Category Archives: political polarization
Today’s Must Read: Lee Drutman on La Raja and Schaffner on Campaign Finance and Polarization
Vox:
Last December, as part of the must-pass “CRomnibus” bill, Congress changed the lawso that political parties could raise considerably more money. Under the new rules, a single donor can now give $1.5 million to the parties during… Continue reading
Senate Rules Entangle Bid to Repeal Health Care Law”
NYT:
In the Senate, Republicans are determined to dismantle or defund the law using a fast-track procedure that requires a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 votes needed for most hotly contested measures.
But the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough,… Continue reading
“Lamar Alexander Seeks Path to Change in Senate”
NYT:
Nothing touches off a political war in the Senate like proposals to tinker with the arcane rules that govern the often creaky chamber. Talk of eliminating the filibuster is called the nuclear option for a reason.
But Senator… Continue reading
“The Brave New World of Party Campaign Finance Law”
Michael Kang has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The Article challenges urgent calls for the de-regulation of party campaign finance as part of the ongoing transformation of federal campaign finance law under the Roberts Court. First,… Continue reading
“Republicans talk more freely about ending filibuster”
December American Interest on “Fixing American Democracy”
Here:
November/December 2015
IF IT\’S BROKE…
Our Peculiar Reform Challenge
BRUCE E. CAIN & FRANCIS FUKUYAMA
Polarization and Partisanship
DIDI KUO
Fuss Budgeting
FRANCIS FUKUYAMA
The Transparency Paradox
BRUCE E. CAIN
The Campaign Revolution Will Not Be Televised
NATHANIEL… Continue reading
“No, Americans have not become more ideologically polarized”
Seth Hill and Chris Tausanovitch write for the Monkey Cage.
“Republicans Gone Wild: Q&A with Mann and Ornstein”
Frank Wilkinson sits down with Norm and Tom.
“The GOP sinks deeper into chaos. Can it still function as a party?”
Today’s must-read from Karen Tumulty in WaPo:
Less than a year after a sweeping electoral triumph, Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national political party.
The most powerful and crippling force at work in the… Continue reading
“These political scientists may have just discovered why U.S. politics are a disaster”
WaPo:
There’s a lot of disgust in America with politicians’ inability to get things done. In the race to win the Republican presidential nomination, that disgust has so far benefited outsider candidates. Non-career politicians Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and… Continue reading
Sunstein Criticizes Lessig and Warren on Whether the System is “Rigged”
Cass Sunstein:
It is unquestionably true that money often distorts political outcomes, because it plays an intolerably large role in the political system. Warren, Sanders and Lessig are right to emphasize that moneyed interests sometimes block desirable action. As Nobel… Continue reading
“If you want to understand Donald Trump, look to the success of the European far-right”
Matt Yglesias:
In a 2014 paper, law professor David Schleicher observed that institutional differences between the US and Europe can end up obscuring underlying similarities in the development of party politics.
Some countries have proportional electoral systems that are… Continue reading
“The debate over state polarization and campaign finance laws continues”
Lee Drutman:
One of the fundamental arguments in the “Political Realism” debate is whether or not strong political parties could make government work better. One way to assess party strength is to look at how much money parties can raise… Continue reading