Category: Article

August 8, 2014

Americans have extremely negative views about government and Congress, but those feelings are counterbalanced by concerns over the nation’s economic future and a desire for government policies that might help. Wall Street Journal-NBC News polling out this week found that 85% of voters favor tax incentives that would encourage companies to bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas and that 70% support reducing regulations that add to the cost of doing business in this country.
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August 6, 2014

Although this is an election year, many members of Congress may not be too eager to meet with constituents during their five-week summer recess. Wall Street Journal-NBC News polling out this week showedthat only 2% of Americans are very satisfied with our political system, 79% are dissatisfied and 74% of voters believe Congress has been unproductive this year.
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August 5, 2014

A fight within the Kansas Republican Party could affect several GOP primaries on Tuesday. Sen. Pat Roberts, 78, who is running for his fourth term, confirmed earlier this year that he no longer has a home in Kansas. That sort of admission helped defeat Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in 2012. Sen. Lugar was also branded an out-of-touch Washington insider by hard-line, anti-establishment conservative Republicans.
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July 31, 2014

Declining voter turnout and decreasing civic engagement have prompted think tanks, academics and political leaders to consider various reforms. But most recommendations focus on process rather than the political system’s significant underlying problems. Last month a report from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Political Reform suggested adopting a June date for all congressional primary elections.
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July 30, 2014

The internal memos and 144-page campaign plan prepared for Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn are a fascinating if somewhat horrifying glimpse of the political industrial complex. The document–available here–was first made public by National Review. Much of the reporting so far has focused on internal opposition research in the memo exploring the potential weaknesses of Ms. Nunn’s candidacy.
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July 24, 2014

Studies out this week and an op-ed column by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) highlight the dreadful effect polarization and dysfunction have had on American politics and voters’ faith in the system. A Pew Research Center survey found that anti-incumbent sentiment is as high as it has been before a midterm election in at least 20 years. Fewer than half of all registered voters in both parties want to see their own representative reelected to Congress. Neither political party has a clear lead with voters at this point, according to Pew, but Republicans hold a slight advantage over Democrats in enthusiasm. Independents are the least enthusiastic about voting in this year’s midterms.
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July 23, 2014

Tensions between the U.S. and Germany over American intelligence gathering could have a decisive impact on whether the European Union adopts harsher sanctions on Russia. The U.S., which has already toughened sanctions against Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine, wants the EU to follow suit. But the Germans, angry about U.S. spying activities, first want a new agreement governing how U.S. intelligence gathering will be conducted in Germany. A recent Pew Research study showed German approval of the U.S. is down 13 points since 2009. Only 51% of Germans now view the U.S. favorably.
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July 21, 2014

A new Gallup poll shows that most Americans believe people with business and management experience would make better political leaders. Eighty-one percent of those questioned said the country would be governed better if more people with business backgrounds were in office. But that statistic doesn’t match voters’ track record of electing people with political not business experience to the presidency. Mitt Romney touted his business experience in the 2012 campaign but lost decisively to Barack Obama.
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July 18, 2014

Embedded in the $10.8 billion Highway Trust Fund measure that the House passed Tuesday in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, 367 to 55, is a funding gimmick called “pension smoothing.” This mechanism, first used in a 2012 transportation bill, allows companies to temporarily defer contributions to employees’ defined-benefit pension plans. Companies save money in pension contributions and pay more in taxes up front, temporarily increasing federal revenue. But when companies eventually make up the missed pension payments, plus interest, tax revenue declines.
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July 16, 2014

Members of the District of Columbia city council have proposed renaming the thoroughfare in front of the White House “DC Statehood Now Way.” The council members want to rename those two blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue to draw attention to the fact that residents of the District have no voting representation in Congress. But because the nation’s capital is a federal district and not a state, control over changing the street name–as with many aspects of Washington life–rests not with the D.C. Council but with Congress. D.C. residents pay federal taxes but do not enjoy the same rights as other Americans. D.C. license plates, including those on the presidential limousine, carry the phrase “Taxation Without Representation.”
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