by jpitney | Apr 10, 2021 | Constitution
Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck at CNN: Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West falsely suggested that Texas could secede from the United States and become an independent country, a CNN KFile review of his comments in recent months shows.In radio interviews after the...
by jpitney | Apr 9, 2021 | California Politics
At LAT, Mark Z. Barabak explodes the myth that huge masses of Californians are pouring into Texas. The nonpartisan California Policy Lab found that most people who moved in 2020 remained within the state, many trading city life for more suburban or rural areas. The...
by jpitney | Apr 8, 2021 | Congress, Senate
James Wallner at Legislative Procedure: There are several reasons why senators’ procedural independence declined beginning in the 1930. For example, New Deal legislation packed the Senate’s agenda and its members were spending less time on the floor beginning in this...
by jpitney | Apr 7, 2021 | Congress
William Gray at LegBranch.org: The U.S. Congress depends on informal rules — norms — to function. Many traditional norms such as courtesy and reciprocity are under siege in this age of partisan conflict. What are the congressional norms of today? How are they...
by jpitney | Apr 6, 2021 | Claremont McKenna College
John Neiuber at the Claremont Courier: Like so many things, change is a process not an event. It is the cumulative contributions of many that bring about change, that alter attitudes and gain acceptance. In Claremont, we find the contributions of women to be many...
by jpitney | Apr 4, 2021 | Congress, House of Representatives
John Boehner at Politico: Retaking control of the House of Representatives put me in line to be the next Speaker of the House over the largest freshman Republican class in history: 87 newly elected members of the GOP. Since I was presiding over a large group of people...
by jpitney | Apr 3, 2021 | Civility, Congress, House of Representatives
Jan Murphy at PennLive: Bipartisanship is hard to come by these days in Harrisburg and in Washington, D.C., but former Gov. Tom Ridge remembers how that was the way he often got things done during his political career. Whether it was serving in Congress when...
by jpitney | Apr 2, 2021 | Constitution, Impeachment, Presidency
At AEI, Joseph M. Bessette and Gary J. Schmitt have a report titled “Crafting a Republican Executive: The Presidency and the Constitutional Convention.” Key points: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 knew the young nation needed a strong executive that...
by jpitney | Apr 1, 2021 | Civility
Margy Davey is of the Oshkosh Civility Project: Since interaction with other human beings is about the most important thing we do, shouldn’t we strive for the highest quality interaction we can? Practicing civility in our daily lives can make a better life for all of...
by jpitney | Mar 31, 2021 | Economic Policy, Immigration, Trade, Uncategorized
Kristin Kent Spanos and Nicholas Saliba at the George W. Bush Presidential Center: As governments, businesses, and think tanks review the efficiency and resiliency of North American supply chains—many impacted by COVID-19— The George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic...