Post-2012 Election, Polarization is Likely to Deepen as Parties Purge Moderates
If President Obama is re-elected in the Fall, he is likely to face a Congress even more polarized than today, with the ideological divide greater than at anytime since before the Civil War. Those are among the conclusions of political scientist Keith Poole and colleagues who have been using a sophisticated algorithm to put into historical context...
More on Mann & Ornstein’s “Blaming Republicans for Polarization” Narrative
At the Washington Post’s The Fix, Chris Cillizza has this to say about Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein’s must read op-ed from the Sunday Post: The truth of the matter though is that most House Members — Republicans and Democrats — are not (nor do they aspire to be) inspirational leaders. What they want to do...
The Trouble with Mann & Ornstein’s “The Republicans Are the Problem” Frame
Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute published a must-read op-ed at the Washington Post earlier this month titled “Let’s Just Say It: The Republicans Are the Problem.” At the core of their argument is that Republicans in Congress have veered so far to the right, that the GOP...
New Books on Polarization: The Need for Compromise and Applying Conservative Principles to Environmental Problems
Two recently published books caught my eye the World Bank bookstore here in Washington, DC and I’ve put both at the top of my list to read and discuss. Amy Gutmann & Dennis Thompson, The Spirt of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It. If politics is the art of the possible, then compromise...
The Pragmatic Caucus: States and Cities Are Centers for Collaboration and Innovation
As I’ve argued on climate change, localizing the issue is one way to overcome the polarization that has paralyzed national-level action. And this strategy holds not just for climate, but a range of other issues, argues Brookings Institution Vice President Bruce Katz and Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin. In an essay last year at Time...
DC Lecture April 25: Decoding Messages About Health, Fitness, and Happiness
For Washington, DC readers, please join us and spread the word about the Wed. April 25 presentation at American University by Timothy Caulfield, among Canada’s leading experts in the area of public health, law, and bioethics. His lecture marks the U.S. release of his first popular book, “The Cure for Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages about...
