A few notes for those who find themselves upset over how the “Cromnibus” was written/passed. Writing the Bill The deal was made by leaders of the House (Republicans), Senate (Democrats), and White House (Obama). So no one group is responsible for having ‘snuck in’ any secret provisions. This includes: The provision increasing the amount of…
Process & Reform
How Should Government Promote Stable Families?
While the achievement of marriage equality will be a tremendous step, it comes at a time when an extended recession has drawn attention to the economic fragility of contemporary families. When two parents are required to support a child (or when only one is available), the consequences of unemployment or underemployment can be devastating for…
Should the Government Promote “Traditional” Families?
Insofar as it is ‘traditional’ to organize families around a legal marriage of two consenting adults, recognized by the state, and securing for them certain rights, I do believe the government has an interest in promoting ‘traditional’ families. But I do not believe the state has a compelling interest in denying marriage to same-sex couples….
Virginia Electoral Vote Plan: Unconstitutional?
The legislature in Virginia is considering changing the way they divide the state’s electoral votes. In case you don’t remember, each state receives EVs equal to their number of U.S. Representatives (proportional by population) and U.S. Senators (2 per state). In most states, those electoral votes go en masse to the winner of the state….
On Gary Johnson
In my last post, I was pretty clear about why I think third party presidential votes are a bad idea. But I have to say more about one of those candidates: Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party. Johnson is perhaps the closest I’ve seen in my political life to a third party candidate worth supporting….
Why I Did Not Vote for a Third Party Presidential Candidate
The other night I took another of those online tests to see who you should be voting for. You know the type. They ask a set of questions on your policy views and then tell you which candidate you should vote for. Many people, myself included, find that their preferences match more closely with a…
On Compromise and Obstruction
First, my apologies for the recent silence. Who knew a new baby would take so much time away from blogging!? (Ok, yes, we all knew.) In response to my last post, Jacob raised some excellent questions. As I mentioned on the Facebook page, I think they are worth everyone’s consideration. I’ll respond to Jacob’s simpler points…
The Tea Party’s Challenge in Toppling Romney
The Republican presidential primary is providing an excellent lesson in the distortions of big money in political races. Tea Party supporters, in many ways the most influential force in Republican politics, are having a heck of a time taking control of the nominating process. In part, this is because they have struggled to unite behind…
Structuring Better Outcomes
Once I was part of an organization that was trying to design a group t-shirt. Our discussion was a mess. There were simply too many of us with too many ideas to reach a consensus. The more we talked and voted, the more frustrated people grew. Eventually someone realized that in addition to the split…
What is Democracy? Arizona Edition
Some recent events in Arizona highlight the difficulty of creating, maintaining, and evaluating a democratic system: 1. Redistricting Fight: The governor (with ratification by 2/3 of the state senate) recently acted to remove the non-partisan head of the independent redistricting commission. While there were some alleged improprieties with the process, the main dispute revolves around…