
Why the Two Parties Operate Differently
Statecraft
Intro
This chapter explores the strategies and internal structures of the major U.S. political parties as they prepare for the 2024 presidential election. It also examines the influence of the women's movement on the Democratic Party and the evolving nature of party conventions amid self-critical movements.
Today I'm talking with Jo Freeman: a founding member of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s, a civil rights campaigner, an attendee to every Democratic party convention since 1964, and a political scientist. She’s not the most typical Statecraft guest. But her work on how the two parties work - not just what they believe, but how they operate organizationally - is incredibly insightful. In this conversation, we dig into:
* Why do the two parties fight so differently?
* What makes someone powerful in each party?
* How did the women's movement transform the Democratic Party?
* What happened to convention caucuses? Did they stop mattering?
* What does it mean when a movement starts "trashing" its own leaders?
Reading list:
Who You Know Versus Who You Represent: Feminist Influence in the Democratic and Republican Parties
The Political Culture of the Democratic and Republican Parties
Why Republican Party Leaders Matter More Than Democratic Ones (by Tanner Greer)
Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood
The Tyranny of Structurelessness
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