The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off-the-cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life: the ongoing effort by politicians to suppress votes. Yes it’s gone on for years. And in some … [Read more...]

Debate in Congress has always been contentious. The levels of vitriol may seem especially acute these days, but confrontation is not new. I can remember times on Capitol Hill when “debate” was actually more of a screaming match than a civil discussion. Back then, we had a colleague who invariably stepped forward at these times to remind each side that if we wanted to get … [Read more...]

If you take a dim view of our political parties, you’re in sterling company. So did George Washington. In his famous Farewell Address, he warned us against “the baneful effects of the spirit of [political] party.” A political party, he wrote, “agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments … [Read more...]

There are times when I’m convinced the progress of this country can be measured through our ballot laws. Think about it. Over the course of our history, we’ve expanded the franchise from the sole preserve of white male property owners to most all citizens 18 and older — regardless of race, gender, or wealth. Yet despite this steady march, we remain embroiled in debate over … [Read more...]

Back in 1883, Teddy Roosevelt wrote an essay on what it takes to be a true American citizen. He did not mince words. “The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community,” he wrote. “Their place is under a despotism.” He went on: “The first duty of an American citizen, then, is that he shall work in … [Read more...]

There aren’t many people who would argue that Congress is working well these days. It’s been 24 years since it passed a comprehensive budget without resorting to omnibus bills. It can’t pass health-care legislation. Its members talk about the desperate need for a new infrastructure bill, but can’t even get one drafted. It’s unable to produce immigration reform. It’s facing a … [Read more...]

Every so often, I jot down a list of the things that discourage me about our country. There’s the widespread disregard for our core values of tolerance and mutual respect, for instance. Our declining national optimism. Our relaxed attitude toward fixing our election machinery, overseeing financial institutions, and making sure that our key democratic institutions and processes … [Read more...]

I was chatting with a group of students the other day when one of them looked me in the eye and commented, “You’re very tough on journalists.” I had to plead guilty. Of course I’m tough on journalists. Maybe even as tough on them as they are on politicians. Our representative democracy depends on journalists doing their jobs. Why? Because it’s essential that citizens get the … [Read more...]

Politicians and commentators these days like to point to an array of threats to our constitutional system. There’s one, though, that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should: our national debt. We may not yet be in imminent danger of fiscal collapse, but we’re moving into uncharted waters. We are among the most indebted nations in the world, and it’s only getting … [Read more...]

In a world riven by tension, there’s one skill that stands above all others: the ability to resolve conflict. It is the paramount challenge of our time. There are so many divisions that fracture our communities, states, and nations, that the ability to create common ground — to bring people together, rather than drive them apart — has become an indispensable political need. … [Read more...]