Politics to the extreme : : American political institutions in the twenty-first century / / edited by Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly ; foreword by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein.

• TeilnehmendeR: Frisch, Scott A., 1964-; Kelly, Sean Q.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York : : Palgrave Macmillan,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (273 pages) :; illustrations

"The United States currently faces challenges of historic proportions: The deepest recession since the Great Depression, an international economy teetering toward a partial collapse, two wars, and structural deficits to name just a few. American political institutions are notorious for producing gridlock under the best of circumstances. Every indication is that political elites are polarized to a degree not seen in the US since the Civil War. With parties and interests seemingly uninterested in compromise arrayed against one another, these institutions are ill-equipped to respond to these profound challenges. Data consistently illustrates the increasing ideological polarization between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. In the 95th Senate conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans overlapped in the center of the political spectrum. A decade later the degree of ideological overlap was minimal; and in the 109th Congress had all but disappeared. The result is the almost complete gridlock the country has experienced over the last decade. In Politics to the Extreme leading scholars and experts address the causes and consequences of polarization in American politics, and suggest solutions for bridging the partisan divide"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Machine generated contents note: -- Foreword; Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein -- Introduction; Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q Kelly -- PART I: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PARTISAN POLARIZATION -- 1. Appropriations to the Extreme: Partisanship and the Power of the Purse; Geoffrey W. Buhl, Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q Kelly -- 2. The Gingrich Senators, the Tea Party Senators, and Their Effect on the U.S. Senate; Sean Theriault -- 3. The Weaponization of Congressional Oversight: The Politics of the Watchful Eye, 1947-2010; David C.W. Parker and Matthew Dull -- 4. Party Polarization, Member Incivility, and Legislative Productivity: A Two-Dimensional Perspective on Conflict and Moderation in Congress; Lawrence C. Dodd and Scot Schraufnagel -- 5. Let's Play Hardball: Congressional Partisanship in the Television Era; Douglas Harris -- 6. Profile Politics: Examining Polarization through Congressional Member Facebook Pages; Jose; Marichal -- 7. Necessary and Damaging: Presidential Base Electoral Strategies and Partisan Polarization; Lara Brown -- 8. A Polarizing Supreme Court? Judicial Decisions in a Red/Blue America; Kevin J. McMahon -- PART II: BRIDGING THE PARTISAN DIVIDE -- 9. Growing Apart: 'Civilista' Attempts to Bridge the Partisan Rift; Frank Mackaman -- 10. Can Polarization be Mitigated? California's Experiment with the Top-Two Primary; Seth Masket -- 11. How to Turn Democrats and Republicans into Americans; Mickey Edwards.