Politics in Question

Lee reminds Julia and James that the original First Amendment to the Constitution proposed by James Madison in 1789 concerned apportionment and traces the present issue to the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. He also mentions the cube root law to highlight the extent to which the United States is a global outlier when it comes to the size of Congress’s lower chamber.James cites Federalist 58 when suggesting that increasing the size of the House is unlikely to empower its rank-and-file members and argues that the reform will further centralize power in the party leadership. He references Thomas Jefferson’s idea of a ward republic and Hannah Arendt’s council system when considering what a truly participatory politics looks like. He mentions John Aldrich’s work on parties in the first Congress to highlight the impact of party heterogeneity on centralization in the House.Lee cites Frances Lee’s book, Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign when considering the impact that a bigger House could have on Congress and its two political parties. He references his new book, Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Lee and James ask special guest Matt Glassman what is unprecedented about our politics. Matt is a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University and a co-host of the podcast, Congress, Two Beers In. Is American politics in an unprecedented era? Is the decline in civility overstated? Has politics always been rough and tumble? These are some of the question we discuss on this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Julia, Lee, and James court a debate over the role of our third branch, the federal judiciary. Has the long arm of the law reached too far beyond its robes? Are unelected judges legislating from the bench? Are we looking to the courts too much to break our deadlocked politics? What if anything should we do about it? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Julia, Lee, and James consider impeachment in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate. They debate what worked and what didn’t work. And they ask how the impeachment process can be improved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Julia, Lee, and James work through America’s love-hate relationship with political conflict. How much conflict can our institutions handle? Have we already reached that point? Or are the disagreements in our nation’s capital merely the result of a legitimate opposition doing its job? How do we tell the difference between good conflict and bad conflict? These are some of the questions they tackle in this episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Julia, Lee, and James are examining a counter-intuitive proposal to counteract the menacing effects of partisanship - more partisanship. Why are parties important? What is their role in our political system? And how many does America really need? These are some of the questions we tackle in this episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode, Julia, Lee, and James tackle populism. They consider what it is, where it comes from, and its influence on American politics. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode, Julia, Lee, and James tackle the separation of powers. They consider why it exists and explore its consequences for our politics in 2019. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode, Julia, Lee, and James think through the House’s inquiry into whether it should impeach President Trump. They consider the history of presidential impeachments, discuss their constitutional implications, and assess the potential political consequences if the House decides to move forward in this instance. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In today’s episode, Julia, Lee, and James go in search of the storied gerrymander. They consider how it impacts our politics, examine what the courts say about it, and ask how we can reform the electoral process to minimize any negative consequences it may have on what happens (or does not happen) in the House of Representatives. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.