The battle to oppose Donald Trump in 2020 has begun. A large field of Democrats has embarked on the complex strategic game of choosing policies and styles as each candidate strives to win attention in a crowded field. Over all of these looms the incumbent. Elections between an incumbent and a challenger often focus on […] More
Since openly gay South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced his bid for the presidency, news outlets have been full of stories about Buttigieg and his husband. By highlighting the novelty of an out presidential candidate, such stories obscure the long participation of LGBTQ people in American politics. U.S. history is full of examples of […] More
Florida used to have the nation’s strictest disenfranchisement law for people convicted of crimes classified as felonies. In most states, voting rights are automatically restored after a person is released from prison, or after they finish parole or probation. In comparison, under Florida’s old system, a citizen with a felony conviction would never be allowed […] More
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has been arrested in London and charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion over his alleged role in the leaking of classified United States government documents. Assange has already been found guilty of failing to surrender British police, who took him from the Ecuadorian embassy, where he has been living […] More
For the first time in the country’s modern history, the existence of the Electoral College has become a campaign issue. In July, Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that the Electoral College needed to be abolished. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has also called for its abolition, while other Democratic presidential candidates, including former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and […] More
The appeal of Donald Trump mystifies many people. How can this monstrous egotist, this apparent man-baby, be president of the United States, they wonder. But perhaps people are looking in the wrong places for answers and explanations. They compare him to other politicians, and find that he is so different to his White House predecessors […] More
US president Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, using powers conferred on him by the National Emergencies Act 1976, in order to release funds to build his border wall immediately was met with opposition. Many questioned whether such an emergency actually exists, a point Trump himself added fuel to when he brazenly admitted that: […] More
