Government

Allan Katz recently returned from foreign service as the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal to teach at his alma mater, UMKC. Katz was a friend of Barack Obama (before he became President Obama) which he says contributed to being chosen as the ambassador. President Obama nominated Katz in 2009, which was followed by what Katz says was a long, arduous process of congressional approval. Katz says there were difficult times of misunderstanding, such as the publication of Wikileaks, but that if given the opportunity he would serve again. 

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If you want to stir the pot of controversy, adding a dash of race and a pinch of politics is a sure way to spice up the discussion.

On Wednesday's Up to Date, we discuss how President Obama seems to straddle both political and racial divides and why understanding that tension is crucial to navigating the fractious issues that dominate today’s legislative landscape.

A radical change taking party politics out of Clay County government has been sidetracked on its path to voters in November.

Courts have been asked to intervene and declare the measure as unconstitutional.

The bipartisan panel that designed the change voters would decide drew wrath of the elected, 3-member County Commission. 

To Commissioner Luann Ridgeway it would be a costly experiment. That puts her at odds with a charter committee leader Craig Porter, and both are Republicans.

We’ve all seen it, a politician’s life derailed by scandal or personal crisis. While in years past that meant retirement from public life, nowadays we’re just as likely to see these individuals re-emerge to campaign another day.

Breaking news update: Mike Sanders has announced he is stepping down as chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party. 

Jackson County is really hopping these days. Between fluctuating property assessments and the courthouse renovation, the county’s missteps and triumphs are keeping people talking. 

Perplexed by the inner workings of our nation’s capital? Baffled by Beltway politics?

Mike Allen, the man behind the daily Politico Playbook knows how to untangle it all. 

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed several pieces of legislation on Wednesday aimed to benefit veterans and their families on a tour that included stops at Cape Giardeau and Springfield.  

Should the government be able to access your telephone records? Are the actions of the NSA any worse than companies like Google that constantly mine our information? 

On Thursday's Up to Date, the Ethics Professors, Wayne Vaught and Clancy Martin, join Steve Kraske to discuss what boundaries the government has crossed and where to draw the line. They also explore the gray area of immigration reform.  

The Kansas Legislature finished its overrunning session in the early hours of June 2, passing its budget and tax plans.

Jackson County officials are acknowledging that new valuations on 18,000 residential properties may not be accurate and need additional review.

The Missouri General Assembly wraps up today. Will your income taxes be cut? Will sales taxes jump to pay for highways?

Over the past few years, the United States has started to withdraw its aid and influence from regions like the Middle East, and that is creating space for other countries to assume more powerful positions.

In a country that's increasingly partisan, sometimes it's the centrist who's got a unique point of view.

On Friday's Up to Date, we'll talk with former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat who spent his time in national government as a swing voter in the center.

As the number of female elected officials has steadily increased, so has the interest in training women to follow in their footsteps.

Lawmakers and officials in Kansas seem to be unclear on what some of the laws on that state's books actually mean.

With only five weeks left in the 112th Congress, Representatives and Senators are under pressure to find common ground among themselves and with the President to avoid the fiscal cliff.

This year the US Government mandated that federal agencies consider cloud computing as they make new IT investments and by 2014 that mandate will expand.  What benefit does this technology have to taxpayers and to the agencies themselves?  Where do these projects currently stand? And what has been the impact to Kansas City?

He defied Steve Kraske's predictions and won the race for Missouri Secretary of State. Now Jason Kander is thinking about the work ahead.

When asked for ways to improve local government, most people wouldn't say that better computer programming and smart phone applications should be the first item on the agenda.

Hillary Clinton may have ran for president in 2008, and Michelle Bachmann tried to cinch the nomination this year in the GOP primaries. But the question remains: why aren't there more women in politics?

President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (or JOBS) Act into law Thursday, legislation meant to make it easier for entrepreneurs to get investor financing that helps them add workers. Does that mean it will be harder for Republicans to frame Obama as anti-jobs?

"Well, if it works, it will make it harder," said Craig Shirley, a longtime conservative political strategist and writer who runs a Washington, D.C.-area public-affairs firm.

Barack Obama isn't the first President in conflict with a Congress run by the opposing party. However, being in that position doesn't mean nothing gets accomplished. Take it from Historian of the U.S. Senate Donald Richie.