Who really controls US elections? (with Bradley Tusk)
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
Intro
This chapter examines how gerrymandering and primary elections skew voter representation, enabling a small faction to wield disproportionate influence. It encourages listeners to reflect on the consequences this has for elected officials and overall democratic engagement.
Read the full transcript here.
What's the reality of how politicians get elected in the US? How much of a role does gerrymandering play? Are Democrats and Republicans equally guilty of gerrymandering? Do the parties secretly collaborate on gerrymandering? Is gerrymandering legal? What determines who wins a primary election? What percent of all government positions are actually contested? What are the five main types of politicians? We use our phones to manage our bank accounts, medical records, and other sensitive information; so why can't we vote from our phones yet? Should prediction markets be allowed to bet on elections? What makes a regulation too lax or too restrictive? When should government provide goods, and when should it provide services? Should today's big tech companies be broken up? Should Section 230 is a section of the Communications Act of 1934 be repealed? How can AI be used to make government more effective?
Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist, political strategist, philanthropist, and writer. He is the CEO and co-founder of Tusk Ventures, the world's first venture capital fund that invests solely in early stage startups in highly regulated industries, and the founder of political consulting firm Tusk Strategies. Bradley's family foundation is funding and leading the national campaign to bring mobile voting to U.S. elections and also has run anti-hunger campaigns in 24 different states, helping to feed over 13 million people. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. Before Vote With Your Phone, Bradley authored The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups From Death by Politics and Obvious in Hindsight. He hosts a podcast called Firewall about the intersection of tech and politics, and recently opened an independent bookstore, P&T Knitwear, on Manhattan's Lower East Side. In his earlier career, Bradley served as campaign manager for Mike Bloomberg's 2009 mayoral race, as Deputy Governor of Illinois, overseeing the state's budget, operations, legislation, policy, and communications, as communications director for US Senator Chuck Schumer, and as Uber's first political advisor. Connect with Bradley on Substack and LinkedIn.
Further reading
- Vote With Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy, by Bradley Tusk
- The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics, by Bradley Tusk
- "Wisconsin's Legislative Maps Are Bizarre, but Are They Illegal?", by Megan O'Matz (gerrymandering examples)
Even futher reading based on the note @ 00:14:00:
- Article discussing whether or not primaries create more extreme results in U.S. elections: "Are Primaries a Problem?", by Lee Drutman
- These papers find that primary voters are more extreme than general election voters or that primaries promote more extremeness in candidates:
- "Polarized Primaries and Polarized Legislators: Examining the Influence of Primary Elections on Polarization in the U.S. House", by Lindsay Nielson and Neil Visalvanich
- "Primaries and Candidates: Examining the Influence of Primary Electorates on Candidate Ideology", by Lindsay Nielson and Neil Visalvanich
- "Primary Elections and Candidate Ideology: Out of Step with the Primary Electorate?", by David W. Brady, Hahrie Han, and Jeremy C. Pope
- Whereas these papers find that there is little to no difference in polarization between primary voters and general election voters:
Staff
- Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
- Josh Castle — Producer
- Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
- Uri Bram — Factotum
- WeAmplify — Transcriptionists
Music
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