January 14, 2013 Why pork-barrel spending is a good thing …
What did they do that we didn’t?    Sound familiar?  January 7,
2013 How (American) parties (usually) die  So people are always
asking me if I think the time is ripe for a third party, and why
can’t we have lots of parties, etc.   Ignoring the fact that we
actually do have lots of parties—Idaho Republicans are different
than Illinois Republicans, and South Carolina Democrats don’t
look much like California Democrats whatever party label they
use—the short answer to the first question—are we ripe for a
third party?—is: no.  Here’s why.  Historically, major American
political parties have faded away only when one of two things
happened: the constituents they represented declined in number
to such an extent the party was no longer viable, or the
political positions the party represented boxed the party into a
position from which it could no longer remain effective.  The
first explanation largely accounts for the decline of the
Federalists in Amer