How well do our political parties represent us in government?

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ted Johnson joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider the role that political parties play in perpetuating popular dissatisfaction with politics. Ted is a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. His work explores the role that race plays in electoral politics, issue framing, and disparities in policy outcomes. Previously, Ted was a national fellow at New America and a research manager at Deloitte. He is also a retired commander in the U.S. Navy following a two-decade career that included service as a White House fellow, military professor at the U.S. Naval War College, and speechwriter to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ted’s work has appeared in the Washington Post, Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Politico, among other publications. He teaches law and public policy to master’s and doctoral students and is currently working on a book about national solidarity and race relations.

How well do the Democratic and Republican parties represent Americans in general and black Americans in particular? What options do the two parties offer Americans once in government? And what can voters do when Democrats and Republicans ignore their concerns in office? These are some of the questions that Ted, Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.