Madison and Minority Rule

by | Oct 30, 2020 | Constitution, Federalism, Separation of Powers

James Wallner at R Street: Madison believed that the Critical Period events were a sign that America was falling into the destructive cycle that befell all previous experiments in self-government. The Greek historian, Polybius, called this phenomenon “the cycle of...

Conspiracy Theory and Threats to Journalists

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Journalism

CPJ spoke with Dr. Joan Donovan, the research director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, about why and how conspiracy theories spread and the implications for journalists. Are QAnon adherents a real, physical threat to...

Continuity of Government

by | Oct 25, 2020 | Presidency

The Presidential Succession Act is flawed.  Among other things, putting congressional leaders in the line means that a terrorist could shift control of the presidency from one party to the other.  The president pro tem of the Senate follows the House speaker, which...

A Starting Point

by | Oct 24, 2020 | Civility, Deliberation

Geoff Edgers at The Washington Post: So you’re Tim Scott, the Republican senator from South Carolina who opposes Roe v. Wade and wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and you get a call from Chris Evans, a Hollywood star and lifelong Democrat who has...

John McCain’s Civility

by | Oct 23, 2020 | Civility

Stephen W. Stathis at The Deseret News: Pause for a moment and try to recall the last time you heard politicians speak respectfully about a political foe or acknowledge their contributions. Quite possibly it was during the 2008 presidential campaign at a town hall...

The Value of Civility and Empathy

by | Oct 22, 2020 | Civility

From Government Executive: America’s public discourse has gotten rougher over the past decade, with incivility on the rise.  Social media, more coarse politics and more disconnection have made civility more and more rare. As our society and political system try to...

Partisan Misperception

by | Oct 20, 2020 | Polarization, Public Opinion

Daniel Stid at The Art of Association: Consider the findings of a recent study by political scientists Douglas Ahler and Gaurav Sood, “The Parties in Our Heads: Misperceptions About Party Composition and Their Consequences.” The authors draw on survey data...