by jpitney | Apr 26, 2021 | Civility, Deliberation
John Halpin at The Liberal Patriot: Is there any way for citizens to restore effective and non-maddening political debate? It won’t be easy to reverse these trends given the ideological and partisan takeover of most institutions. But here are a few ideas:...
by jpitney | Apr 22, 2021 | Civility, Deliberation, Uncategorized
Richard M. Perloff at Cleveland.com: Pollyannaish as it may sound, three lines of social science research show that treating adversaries in positive, respectful ways can overcome resistance, replacing it with, if not agreement, mutual understanding. First, research...
by jpitney | Apr 19, 2021 | Budget, Congress, Deliberation
Nan Swift at LegBranch.org: Senate Democrats, frustrated their increasingly costly agenda is hitting some speedbumps (also known as business as usual), are considering a novel—and dangerous—solution to their legislative logjam: sub out the Congressional Budget Office...
by jpitney | Mar 25, 2021 | Congress, Deliberation
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: In the final analysis, commission-making is a significant ceding to non-elected people, at least temporarily, of Congress’s constitutional policy making and oversight responsibilities. If a problem is an immediate crisis, forming a...
by jpitney | Mar 17, 2021 | Congress, Deliberation, House of Representatives
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: When the proxy voting rule was renewed at the beginning of the current Congress, members have been reminded that reasons for absences must be limited to circumstances surrounding the pandemic (but then, what isn’t nowadays). However,...
by jpitney | Mar 12, 2021 | Civility, Deliberation, Polarization
Sarah Polus at The Hill: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) is urging members of his own party to focus on more than culture wars with Democrats. “There’s more to being a conservative than just owning the libs,” Cox said during an interview on the “Matt Lewis...
