Our politics are so intensely divided on social issues by party line that many of the economic issues affecting the nation are ignored. For example, the burdensome deficit, which should be our central focus, is put on the back burner.

As oral arguments over California Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act begin before the Supreme Court, I can't help feeling that marriage equality will soon follow indecency and rock and roll into the halls of blasé consensus.

By Michael BeckelThe Center for Public IntegrityAs the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week in two cases concerning gay rights, advocac...

Without the social policy "wedge issues" that the GOP has used for decades to distract the attention of working class voters from the Republican Party establishment's core economic interests, the GOP risks being defined forever by that iconic "47 percent" moment -- and many like it to come.

What do I care about taxes or politics as a newly graduate who feels like I'm falling through the cracks? What other 20-something-year-olds do you know who are making $250,000 a year? I know I sure don't.

Politics aside, one of the defining stories of the 2012 presidential election was how sales and marketing relationship-building efforts delivered unexpected, targeted voter turnout.

The divided vote on Proposition 34 indicates that the machinery of capital punishment may not grind to a halt all at once. But the signs of its demise are clearly on the horizon.

Jerry Behn is running for Iowa State Senate on the heels of Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan by stereotyping and demeaning people who have hit hard times and find themselves in need of assistance to meet their basic needs of food, clothing, and a place to rest their heads.

One of the most lauded speeches at the Democratic convention was given by Bill Clinton, and the bulk of it found the former president debunking the assertions made by Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and others at the Republican convention. It's no wonder then that the undecided voters in key swing states who will determine the winner in November are not ready to trust Romney and Ryan enough to buy into a policy that doesn't help them initially, but only will based on the promises of those who would benefit immediately. They don't trust Romney and Ryan to deliver. Throw in the GOP's shift to the extreme right on social issues, which is scaring away some women voters, and the president's ability to hold a lead in the polls despite the economic conditions starts to make clear sense.

Speakers and participants at the Republican National Convention are eager to talk about the future of America, but are silent on what political shifts...

Eric Fehrnstrom, senior campaign adviser for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, turned heads on Sunday when he said that women's issues, suc...