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Mark Schmitt

Mark Schmitt is a senior fellow and advisor to the president at the Roosevelt Institute, a New York-based think tank affiliated with the FDR Library. He is a former executive editor of The American Prospect. 

Recent Articles

The Reform That Backfired

Mark SchmittAug 09, 2004

If you follow politics, you're probably familiar with the idea that reform sometimes backfires. You've probably heard the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform cited as an example of such unintended consequences. Critics say McCain-Feingold eliminated the one form of political money on which Democrats had an advantage, while increasing the kind of money -- contributions from individuals -- on which the Republicans had the edge, without actually stemming the flow of large contributions.

Kids Aren't Us

Mark SchmittJun 29, 2004

Now that millions of words have been devoted to assessing the mixed
legacy of Ronald Reagan's presidency, let's take a few hundred to recall
one of the attempts by liberals to respond and counter Reagan and his
strategies. Since his anti-government philosophy is as alive as Reagan
is dead, these responses are also still very much in play.

The Permanent Raw Deal

Mark SchmittJun 08, 2004

Like the dream of immortality, the vision of political power that outlasts the eight years of a single presidency can be an irresistible lure to politicians. One version of the dream involves electoral power. For example, Karl Rove is said to have a plan for the Republican Party to dominate for 30 or 40 years, much as it did after the election of William McKinley in 1896, which helped break a period of partisan deadlock. The other version of the dream involves structuring policies and statutes that will protect themselves against democratic change, conditions that a future majority cannot break.

History 101

Mark SchmittMay 20, 2004

American liberals suffer from a well-earned inferiority complex. How often do we hear phrases like, “We need a Heritage Foundation for our side,” or, “We need ideas and a framework, like the right has”? Robert B. Reich has put forth the most comprehensive such argument in the May issue of the English magazine Prospect: “The radical conservatives have a movement, which explains their success … they have frames of reference used in the policy debates … and they have developed a coherent ideology… Democrats have built no analogous movement.”

Torments of Liberalism

Mark SchmittDec 19, 2001

If there is a single thread that connects the free market liberalism of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill to the more recent American liberal embrace of activist government, it is the idea of confident, continuous movement forward. Liberals have believed themselves to be pushing aside the cobwebs of history, ending ideology, freeing society from illusions, overturning outdated power structures, and taking society to a morally superior, more prosperous place.

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