Seth Masket
Who Fled the Center?
Elon Musk is wrong about polarization, but the truth is actually complicated depending on which part of parties you examine.
MISCHIEFS OF FACTION
Reflections on Parties and Their Place in Politics
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Matthew Green
- Mar 30
- 2 min
Do congressional party platforms matter?
Election-year minority party agendas are important, but not for the reasons most people think.
Matthew Green
- Mar 24
- 3 min
Trump’s unusual endorsement game
Trump’s atypical approach to endorsing election candidates shows who his endorsements are really for: himself.
Matthew Green
- Feb 22
- 4 min
The continuing war against Liz Cheney
Why did GOP leaders commit the risky move of endorsing Cheney’s primary challenger? And what does it tell us about the GOP?
The Staff
- Jan 26
- 8 min
When a Party Censures
Julia and Seth argue about Sinema, whether parties should censure, and whether this was the time to do it.
Matthew Green
- Jan 25
- 6 min
The dysfunctional Senate
A conversation with Daniel Wirls about his recent book "The Senate: From White Supremacy to Governmental Gridlock."
Matthew Green
- Jan 20
- 3 min
Bipartisanship should not be an end in itself
History tells us that both political parties can – and sometimes have – agreed to do harmful things.
Seth Masket
- Jan 5
- 4 min
The Worst Legacy of January 6th - Making Insurrection Partisan
The legacy of Jan 6th, like Covid, didn't need to be partisan but has nonetheless become so, making it all the harder to deal with.
Seth Masket
- Dec 28, 2021
- 4 min
An Early Midterm Forecast
A reasonable guess is that Democrats will lose around 25 House seats in 2022. But there's a lot of uncertainty in that model.
Seth Masket
- Dec 10, 2021
- 4 min
Those Darned Woke Democrats
Thomas Edsall's latest New York Times piece has gotten significant attention this week. He talks to a range of political scientists,...
Matthew Green
- Nov 30, 2021
- 3 min
Is Kevin McCarthy in trouble?
Recent warnings that Kevin McCarthy won't be chosen speaker in a GOP-led House are not credible.
Matthew Green
- Nov 15, 2021
- 3 min
Why the “GOP Thirteen” aren’t likely to be punished
Strong sanctions are rarely used against party defectors in Congress – for good reason.
Julia Azari
- Nov 3, 2021
- 4 min
4 things we learned from the Virginia election that we already knew
Virginia has elected Republican Glenn Youngkin to be its next governor, challenging the state's emerging reputation as a reliably...
Seth Masket
- Oct 28, 2021
- 4 min
Popularism? What a Party Cares About is Often Unpopular, Including Civil Rights
I’m a bit late to this but wanted to weigh in on the Democratic “popularism” discussion. Ezra Klein and David Shor are quite right that...
Matthew Green
- Oct 25, 2021
- 3 min
Why both political parties care so much about Virginia
Politicians want to know what next year’s elections will bring – and create a narrative that helps them in those elections.
Julia Azari
- Oct 19, 2021
- 5 min
Why is the popularism debate so popular? Because it's about who really controls the Democratic Party
Photo credit: Adam Schultz
Jennifer N. Victor
- Oct 12, 2021
- 4 min
Three things everyone can do to reinforce US democracy
Modeling democratic values in everyday choices strengthens the fabric that is the foundation for troubled democratic institutions. US...
Matthew Green
- Oct 4, 2021
- 4 min
The Misconceptions that Guide Congress
The ongoing debate over the passage of transportation and budget bills underscore how lawmakers act on behalf of misleading assumptions.
Matthew Green
- Sep 22, 2021
- 4 min
Are Democrats retaliating against Republicans who voted to undo the 2020 election?
Inter-party punishments for the events of January 6th may be less widespread than they seem.
Seth Masket
- Sep 16, 2021
- 3 min
Ending the Primary?
Colorado Republicans may vote this weekend to abandon their primary and pick nominees by convention. Here's why and what it would mean.