That Washington is corrupted by special interests and lobbyists is perhaps the most common critique of the federal government. Poll after poll reveals a public convinced that lobbyists are an unethical, destructive influence. Accordingly, most lobbying reform proposals take a strong moralizing tone. “Drain the swamp” was Nancy Pelosi’s rallying cry in 2006, backed by a promise to, on day one, “break the link between lobbyists and legislation.” President Obama, too, spent his campaign bashing special interests (as did John McCain). Obama also made a symbolic point of enacting new ... Read More
Anger, Politics and the Wisdom of Uncertainty
May 16, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
To say that these are angry political times is perhaps to state the obvious. Commentators and analysts bemoan the lost civility, wondering what is to be done. But here's something hopeful: New understanding of how emotions operate in politics might help us to better manage these emotions as a society. The first thing to know about anger is where it comes from. Research suggests it begins with a threat (in these political times, say, rising economic insecurity). But whether it gets translated into anger depends on a few things. First, it matters how the threat is described. If there's ... Read More
Why bin Laden Death Photos Won’t Change Minds
May 7, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
In debating whether or not to release the allegedly gruesome images of Osama bin Laden’s death, one of the main arguments in favor of release was that it might help to counter the conspiracy-minded thinking that the operation was a fake, or that bin Laden has been dead for years, or even that he was a CIA fabrication all along. But President Barack Obama seems to have realized what many social scientists have known for years: that no evidence in the world would convince certain people that a U.S. Navy SEAL unit killed bin Laden at his compound in Abbattabad, Pakistan, and buried him at ... Read More
Probing the Depths of the ‘Submerged State’
February 8, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
In 2009, when President Obama negotiated a stimulus bill that included $288 billion in tax cuts, his advisers decided to structure their "Making Work Pay" tax credits so that workers' regular paychecks were a little bit bigger, and the money would flow back into circulation gradually, rather than all at once. They believed it would have a greater economic impact that way. Without running the counterfactual, it's hard to know whether the tax credits had the desired economic impact. But one thing is clear: It was just about the worst-advertised tax cut ever. One year later, just 12 percent of ... Read More
America Not as Politically Conservative as You Think
January 14, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Among the many memes floating around in the wake of the 2010 election is that America has taken a rightward turn, and conservative pundits seem re-energized in calling America a center-right nation. After all, a plurality of American voters (42 percent) now call themselves “conservative” — as compared to just 35 percent who say they are “moderate” and 20 percent who say they are “liberal.” Two years ago, moderates and conservatives both were at 37 percent. But new research suggests that pundits ought to be cautious of overinterpreting the conservative label: It doesn’t ... Read More
Political Leapfrog Hops Over Most Americans
October 30, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
If U.S. midterm election results turn out as predicted, Republicans will take over the leadership in the House of Representatives and pick up several seats in the Senate. But if voters wanted change because they felt that Washington had become too liberal, don't expect the median U.S. voter to be any better represented in the 112th Congress. Instead, what will likely happen — since it has been happening for at least the last few Congresses — is that the median voter will instead be "leapfrogged." That is, that in seats that switch from Democratic to Republican, the elected ... Read More
Dismissing Gridlock: A Case for Parliamentary Systems
May 6, 2010 • By • 4 Comments
This story originally posted on April 20, 2009. Perhaps you've heard these complaints before: There's too much gridlock in Washington; our leaders are incapable of solving big problems; politics is broken. So, we blame our politicians. Over the last 35 years, the approval rating for Congress has averaged a dismal 35 percent. (Lately, it hit 31 percent, a two-year high.) But maybe it's not our elected leaders that we should be chiding. John Gerring and Strom C. Thacker, professors of political science at Boston University, say the actual problem may be our political institutions, ... Read More
Get Politically Engaged, Get Happy?
February 14, 2010 • By • 2 Comments
As the United States gears up for midyear elections, getting involved in a campaign might not only be a great opportunity to participate in democracy — it might make you feel better. Two psychologists — Malte Klar, a practicing psychologist in Germany, and Tim Kasser, professor at Knox College — have found a clear link between political activism and a person's sense of well-being, and have shown that even a very small engagement with political activism can boost one's sense of vitality. "Activists live a happier and more fulfilling life than the average person," said Klar, who ... Read More
Threats, Anxieties Ingredients of Conservativism
January 12, 2010 • By • 2 Comments
Over the past year, a conservative right-wing movement has found a loud political voice in the United States. Strongly anti-government, the movement seems largely oriented around a message that anything the Obama administration wishes to accomplish is an attack on American tradition, and it is up to them to stop this radical socialist agenda emanating from Washington to preserve the country. This burst of activity has left some asking where such a rush of conservative energy might come from. Is it a response to the anxiety and uncertainty of tough economic times? Does having an ... Read More
