Recent work supports “structured consent” approach to decision-making

Political scientists are finally telling the Senate’s story

SenateJames WallnerFebruary 27, 2019Structured Consent, Political ScienceComment

Senate Republicans blame Democrats for a problem the GOP helped create

Facts are stubborn things

SenateJames WallnerFebruary 14, 2019Confirmation Process, Rules ChangesComment

McConnell maintains firm grip despite pledging to restore the Senate

Republican Leader Follows in Reid’s footsteps

SenateJames WallnerFebruary 13, 2019AmendmentsComment

Mitch McConnell said the 115th Congress was 'the best,' but it's more dysfunctional than ever

“Most accomplished” Senate in decades avoided most important issues

Congress, SenateJames WallnerFebruary 1, 2019Legislative ProcessComment

Partisan competition is not the cause of Congress’s dysfunction

Partisans work together to shut down the Senate

Congress Has Forgotten How to Fight

Political conflict and violent conflict are not the same thing

James WallnerJanuary 9, 2019Congress, Civil War, Politics, ViolenceComment

Real Purpose of the Senate: To Check the Actions of the House

The House and Senate are necessary ingredients for institutionalized conflict

James WallnerDecember 5, 2018Senate, Bicameralism, Niccolo Machiavelli, James Madison, House of RepresentativesComment

Jeff Flake doesn't have to go gentle into that good night

There are better ways to force a vote protecting Mueller

James WallnerNovember 16, 2018Senate, Agenda Control, Parliamentary Procedure, Jeff Flake, Mitch McConnell, LeadershipComment

Anticipating Trouble

Congressional Primaries and Incumbent Behavior

Russell Kirk and the Republican predicament

Republicans should be reading Russell Kirk

James WallnerOctober 24, 2018Republicans, Russell Kirk, Political Dysfunction, Conservatism Comment

Lame Ducks and Congressional Accountability

Lame Duck sessions undermine representative government

James WallnerOctober 23, 2018Congress, Lame Duck Sessions Comment

Americans Don’t Need a Politics Cleanse

Instead of doing a politics cleanse, Americans should go on a bender

James WallnerSeptember 26, 2018Political Dysfunction, Political Theory, Socrates, James MadisonComment

Richard Russell and the Importance of Remembering the Past

A republic perishes when its citizens no longer remember their past

James WallnerSeptember 7, 2018Richard Russell, John McCain, Tradition, Russell Senate Office BuildingComment

Democrats have a point on Brett Kavanaugh documents, but GOP should stick to confirmation timeline

Republicans should stop treating Kavanaugh like a client whom they are protecting from opposing counsel in a hostile deposition

James WallnerSeptember 6, 2018Brett Kavanaugh, Documents, Supreme Court, Confirmation Process, Advise and ConsentComment

Neither party treats Supreme Court nominations like the Founders intended

Advise and consent bears resemblance to the process envisioned in the Constitution

James WallnerSeptember 5, 2018Confirmation Process, Advise and Consent, Constitution, Supreme Court, Brett KavanaughComment

Senate Republicans made a threat, and Democrats called their bluff yet again

Senate Republicans can’t commit

James WallnerAugust 31, 2018Legislative BargainingComment

Confirmation Wars and Constitutional Authority (Part II)

“In reality, we rationalize, we deny, or we couldn’t go on confirming.”

James WallnerAugust 17, 2018Senate, Confirmation Process, Filibuster, Nuclear OptionComment

Confirmation Wars and Constitutional Authority (Part I)

For today’s senators, the ends always justify the means

James WallnerAugust 16, 2018Senate, Confirmation Process, Judicial NominationsComment

Will Discontent in Congress Spark Change?

The leader-driven equilibrium is increasingly precarious

James WallnerAugust 4, 2018Congress, Institutional Change, Leadership, Electoral PressureComment

Party Polarization Is an Illusion

What exactly are political parties, and how do they matter?

James WallnerJuly 25, 2018Congress, Polarization, Agenda ControlComment