At 12:01AM Pacific Standard Time the election of 2026 got underway.  California voters approved a new congressional map that could help Democrats flip up to five U. S. House seats.  California success may counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states. ...

This is the scariest time of the year…but not nearly as frightening as a powerful President Trump…that takes away our freedom of speech, puts troops on our streets, places federal observers at voting precincts and lets his unqualified followers run our federal...

Trying to figure out what’s going on in Washington gets more important and difficult particularly with the government shutdown.  Makes one wonder “Who’s on First”. House Speaker Mark Johnson (R-LA) has been left out of the game…just listen to his daily press...

Few had heard of The Tea Party in 2009, but it fully emerged on April 15, 2010, at rallies across the country.  The Tea Party showed power and influence by an extraordinary turnout at over 750 rallies. It was thought the elites in Washington were manipulating the...

Democracy dominated the rhetoric throughout the 2024 presidential election. However today Democracy is hardly mentioned by President Donald J. Trump.  He is making authoritarian moves that destroy our Constitution, freedom of speech & press and he shows no remorse...

Everyone in America is aware the Federal government is in chaos, the House of Representatives is on vacation, the U. S. Senate is struggling to work and only essential employees are trying to keep planes flying. If you are paying attention to the events on Capitol...

Governor Ron DeSantis dream of no Florida property tax and First Lady Casey as Governor got a boost this week when The James Madison Institute (JMI), a conservative think tank headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida released a public opinion survey regarding the...

There are several “hot issues” in Washington these days, for example the Epstein Files and the United Nations escalator that refused to elevate Trump…but of greater importance is the impact of a government shutdown. President Trump sent a strong signal he is in no...

Senator Joe Manchin’s book “Dead Center” provides an insight into his thought process, his life, how he approaches politics and his service in the U. S. Senate.  West Virginians like us will find many familiar names and stories.  More important Joe makes clear his...

Congress is entering a difficult period.  When they return on Monday they face a potential government shutdown, the Epstein files and confirmation of Trump nominees.  Emotions are raw from last week’s events with personal & institutional security top of mind....

(Editor’s note:  New York Times columnist Ezra Klein Sunday wrote an Opinion piece “It’s Simple: Stop Enabling Trump’s Power Grab”.  We considered posting it but due to the length decided otherwise.  Since we have seen it mentioned in various newspapers, magazines...

Since the days of Watergate, political crises have been compared to it.  The hard smart work by young reporters Woodward & Bernstein at the Washington Post ended the Presidency of Richard Nixon.  It only started with a break-in of the Democratic National Committee...

(Editor’s Note: For our new readers Political Tidbits is done periodically.  BTW, any tips appreciated.  Send [email protected]) The story that can’t be killed…just ask the Donald…the Epstein’s teenagers…now adults…telling their story…at the Capitol this...

What do you expect tomorrow when Congress returns?  If you said normal you are wrong.  There is nothing “normal” about the 119th Congress. Speaker Johnson sent Members home days before the August recess. House Members were about to bring a resolution to the floor...

(Editor’s note: Axios has taken a hard look at President Trump’s pursuit of unchecked power. Axios’ Zachary Basu has produced an excellent piece. Such that we thought it worth sharing with our readers.)  . President Trump is gradually testing, stretching and gutting...

Donald Trump made an unusual demand when he “ordered” Texas Governor Greg Abbott “find him” five new Republican Congressmen to be elected in 2026. To accomplish that congressional districts would have to be re-drawn – most unusual - in the middle of a 10-year census...

President Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning that mail-in-voting must stop and voting machines are a total waste. Appears Trump is taking political advice from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.  The New York Times reports that he and President Putin...

(Editor’s  Note:  As a native West Virginian, the editorial in today’s The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register caught my eye.  Back home “backyard brawl” refers to West Virginia playing Pitt in football.  The newspaper’s connecting that with the state’s economy...

Congress is set to return September 2nd.  If you thought, it had been anything but normal to this point…just wait.  The House was so unmanageable Speaker Johnson sent Members away days before the summer recess was to begin.  The Senate was “ordered” by President Trump...

All eyes of the country are fixed on Texas but there is more happening in the political world.  Not all of it is good. First, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is demanding several states turn over their voter registration lists.  State election officials fear the...

A five-alarm fire tore through the economic establishment Friday after President Trump ousted the government's top labor statistician, accusing her — without evidence — of "rigging" a weak jobs report. Why it matters: It's just one glaring example from a week that...

Could the resignation or potential firing of U. S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have an impact in Florida?  It’s possible.  News reports say the White House is looking for a replacement. One will recall Governor DeSantis’ name was tossed about for Secretary of...

Florida’s political world has turned its attention to the 2026 election.  The prize is governorship. Will national Democrats pay attention to Florida? In the 2022 governor’s race national Democrats Ignored Florida.  That was a significant factor in the outcome.  The...

(Editor’s note: Jim VandeHei & Mike Allen of Axios periodically write a column “Behind the Curtain. Below is the most recent…with interesting links.) President Trump, in terms of raw accomplishments, crushed his first six months in historic ways. Massive tax cuts....