obama won reelection in 2012 while losing independents to the GOP, the strategic decision to double down w

As the new year gets underway, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. In at least nine states, electoral reform is on the agenda. Building on the momentum of historic wins for ranked choice voting in Maine and Benton County, Oregon, lawmakers from Massachusetts to Hawaii have introduced bills that would expand its use in their states. The bills vary in their scope and history. Bills in Virginia and Connecticut would adopt ranked choice voting for al