2016 Postmortem

babylonsister

(171,054 posts) Mon Apr 29, 2013, 05:38 PM Apr 2013

Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann Explain Why Congress is Failing Us

http://billmoyers.com/segment/norman-ornstein-and-thomas-mann-explain-why-congress-is-failing-us/

Video @ link~

Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann Explain Why Congress is Failing Us
April 26, 2013

Political scholars Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann tell Bill that Congress’ failure to make progress on gun control last week — despite support for background checks from 90% of the American public — is symptomatic of a legislative branch reduced to dysfunction, partisan ravings and obstruction.

A year ago, the two — who had strong reputations as non-partisan analysts – decided to speak truth to power with their book It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism. In it, they argue that congressional gridlock is mostly the fault of right wing radicals within the Republican Party who engage in “policy hostage-taking” to extend their political war against the president.

What’s more, Ornstein and Mann say, the mainstream media and media fact-checkers add to the problem by indulging in “false equivalency” — pretending both parties are equally to blame.

“Sadly, divided party government, which we have because of the Republican House, in a time of extreme partisan polarization, is a formula for inaction and absolutist opposition politics, not for problem solving,” Mann tells Bill.

Ornstein says, “Some of this is coming from the kinds of people who we’re electing to office, through a nominating process that has gotten so skewed to the radical right. But some of it is an electoral magnet that pulls them away from voting for anything that might have a patina of bipartisan support because they’ll face extinction.”