Eric Patashnik and Justin Peck (Virginia): Can Congress Do Policy Analysis? The Politics of Problem Solving on Capitol Hill. David R Jones (Baruch): Partisan Control of Government and Public Policy. Michael A. Cacciatore (Georgia) Sara K. Yeo, Dietram A. Scheufele, Michael A. Xenos, Doo-Hun Choi, and Dominique Brossard (Wisconsin), Amy B. Becker (Loyola), and Elizabeth A. Corley (Arizona State): Misperceptions in Polarized Politics: The Role of Knowledge, Religiosity, and Media. Philip Bump on America’s half-century of polarization, in one GIF. Mark Graber (Maryland): Belling the Partisan Cats: Preliminary Thoughts on Identifying and Mending a Dysfunctional Constitutional Order. From Foreign Affairs, America in decay: Francis Fukuyama on the sources of political dysfunction. This is what America would look like without gerrymandering. On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up, but lobbying money is flooding into Washington, DC, like never before — what’s going on? Ben Griffith on the system principles and practice of lobbying and advocacy in the US. Zephyr Teachout (Fordham): The Forgotten Law of Lobbying. How corrupt are our politics? David Cole reviews Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United by Zephyr Teachout. Does the Constitution protect corruption? Jill Lepore on the crooked and the dead. Can information about which candidates people give money to produce a better voter guide? Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA) openly acknowledges that members of Congress expect to receive campaign contributions for voting a certain way on bills. Can a SuperPAC really end all SuperPACs? Robert Reich on the disease of American democracy: “The preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy”. Nick Carnes on how the class war in American politics is over — the rich won.
