No, congressional Republicans are not carrying Trump’s water
Source: Washington Examiner . By Matt Glassman Last week, two retiring Republican Senators ramped up their criticism of President Trump. On Tuesday, Senator Bob Corker said Trump had “great… Read More
Parties and the Challenges of Partisan Governance
Thomas Nast, “Third Term Trap,” 1874. Source: Harpweek.com. James Wallner writes at the Examiner: “It’s almost July and the Republican Party has yet to repeal Obamacare due to divisions… Read More
Zach Wamp, Former Congressman, on the Fundraising Problem
Source: Wikipedia Conservative Zach Wamp (R-TN, 1995-2011) writes: “The ugliest truth is that our ‘representatives’ of the people spend as much as half their time raising money. Members of Congress owe… Read More
Quantifying the Value of Nikki Haley’s Endorsement
It was leaked this afternoon that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will endorse U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. Questions about Haley’s endorsement have persisted for months. Until today, the only… Read More
Is Nikki Haley a Strong Vice Presidential Candidate? Evidence from Research on the “Veepstakes”
After seven years in office, last night President Obama gave his final State of the Union address. Immediately following Obama’s speech, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley delivered the GOP’s primetime… Read More
Why the House is to blame for the Senate’s polarization
In the American political lexicon, the Senate is said to possess “coolness” and “wisdom.” Words like “decorum,” “comity,” and “respect” are frequently used to describe the institution as well. In… Read More
Left or Right? Who’s further from the middle?
Polarization is commonplace in American politics. Both parties are moving away from the middle. The debate often boils down to who is polarizing the most/fastest. New York Times opinion writer Peter… Read More
Political parties are often too convenient an explanation
Teagan Goddard asked the question, can politics be “unbundled” from political parties? In other words, if there is a market where we can unbundle phone and internet service, why… Read More
With Ted Cruz’s announcement, the 2016 campaign is starting late, but more intense than ever
Like a bugle at the start of a horse race, Ted Cruz’s announcement yesterday signals the beginning of the 2016 presidential election. Indeed, in the American political lexicon the… Read More
Obama wants filibuster reform. Would it help polarization?
Obama had some interesting things to say about polarization and the filibuster in his interview with Vox. When the question of if government can work in the midst of polarization… Read More