The centrist politics of the election produced a shrunken electorate and mandate. Are there fresh sources of progressive energy at the grass roots?
Money, Politics, and Power
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Take the Initiative, Please: Referendum Madness in California
Ballot initiatives were supposed to make government more responsive to the people. In California, a series of referenda has had just the opposite effect.
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Motor Voter or Motivated Voter?
The Motor Voter law was supposed to dramatically increase turnout and give marginalized groups more voice in politics. Unfortunately, getting these groups to register doesn’t do any good if you don’t give them reason to vote.
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The Turnout Imperative
Low voter participation favors conservatives. If liberals want to avoid a reprise of 1994 in 1998, they have to make turnout a top priority — and fortunately some are already hard at work.
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Clean Elections, How To
Public frustration with political influence peddling hasn’t been this high since Watergate, and thanks to Maine we finally have an example of how to do reform right.
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Drift or Mandate?: The 1996 Elections
The voters’ decision in November will determine whether the late 1990s usher in America’s “fourth Republic.”
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Of Our Time: A Liberal Dunkirk?
H as the Clinton presidency been a grave setback for liberalism? Or a necessary, if wrenching, re-centering? We have debated this question in our pages, and historians will long argue the issue. One must await the results of the 1996 election to provide a more complete answer. However, here is a look at both sides […]
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Damage Report
T he past two years have humbled both liberals and conservatives-or should have. The 1992 election, liberals hoped, would set in motion a new cycle of progressivism. It didn’t. After the 1994 election, the new conservative leaders of Congress expected to stage a revolution. They didn’t. First President Clinton failed to secure the bolder aspects […]
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Popping Contributions
Last year conservatives tried and failed to destroy the effectiveness of food and drug regulation. Now they say they want only modest FDA reforms. Watch out.
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Reform Gets Rolling
With campaign finance reform stalled in Washington, the real work of cleaning up American politics has shifted to the states. Look at what’s happened in Vermont, Massachusetts, and—of all places—Arizona.