Category Archives: political polarization

“End of the Dialogue? Political Polarization, the Supreme Court, and Congress”

September 5, 2012, 11:56 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarization, statutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have just posted a revised and updated version of this article (forthcoming Southern California Law Review) on SSRN. (The article was recently the subject of this Adam Liptak “Sidebar” column in the NY Times.) Here is the revised abstract:… Continue reading

“Telemarketers Get Higher Approval Rating Than U.S. Congress”

August 16, 2012, 6:40 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Bloomberg: “Stockbrokers receive higher public- approval marks than the U.S. Congress. So do telemarketers, health maintenance organizations and banks. Approval of Congress’s performance fell to 10 percent in August, tying a record low set in February, according to… Continue reading

Interesting Nate Silver Column on Ryan VP Choice Ranks Ryan’s Ideology Score Most Conservative Against All Other VP Candidates Since 1900 Drawn from House and Senate

August 11, 2012, 10:24 amcampaigns, political polarizationRick Hasen

Here’s the column and the relevant piece: Various statistical measures of Mr. Ryan peg him as being quite conservative. Based on his Congressional voting record, for instance, the statistical system DW-Nominate evaluates him as being roughly as conservative as Representative… Continue reading

“Tea Party Aims to Apply Its Touch to the Senate G.O.P.”

August 1, 2012, 9:44 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: “The Tea Party is very much alive in the drive for Republican control of the Senate, portending a potential shake-up in the mind-set of the chamber. The easy Republican primary victory in Texas on Tuesday of Ted Cruz… Continue reading

“Think this Congress is bad? Just wait.”

August 1, 2012, 1:58 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

The Fix reports.

“Tea party retools as network of field operatives, keeps pushing GOP rightward”

July 31, 2012, 7:52 amcampaigns, political polarizationRick Hasen

Interesting WaPo report.

“When Congress Fails”

July 29, 2012, 8:04 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Ezra Klein on presidents acting unilaterally.

“A House Divided: Books About the Tea Party Class of 2010”

July 22, 2012, 10:54 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

In the Sunday NYT Book Review, Michael Crowley reviews Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives By Robert Draper and It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the… Continue reading

“13 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever”

July 13, 2012, 8:03 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Ezra Klein column.

“Fixing Washington” – Revised

July 9, 2012, 9:09 pmcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbying, political polarizationRick Hasen

I have posted on SSRN a substantially revised version of my review essay, forthcoming in the December 2012 issue of the Harvard Law Review, considering Larry Lessig’s and Jack Abramoff’s books on money, lobbying, campaign finance and politics. The new… Continue reading

An Open Primary Amendment?

June 22, 2012, 7:57 ampolitical parties, political polarizationDan Tokaji

David Law has this post on Slate, arguing that the Constitution should be amended to mandate open primaries as a way of dealing with increased partisan polarization. I’m not holding my breath. The polarization problem is real. But would an… Continue reading

“U.S. Lawmakers Head to Exits as Partisanship Trumps Legislating”

June 19, 2012, 7:46 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Bloomberg: “Congress is broken because scoring political points to tear down the opposition has replaced the craft of legislating, retiring U.S. lawmakers said in a discussion about why they are leaving Washington. Two Republicans and two Democrats, representing the… Continue reading

“Angus King makes a last stand for moderation in Maine Senate race”

June 12, 2012, 7:41 amcampaigns, political polarizationRick Hasen

WaPo: ” Angus King, a popular former Maine governor and the favorite to become the state’s next U.S. senator, thinks the way to win an election in 2012 is to stake out the middle ground, crusade against partisanship… Continue reading

“California’s election reform flops”

June 11, 2012, 8:41 amcitizen commissions, political parties, political polarization, primaries, redistrictingRick Hasen

Joe Mathews wants California to be more like Wisconsin in its politics. Really. And anyone who thought top two and citizen redistricting would fundamentally transform California had expectations which were way too high.