Stubborn Things Radicalism, Instability, and a Dysfunctional Senate
Jan 29, 2026
They trace how immigration debates became polarized and why political structures fail to match public opinion. They explore radicalizing forces on both left and right that block compromise. They examine Senate dysfunction through the Texas Senate race, intra-party feuds, and the decline of senatorial decorum and institutional stability.
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Radical Elements Reduce Democratic Bargaining
- Democratic elites have lost the capacity to box out their radical elements as earlier parties did.
- This makes compromise on immigration and welfare harder and risks state overload.
Lost Shared Moral Framework
- Mid-20th-century leaders shared core civic values enabling respectful disagreement and compromise.
- Modern factions prize distinct worldviews, undermining shared public-good framing and consensus.
Anti-Stability Currents On Both Sides
- Both left and right intellectual movements reject stability for transformative change.
- That mutual anti-stability stance threatens governance and large, plural polities.
