Andrew Gripp received his M.A. in Democracy and Governance from Georgetown University in 2012. He is a former political science professor, and he writes on American politics, international affairs, ph
On July 5, Greek citizens decisively voted "no" on a 68-word referendum about whether to accept a proposal from international financial institutions. The proposal involved the creditors extending a bailout program to Greece in exchange for new austerity measures. The referendum was the culmination of a week of
As the June 30 deadline for passing a budget approaches in Pennsylvania, faith group leaders and advocates from around the state are holding events at the capitol in Harrisburg as part of the #MoralTakeover campaign to demand adequate funding for the state's public schools. Since June 20, hundreds
As the number of Republican presidential candidates grows on a seemingly daily basis, the Democratic field is slowly becoming more crowded. It now includes Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). While Sanders entered the race as a distant second to Clinton, his campaign has
Since the movement launched in 2006, National Popular Vote has made significant progress to reform the way Americans elect their president. The group's plan involves a state-by-state approach. States that join the National Popular Voter Interstate Compact (NPVIC) agree that rather than having their electors cast their ballots
One of President Obama's primary reasons for supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the massive free trade deal currently being negotiated by twelve countries, is his concern that, "If we don't write the rules, China will write the rules in that region." His emphasis on
The 2012 presidential election was certainly the most expensive in American history. President Obama's re-election effort cost $1.1 billion, including nearly $700 million spent directly by his campaign. Mitt Romney's campaign spent over $400 million, but he received almost $800 million in additional outside help.
In December 2014, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed by Congress to provide the budget and appropriations to sustain the Department of Defense. Tucked into the bill at the last minute – and without public debate – was a provision to hand thousands of acres of protected land
On Friday, June 12, Tyler Harber was sentenced to serve two years in prison, making him the first person to be convicted and jailed for unlawfully coordinating activities between a super PAC and a federal campaign. The sentencing serves as a caveat to congressional and presidential campaigns and their allied
Given the intense nature of partisanship and polarization, it is tempting to conjure up an image of the electorate in which a majority of common-sense, moderate voters are trapped between two political parties that represent the extremes of American public opinion. This impression seems to be ratified by a recent
Tige Richardson’s recent piece on the media’s dismissive attitude toward Bernie Sanders’ campaign is the latest evidence against the myth that there is a liberal or left-wing bias in the mainstream media. And while its transparent, unanimous, and extremely premature declaration of Hillary Clinton’s nomination as “inevitable”
Last week, the General Assembly in North Carolina sent a bill (HB 405) to the desk of Governor Pat McCrory that is directed at thwarting undercover investigations that expose businesses' wrongdoing. The bill is the latest episode in a perennial back-and-forth dispute between the legislature and investigators documenting animal
In February 2015, Edwin Gomes became the first candidate running solely on the Working Families Party (WFP) line to win a seat in a state legislature. Gomes beat out four other candidates in a special election to represent Connecticut’s 23rd senate district. On May 5, 2015, the WFP won