So voters will just take what they want from it, and again, we will arrive at the default, kim. more partisan polarization and that s really what i envision, going forward. you sound very, very resigned to the inevitable here. what does this portend for the rest of biden s agenda? will it help bring reluctant democrats around to the idea of killing the filibuster? it could. i mean, procedural issues aside, though, i think, the major challenge here is going to be for democrats to be able to proceed on this front, without looking like they are distracted. and again, this is a challenge that we saw going back to the impeachment of donald trump. where a lot of critics just said, if democrats hang on too much to what trump has done. or this scandal or that scandal. that they are going to be perceived as not focused on the bread-and-butter issues that most voters care about. so, it s a balancing act, for sure, and i think democrats will have to toe that line, and tread
Eric M. Patashnik
Is America’s Grand Experiment With Democracy at an End?
Q&A with MPA Director, Eric M. Patashnik and Harvard Business School Professor, Katherine M. Gehl
Democracies are supposed to respond to all of their citizens, yet our American political system – as it exists today – is broken: Our political two-party duopoly caters to highly ideological party primary voters and special interests; erects nearly insurmountable barriers to new competition from independents or third parties; encourages extreme partisanship, rather than compromise; and fails to implement legislation to benefit society at large.
So wrote Katherine M. Gehl, a business leader and political reformer, and the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School Michael E. Porter, in their essay, “Politics Industry Theory,” in the newly published book, Dynamics of American Democracy: Partisan Polarization, Political Competition, and Government Performance. The b
Honestly and responsibly. that s a dark verdict on the state of our politics, but it rings true, and it has a worrying consequence. when you live in a world of broken politics and when you live in a world of extraordinary partisan polarization, it just may not be possible to generate the consensus necessary to use the impeachment power. that s a scary thought. there may be circumstances where we just can t wait for the next election. and i don t have a reassuring answer to that. throughout this special report i have tried not to tell you what to think about this explosive issue but to give you the facts and context to help you think. i hope i ve succeeded. and that is our program tonight. i m fareed zakaria. thank you for joining us.
Domestic governance. it activates the worst kinds of partisan tribalism on all sides of the aisle. the only circumstances i would actively support impeachment would be where there was evidence so glaring failure to impeach would essentially show the hypocrisy of the whole system. in other words, america might be too polarized today to be able to deal with an impeachment honestly and responsibly. that s a dark verdict on the state of our politics but it rings true, and it has a worrying consequence. when you live in a world of broken politics, and when you live in a world of extraordinary partisan polarization, it just may not be possible to generate the consensus necessary to use the impeachment power. that s a scary thought. there may be circumstances where we just can t wait for the next election. i don t have a reassuring answer to that. throughout this special
Doesn t. congress has to decide whether impeachment is the right move. unless there is overwhelming proof that the majority of the country accepts, impeachment will not bring the country together. it creates a crisis of domestic governance and activates tribalism on all sides of the aisle. the only circumstances is where there is evidence so glaring that failure to impeach would show the hypocrisy of the whole system. in other words, america might be too polarized to be able to deal with impeachment honestly and responsibly. that s a dark verdict on the state of our politics, but it rings true and has a worrying consequence. when you live in a world of broken politics and when you live in a world of extraordinary partisan polarization, it may