Few Choices in America’s No Party System
It was pretty quick to fill in my Massachusetts ballot this year: Yup, only one contest out of seven had more than one choice. Technically this is not the real… Read more »
Author Archives: Paul Schimek
The Choice
Elections are, fundamentally, about making public choices. What are the choices that face Americans? In November 2024 the United States will elect a President, the full House of Representatives, and… Read more »
In search of: 1 Senator to Save Democracy
By Shutting Down the Senate There is only one way to fix the Senate and democracy: stop consenting to dysfunctional rules and obstruct in the name of stopping obstruction. American… Read more »
The End of Obstruction
The Path Toward Majority Rule in the U.S. Congress The U.S. Senate majority can end routine obstruction — as the U.S. House majority did 130 years ago. Representative Thomas Reed,… Read more »
The Democracy Amendment
How to Unlock Democracy in the United States The most glaring deficiency of the U.S. Constitution is its failure to follow democratic norms. This has become apparent this century with… Read more »
Ranked Choice Voting and Multiparty Democracy
Political parties come first, then electoral reform. Electoral reform has become part of the American political dialogue, and ranked choice voting is the favorite fix. In Breaking the Two Party Doom Loop, Lee Drutman… Read more »
Beyond Iowa: Fixing the Presidential Primaries
Every presidential election cycle, people and pundits complain: why Iowa and New Hampshire? Inevitably, they offer improved ways of nominating presidential candidates. Just as regularly, nothing changes. In the world of the party nomination… Read more »
Unchecked and Unbalanced: the Presidency in 2020
President Trump’s assassination of General Suleimani, the second most important Iranian government official, has been called an act of war and a declaration of war. Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the… Read more »
Will the Majority Rule in 2021?
With all the attention given to the ups and downs of the presidential contenders for an election which is “only” 11 months away, what can get overlooked is the most… Read more »
Nominating U.S. Presidential Candidates: A Dysfunctional Non-System
The United States is governed by a powerful president elected under archaic rules that violate democratic norms. But it’s not just the November election that is deficient: the way presidential… Read more »