The Republican Party is officially broken
The American political system is not broken. Whats broken is the Republican Party. And its not clear how it will recover.
Whats wrong with American politics and what can be done about it is the question that election law expert Rick Hasen sets for himself in a fascinating new paper. In particular, he asks whether American politics is so broken that the only cure is to chuck the Constitution and replace it with a parliamentary system or some other radical systemic reform.
Hasen lays out the well-known case of dysfunction (perhaps best set out in Tom Mann and Norm Ornsteins recent Its Even Worse Than It Looks) and considers, but mostly rejects, three possible rejoinders: that gridlock is actually what voters want; that gridlock is to some extent an illusion, and the system is more productive than frustrated partisans believe; and that dysfunction is real but could be cured by less-drastic measures such as Senate reform and electoral reform.
He concludes, however, that a fourth rejoinder that its still too soon to tell and perhaps the current problems are transitory may have merit. Its certainly true, as he writes, that a 1970s belief that the presidency was broken yielded in the 1980s to presidential competence under Ronald Reagan. He could have added, too, that concern about impenetrable gridlock in the Eisenhower and Kennedy years was forgotten after the legislative triumphs of 1964 and 1965.
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/04/06/the_republican_party_is_officially_broken/
Skittles
(153,104 posts)Emillereid
(3,332 posts)Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)earthside
(6,960 posts)That'll break the Repuglicans even more, right?
You know what would happen ... the Repuglicans will run against Democrats as the party that cut grandma's cost of living increase.
Any Democrat who supports Social Security reform that cuts instead of increases benefits is a fool.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)They are so broken they dictate policy. Whose fault is it that a broken Party keeps calling the shots?
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)yielded in the 1980s topresidential compentence under Ronald Reagan" ?!?!!
OK, after that statement I find it hard to take any other analysis seriously.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)When is the last time he bashed the Republicans in public?