Rahul Sharma's AP Govt Blog

Due Process Rob Porter and others who have been accused of sexual abuse or harassment are not being deprived of their life or their liberty as a result of the allegations made against them. The due process of a court action is often a very complicated and lengthy affair, involving pretrial discovery, witnesses, and a judicial proceeding. T he government cannot charge you with a crime or take other action against you without notifying you of the charges or proposed action. And that you must be given the opportunity to present your side of the story to a neutral fact-finder before action is taken. One fundamental aspect of due process is the requirement that the government hears the other side  whenever any individual, however lowly and unfortunate, asserts a legal claim. Reputable journalists seek confirmation of their stories and solicit a response from the person accused. Due process as a cultural matter is influenced by legal ideas but is really a cluster of fluid no...

Midterm Predictions In a district that President Trump won by 20 percentage points, it is strange that a Democratic candidate won by a large margin.  Democratic swing is the difference between the special election result and the district’s partisan lean.  Alabama's US Senate special election has had the largest Democratic swing.  Republicans trail Democrats by only 8 or 9 percentage points on the  generic congressional ballot , which suggests a close race for control of the House this year that only narrowly favors Democrats. By contrast, the 16- or 17-point  average Democratic overperformance in special elections so far suggests a Democratic mega-tsunami. Democrats have a 10-point advantage over Republicans in congressional preference in the 2018 midterm elections. T he state’s Supreme Court  redrew the map  to tamp down partisan gerrymandering, but Lamb still  eked out a victory  over Saccone.  President Donald Trump’s approval ra...