Stuck: A History of Gridlock
Gridlock (Wikimedia Commons)
Congress isn’t doing too well these days. Our representatives can’t seem to come to any agreement about taxing and spending. Despite being galvanized by a terrible tragedy, they are having a hard time coming to a consensus on gun control legislation. It seems that stalemate is endemic to national politics. But was it always?
On this episode, we’ll take an in-depth look at gridlock in American history. Are there other times when the system has so routinely ground to a halt? Does compromise tend to end stalemates, or just push the day of reckoning further down the road?
Help us put this show together. Have you been hurt by other people’s inability to agree? Ever witnessed a serious breakdown of the system in your own place of work? Do you ever feel like being obstinate is the best way to improve a situation? Is gridlock always such a bad thing? Let us know, below.
What about Madison’s argument in Federalist #10 that political gridlock is a good thing because it protects minority rights and individual liberty?
QuoteIs there any relationship between political gridlock and our tendency to be litigious? How about the high divorce rate? Hung juries?
QuoteWhat role has media played in gridlock and the portrayal of that gridlock? Prof. Balogh, how did the advent of, first, radio then CSPAN affect Congressional gridlock? Prof. Ayers, did newspaper coverage affect the political gridlock proceeding the Civil War? And Prof Onuf, did media play a part in the Federalist/Anti Federalist gridlock at the end of the 18th/beginning of the 19th century?
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