Category Archives: political parties

“Highlighting Democratic losses, Republicans block California campaign finance bill”

March 17, 2014, 9:06 pmcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

SacBee: “Republicans on Monday blocked a California campaign finance reform bill that fell one vote short, demonstrating the limits of a diminished Democratic caucus.” A nice lesson for those who think that California became less dysfunctional because of top… Continue reading

“Lawsuit Filed in NJ Federal Court Challenges Constitutionality of Partisan Primary Elections”

March 6, 2014, 8:23 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Press release: “The EndPartisanship.org coalition today filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey demanding that every voter should have an equal and meaningful vote at every stage of the state-funded election process, regardless of their… Continue reading

“New Democratic Strategy Goes After Koch Brothers”

March 5, 2014, 8:20 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

It’s official.

“Super PACs, nonprofits fueling GOP strife”

March 5, 2014, 3:07 pmcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

CPI reports.

“The Last Days of Disco: Why the American Political System is Dysfunctional”

March 3, 2014, 11:00 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Jack Balkin has posted this draft on SSRN (Boston U. Law Review). Here is the abstract: Today, America’s political system seems remarkably dysfunctional. Many people believe that our 225-year-old Constitution is the problem. But what looks like constitutional dysfunction is… Continue reading

“Process ‘Reboot’ Aims to End Senate Gridlock”

March 3, 2014, 8:26 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: “Senate leaders, responding to a groundswell of anger among the rank and file in both parties to the recent breakdown in procedure, will try a new trick to unstick the upper chamber.”

Quote of the Day

March 2, 2014, 12:00 pmcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

“The Karl Rove thing is out…the Koch thing is in.” —Anonymous donor quoted in Nick Confessore’s must-read piece in today’s NYT on the changing nature of donations to Super PACs and its impact on political parties. This party problem has… Continue reading

Is Arizona’s “Weirdness”/Extremism the Result of Its Public Financing Law?

February 27, 2014, 2:32 pmcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Gail Collins, Aaron Blake, and David Donnelly

“The Case for Corruption: Why Washington needs more honest graft”

February 27, 2014, 10:08 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Jonathan Rauch writes for The Atlantic. See also my WaPo oped from last week, More Corruption, Less Gridlock.

“Romney backs effort to end nominating conventions in Utah”

February 24, 2014, 7:10 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

WaPo: “Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is lending his support to an initiative that would change the way Utah political parties choose their candidates. In an e-mail to former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), Romney said he supports… Continue reading

“The Campaign Casino: Elections Have Become a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme, and the Press Is Missing the Story”

February 19, 2014, 3:28 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Lee Aitkin has written a new paper for Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. Here is an excerpt: The 2012 campaign cycle was “the greatest windfall” for political operatives in American history, Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf has said—a $6 billion spending frenzy… Continue reading