More in Election 2012

On Nov. 6, U.S. voters will choose our nation’s leaders and hope those individuals will understand that agriculture is the backbone of the nation’s economy and that further regulations against farmers and ranchers will only weaken that backbone. On a state and local level, however, there are also battles to fight to protect the future of agriculture....More

The last couple of weeks have been busy for nighttime television as debates featuring the presidential and vice-presidential candidates from the two top national tickets squared off. The nation was able to hear from both sides and evaluate which duo would be best to lead the nation. As election day draws nearer, Americans will soon be able to decide which direction they want the nation to go. But in the meantime, it’s important to evaluate how these candidates might help or hinder farmers and ranchers....More

In essence, agriculture is being forced to abandon its non-partisan and long-standing positions, to adapt to the reality of a deeply divided partisan world. It’s sad, but policy and even regulatory environments are now described most accurately by which party is in the majority, instead of what is best for agriculture....More

Last week's presidential debate provided an interesting turn of events. While President Barack Obama is usually charismatic and smooth as butter, he seemed a little lackluster in his responses and his usual sharp wit was dimmed by Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s surprise performance....More

Over the next few weeks, we’ll blame the parties for overused generalities, and dogma designed to divide rather than unite. But in the end, it’s not the parties, the process, or even the media that should be blamed. No, it will be an electorate that didn’t demand more from their leaders when it was desperately needed....More

If you sit on the left side or the right side of the political spectrum, this race is as monumental as any you have ever faced. But if you're truly in the middle, this will be a difficult decision because it will fall to you to decide whether the nation continues its severe shift to the left or takes a hard correction to the right....More

About half of states in the U.S. have provisions that allow for ballot initiatives, a process that allows citizens to place generally controversial measures before voters rather than use the regular channels of representative government. While ballot measures and initiatives seem democratic and carry a lot of populist appeal, they can be easy to demagogue and very expensive to combat....More

Not carrying enough support to pass in committee, a measure to ban packer ownership of cattle was expected to be aired on the floor of the U.S. Senate when the 2012 farm bill is brought to the floor. The issue isn’t about governing as much as political posturing ahead of the November elections....More

The reaction in the markets to the electoral results in Europe this week was probably well-founded, as the results, which tended to reject the austerity measures needed to rein in huge budget deficits, are likely a bad sign for a hoped-for economic recovery. It will be interesting, and telling, to watch if the U.S. electorate embarks on a similar course in the November elections....More