Month: August 2014

August 21, 2014

Florida Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis heard arguments Wednesday about whether to throw out the Florida Legislature’s redrawn congressional map, which critics say unfairly advantages Republicans, hurts minority voters and is unconstitutional. Under order by Judge Lewis, the legislature met in special session in early August and issued a revised congressional map on Aug. 11. But a coalition led by Common Cause and the Florida League of Women Voters says the new redistricting plan contains only minimal changes and still violates the state constitution.
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August 18, 2014

Former Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, who died Monday at age 80, was in many ways ahead of his time. Mr. Jeffords, a Republican who shook up the Senate in 2001 by becoming an independent and caucusing with the Democrats, represented Vermont in the House for 14 years before being elected to the Senate in 1988. He was re-elected twice more as a Republican before giving Democrats control of the Senate for three years. Republicans considered him a turncoat and claimed his conversion was in exchange for receiving the chairmanship of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
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August 13, 2014

While so many are watching Martha’s Vineyard–where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama are expected to “hug it out” Wednesday night to put to rest any question of a rift over Iraq–discussions of that conflict and America’s role in the world aren’t going away. The mess that Iraq has become and doubts about why the U.S. launched the incredibly costly and unnecessary war have left deep scars on the American public and U.S. foreign policy.
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August 8, 2014

Americans have extremely negative views about government and Congress, but those feelings are counterbalanced by concerns over the nation’s economic future and a desire for government policies that might help. Wall Street Journal-NBC News polling out this week found that 85% of voters favor tax incentives that would encourage companies to bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas and that 70% support reducing regulations that add to the cost of doing business in this country.
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August 6, 2014

Although this is an election year, many members of Congress may not be too eager to meet with constituents during their five-week summer recess. Wall Street Journal-NBC News polling out this week showedthat only 2% of Americans are very satisfied with our political system, 79% are dissatisfied and 74% of voters believe Congress has been unproductive this year.
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August 5, 2014

A fight within the Kansas Republican Party could affect several GOP primaries on Tuesday. Sen. Pat Roberts, 78, who is running for his fourth term, confirmed earlier this year that he no longer has a home in Kansas. That sort of admission helped defeat Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in 2012. Sen. Lugar was also branded an out-of-touch Washington insider by hard-line, anti-establishment conservative Republicans.
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