Category: Domestic

A Deeper Look at the State of Trump’s Union

Sophia Singh

On January 30th, President Donald Trump delivered his 2nd State of the Union address. There was much speculation on whether or not he would “stick to the script”, what angles he would take, and how he would address some of the core issues currently causing partisan friction in Congress, namely immigration. Unsurprisingly, the speech was problematic in several areas, namely, the self-congratulatory presentation of issues with questionable follow-through, the embellishment of what should have been straightforward facts, a failed attempt at bipartisanship, and use of special guests to distract from…

The End of the Gerrymander

Alec Pollini

What must be understood about political gerrymandering is that it has been recognized as a force in party politics since before the framing of the U.S. Constitution. So it came as a surprise when a district court struck down the district map of Wisconsin drawn by the Wisconsin state legislature in 2010 as an unlawful partisan gerrymander. Late Justice Scalia would be outraged if he knew the courts were entertaining such challenges to district maps as the current U.S. supreme court case, Gill v. Whitford. The case currently under consideration…

Past, Present, and Future: The Democratic Party from 2016 to 2018

Declan Murphy

The modern Democratic Party is at a crossroads. The pressures from the outside (the alt-right, Trump, and increasingly uncompromising Republicans) and from the inside (the ideological split between progressives and Clinton-esque establishment liberals) are reaching a critical mass. In order to once again become a successful party at all levels- federal, state, and local- the Democrats must examine their immediate past, their pressing present, and the direct future. The lessons of 2016 and 2017, as well as historic patterns of politics, need to feed directly into 2018. For Democrats, 2016…

A Degradation of Honor

Paul Gargiulo

When my grandfather passed away at the age of eighty-seven, I had the distinct honor of attending his funeral. What made his funeral different from many other funerals in the United States was that it not only celebrated his life, but it also celebrated the sacrifice he made for his country in the field of combat. Many attendees of the funeral did not know that my grandfather was was a World War II US Coast Guard combat veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic and the Invasion of Normandy. That’s…

Democrats Should Begin to Study Universal Basic Income

Truman Stephens

Because Democrats continue to undergo an identity crisis following Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and the rising influence of the left wing of the Democratic Party, new ideas are needed to reinvigorate the party. The 2018 midterms are fast approaching, but Democrats are stuck in the muck reflecting on Donna Brazile’s impact on the election. Studying new economic ideas, like universal basic income, has the chance to reset the party’s economic message. Universal basic income (UBI) generally consists of unconditionally giving citizens a set amount of tax-free money each month.…

Robert Bork’s Warning to America Realized

Jacob Floam

In the twilight of his presidency, Ronald Reagan moved to make one final touch on his legacy by nominating federal appellate court Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Bork, a legal titan of his day, was the modern father of judicial restraint inspiring the likes of Antonin Scalia, Clearance Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Judge Bork was in a class of his own with masterful writing on many controversial rulings. Sadly, his copious amounts of writing proved to be his downfall as Senators Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden led a…

The Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Year Later and Many Remain Forgotten

Greg Wagner

A year ago, voters were promised revolutionary changes and a shake-up of the status quo. At the receiving end of this promise was a class of Americans who felt they had been left behind; it seemed the economy didn’t have room for them and the government no longer cared. This hopelessness was particularly acute in addiction-ravaged industrial and manufacturing towns across the country. Drug deaths around the country were rising at extraordinary levels. In 2016 alone, 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses and over two million more were dependent on…

The Problem with Politicized Investigations

Jacob Floam

Washington, D.C. is a place full of cutthroat practices, naked greed, and murky coverups practiced by both sides of the aisle. One doesn’t have to look far to see evidence of such a culture. Today, the American people are faced with a number of potential scandals in our political class. Opinions of these scandals range from partisan witch hunts to genuine concern depending on who one talks to and where they reside on the political spectrum. These investigations, and those who carry them out, have been increasingly used as partisan…