“We need political parties. But their rabid partisanship could destroy American democracy.”
Lee Drutman for Vox.
Category Archives: political parties
Today’s Must-Read: “A judge, a Vegas phone call and the NC GOP legislative effort to remake the judicial branch”
Anne Blythe’s News and Observer piece begins:
Doug McCullough was five months away from his deadline for mandatory retirement from the state Court of Appeals bench when the chairman of the state Republican Party gave him a call.
Democrat… Continue reading
“Networking the Party: First Amendment Rights & the Pursuit of Responsive Party Government”
Tabatha Abu El-Haj has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This Article argues that the Supreme Court’s party jurisprudence is predicated on a set of theoretical assumptions that do not hold true in the real world of… Continue reading
The End of the Blue Slip Looks Like It’s Coming for Circuit Court Nominees
This is expected, and it will mean a big shift in the courts to the right.
“Why American Democracy Is Broken, and How to Fix It”
Jeet Heer in TNR:
Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, wondered in a 2013 article whether this called for drastic measures: “The partisanship of our political branches and the mismatch with our structure of government raise… Continue reading
New CFI Report: Unlimited Party Contributions Don’t Help Ease Polarization
Release: (my emphasis)
The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) today is releasing a new study entitled Party Contribution Limits and Polarization. The study refutes one of the policy solutions put forward in recent years for a problem that almost everyone… Continue reading
“Has the Top Two Primary Elected More Moderates?”
Eric (“Efficiency Gap”) McGhee and Boris Shor have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Party polarization is perhaps the most significant political trend of the past several decades of American politics. Many observers have pinned hopes on… Continue reading
Partisan Gerrymandering Case Status
The Court’s decision this morning in the North Carolina redistricting case addressed allegations of predominant and unjustified racial intent. The state attempted to defend its actions, in part, by saying that it was just acting for partisan reasons.
The legal… Continue reading
Breaking: #SCOTUS Declines Soft Money Case; Thomas and Gorsuch Would Vote to Hear
Today’s order list contains this summary disposition:
16-865 REPUBLICAN PARTY OF LA, ET AL. V. FEC The judgment is affirmed. Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch would note probable jurisdiction and set the case for oral argument.
This is a surprise… Continue reading
Bauer on Supreme Court Cert. Denial of Hawaii Open Primary Case
Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Rejects Challenge to Hawaii’s Open Primary Law
No noted dissents.
Back in August 2016, when the 9th Circuit decided the case, I questioned whether the case was properly decided and if it changed the standard for considering how a party can object to the form of… Continue reading
“The Chosen One: Thoughts on a Better, Fairer, and Smarter Way to Choose Presidential Nominees”
Brennan Center:
Although the 2016 presidential primaries garnered profound dissatisfaction with the nomination process, leading to widespread accusations of unfairness within both parties, most voters will forget our current system’s issues until the 2020 election. But in a new paper,… Continue reading
“CFI On the State of the Political Parties: Is It Working Out After All?”
“Political Parties and Candidates Dominated the 2016 House Elections While Holding Their Own in the Senate”
New CFI analysis:
Perhaps it is time to stop bemoaning the weakness of political parties in financing federal elections. The prevailing opinion is that since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, “outside groups” accepting unlimited contributions… Continue reading