Posted by jesse shayne on September 18, 2017 at 1:21 PM
This article was written by Laurent Belsie for the Christian Science Monitor
Search for Solutions: America’s political dysfunction stems from a duopoly structure that’s been amplified in recent decades, a new report argues. Some states may already be pointing toward solutions that better serve the public interest.
In 2015, shortly after selling her family’s food-products business, CEO Katherine Gehl had an epiphany: What if you analyzed the US political system as an industry? Suddenly, new answers appeared for questions, such as: Why are politics so partisan? Why can’t Washington get things done? Ms. Gehl teamed up with Harvard business professor Michael Porter, a consultant for her family business, to investigate the industry of politics. On Sept. 13, they released a report, “Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America.” Here are edited excerpts of their conversation with Monitor business writer Laurent Belsie.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on September 18, 2017 at 10:55 AM
This article was written by Jeffrey Sparshott for the Wall Street Journal
The U.S. political system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly the way the two main parties designed it.
That’s the conclusion of a new Harvard Business School study. Authors Katherine Gehl, former president and CEO of Gehl Foods, and Michael Porter, a professor at the school, apply business theory to the U.S. political system and find an industry that works for Democratic and Republican organizations, big donors, pollsters, consultants, partisan think tanks, the media and lobbyists, but ignores most American citizens.
“By nearly every measure, the industry of politics, itself, is thriving,” Ms. Gehl and Mr. Porter said in the report. “There’s just one problem. The people whom the politics industry is supposed to serve have never been more dissatisfied.”
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on September 14, 2017 at 10:08 AM
This article was written by Tiani X. Coleman and Harry Kresky for the Huffington Post
According to Judge William J. Zloch, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, they can’t.
On August 25, 2017, Judge Zloch dismissed a significant lawsuit brought by activists fighting a grave injustice in the electoral system, the unfairness of the Democratic primary. This case, known as the “DNC lawsuit” was brought by supporters of Bernie Sanders who felt they had a cause of action against the Democratic National Committee (“DNC”) and its then Chairwoman Deborah Wasserman Shultz, for fraud and misrepresentation, for tilting the playing field against Bernie Sanders and in favor of Hillary Clinton, who won the nomination but then went on to lose the presidency to Donald Trump. The implications of Zloch’s dismissal are a big deal for the public at large, whether one is a Bernie fan or not. The issue is whether our country really stands for the proposition that all citizens should have equal voting rights.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on September 08, 2017 at 10:57 AM
This article was written by Abraham Sanchez for New Mexico Politics
The height of political fragility will be on display again in June of 2018. Major political parties will parade around our state eagerly awaiting the outcome of their primary elections. While almost a quarter of the voters who bear the cost of this election are not allowed to vote in it, political parties will suggest this effectively decides who our candidates should be in the general election.
Again we’ve seen our New Mexico Legislature miss vital opportunities to change the way we conduct elections in our state. In this year’s session, important measures to remedy our broken elections were ignored and dismissed.
Opening closed primary elections to all New Mexico voters was rejected. Then, legislation to increase the amount of time people have to register to vote was discarded. We saw nothing come of attempts to change our legislative re-districting process. We have failed to take a serious look at the unreasonable requirements for independent and minor party candidates to run for office.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on September 06, 2017 at 11:56 AM
This article was written by Chuck Witt for the Winchester Sun
It might be interesting to see how voters in Clark County define themselves.
Nationally, more voters claim to be Independents than either Democrat or Republican.
A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 39 percent of those polled claimed to be Independent, while only 32 percent opted for Democrat and 23 percent for Republican labels.
(Obviously, that only adds up to 94 percent, so six percent either chose to not classify themselves or didn’t answer the question, and these percentages probably don’t hold true for Kentucky voters). Some information suggests that the percentage of Independents may be as high as 43 percent nationwide.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on August 30, 2017 at 11:40 AM
This article was written by former Missouri State Senator Marvin A. Singleton for the Kansas City Star
The political system we have come to know and practice — outlined by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and giving one vote to each citizen — is in grave danger.
We have recently seen candidates for the presidency with historically high negatives. Neither major candidate was able to discuss major policies or their visions for the country. Instead, we saw personal attacks, accusations, misinformation and the general lack of a thoughtful approach to governing. “Trust me” is no longer a valid policy statement or position for any politician.
Regardless of how we got here, to ensure that our democracy moves forward and represents the will of the majority of Americans, change in the system must come — fundamental change in how we chose our candidates. We must give the majority of citizens input into the process.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on August 28, 2017 at 4:46 PM
Party politics is killing America and Illinois. It is not enough to just elect different people into a bad system. We have to fundamentally change politics, and that starts with real open primaries.
The 2016 presidential election has opened the eyes of Americans who are more aware than ever of a rigged political system working against the voters.
Americans are fed up with a political party establishment more interested in their side “winning” than in what is best for the country.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on August 16, 2017 at 12:28 PM
Listen to OP President John Opdycke discuss the growing movement for political reform with Jeff Brown, news anchor from CBS Radio Boston.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on July 20, 2017 at 3:39 PM
This article was written by Open Primaries President John Opdycke for The Hill
"Morning Joe" is in mourning. The deceased is the Republican Party of balanced budgets and international restraint.
MSNBC host and former Congressman Joe Scarborough announced last week that he was leaving the Republican Party. In an impassioned piece for The Washington Post, Scarborough cited Donald Trump’s actions and Republican Party leadership’s silence as the basis of his decision:
“The wreckage visited of this man will break the Republican Party into pieces — and lead to the election of independent thinkers no longer tethered to the tired dogmas of the polarized past. When that day mercifully arrives, the two-party duopoly that has strangled American politics for almost two centuries will finally come to an end. And Washington just may begin to work again.”
Welcome to the (anti-) party, Scarborough! You are joining the roughly 45 percent of Americans who are abandoning the Democratic and Republican Parties or never joined them in the first place. Not only are our ranks growing, but political scientists and pollsters are finally acknowledging that independents are not apathetic fence-sitters but engaged Americans concerned about how the parties and partisanship are ruining our country.
Read more
Posted by jesse shayne on July 20, 2017 at 12:59 PM
This editorial was published by The Independent Florida Alligator
As we’re sure you are aware, Florida is a closed primary state. This means that in order to vote in a primary election, Florida residents must be registered with a political party. It also means in the primaries, they are only be able to vote for candidates running for a position within their registered party. In general elections, however, they are able to vote for any candidate in any party.
In our opinion, closed primary states need to be brought to an end. Not only are they restrictive and suppressive, but they further divide our nation by strengthening party identification.
Read more
