The Long Game

"The angrier the electorate, the less capable we are of finding common ground on policies, or even of treating our opponents like human beings," a political scientist wrote recently. Reed Galen is trying to start a new political party that is built on the belief that American politics has to restore the dignity of every person as one of its foundational principles. Reed is the chief strategist for the Serve America Movement, an organization started in 2016, which is building organizing infrastructure in a handful of states this year with the goal of being ready to spring into action if a legitimate independent candidate for president runs in 2020. We talked about the group's origins and its plans for 2018 and 2020. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joel Searby, a former adviser to Evan McMullin's presidential campaign, is now trying to persuade a group of senators -- whom he would not name -- to form a caucus that would elect a bipartisan slate of leaders in the Senate next January. We talked about this effort, as well as his reflection on the McMullin campaign and why it's still deeply in debt, and on the introduction of ranked choice voting in Maine. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is a textbook case, like President Trump, of the danger of political parties losing control over their primaries. When Greitens ran for governor in 2016, he promised in a TV ad to "take dead aim at politics as usual" and then shot a machine gun at a target that exploded and sent flames high into the air. The only thing exploding now, however, is his political career and the Missouri Republican Party with it. Read more of Jon Ward's article on this story at Yahoo News here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt is one of the best journalists in America. He's a weekly columnist at Yahoo News and author of two books, "The Argument," and "All the Truth is Out." His second book has been turned into a major motion picture, starring Hugh Jackman, and titled The Frontrunner, in theaters this year. Matt's column this week was a response to the piece I wrote that grew out of this podcast. My piece was published Tuesday, and called, "Power to the party: Why political reforms can be bad for democracy." Matt's response to this was called, "We need stronger candidates, not stronger parties." Matt writes that he's long been a skeptic of political parties, and that just because Donald Trump has been a destructive outsider, that doesn't mean non-politicians who run for office have to be negative forces. "I still believe that an unconventional campaign — a candidate respectful of governing expertise, but determined to rethink how we use it — can be the thing that restores our faith in public life," he writes. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're a new listener and wonder what this show is all about, this episode will get you caught up. I go back through why this podcast exists, and what each guest has talked about. There are clips of the most important portions of each show, and the most robust explanation to date of why this podcast exists. Show Notes: My dispatches from the Republican National Convention: Mike Lee predicts backlash after RNC smothers delegate rebellion In Cleveland, a dazed GOP marches toward a Trump nomination Chaos on the Convention Floor The Cleveland convention is ratifying the GOP's loss of party power Here is the first episode of The Long Game, which uses the convention as its jumping off point. Audio of David Axelrod full interview with Chris Wallace, from January 12, 2017, is here, and transcript is here. Here is the link to the July 14, 2016 episode of Slate's Political Gabfest, with David Plotz, Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson. Here are the links to the individual episodes of Long Game interviews, which are highlighted in this episode: Yuval Levin Jemar Tisby Jonathan Rauch Elaine Kamarck Norm Ornstein Seth Masket Steven Levitsky Video of the event at the American Enterprise Institute, with EJ Dionne, Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann, is here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steven Levitsky is professor of government at Harvard University. He has spent most of his life studying Latin American politics and history, with a focus on political parties, authoritarianism and democratization, and weak and informal institutions. In 2018, he and fellow Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt, an expert on democracy in Europe, wrote a book called "How Democracies Die." Here, Steven and I discuss what he means when he calls political parties the "gatekeepers of democracy," and why the Democrats reduction of superdelegates in their presidential primary may have unintended negative consequences. "How Democracies Die," by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt Steven Levitsky's personal page at Harvard is here. Reviews of the book by Jennifer Szalai in the New York Times and by Yuval Levin in The Weekly Standard. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan Koch, host of the Depolarize podcast, joins me to talk about his thoughts while reading "How to Think," by Baylor literature professor Alan Jacobs. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seth Masket is the chair of the political science department at the University of Denver. He has dared to say what few will: that for party primaries and maybe all of American politics to be more productive and functional, it might need to be a little less democratic. He and fellow academic Julia Azari wrote a New York Times op-ed in December titled: "Is the Democratic Party Becoming Too Democratic?" Seth is the author of two books. His most recent is called "The Inevitable Party: Why Attempts to Kill the Party System Fail and how they Weaken Democracy." The text of my introduction to the show, along with all the links below, is posted on my Medium page devoted to this podcast. Seth's bio is here. Here are Seth's two books: No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures, by Seth Masket The Inevitable Party: Why Attempts to Kill the Party System Fail and How They Weaken Democracy, by Seth Masket "How to Improve the Primary Process? Make It Less Democratic," by Seth Masket, Pacific Standard Magazine, August 11, 2017 "Is the Democratic Party Becoming Too Democratic?" by Julia Azari and Seth Masket, The New York Times, December 11, 2017 "Here's How a Responsible GOP Might Behave," by Seth Masket, Pacific Standard Magazine, February 28, 2017 Seth referenced this paper: The Losing Parties Out-Party National Committees, 1956-1993, by Philip A. Klinkner We talked about the big idea in this book, and how the 2016 election did not adhere to this theory: "The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform," by Marty Cohen, David Karol, Hans Noel "Weak parties and strong partisanship are a bad combination," by Julia Azari, Vox, November 3, 2016 I wrote this at the 2016 Republican convention: "The Cleveland convention is ratifying the GOP's loss of party power." My piece on The Centrist Project from April 2017 is here. Seth wrote about The Centrist Project in June 2017. That piece is here. My more recent piece on Unite America, the new name of what used to be The Centrist Project, is here. MUSIC: Intro: "Handshake Drugs" by Wilco Transition: "St Tom's Lullaby" by The Welcome Wagon Outro: "For the Sake... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm introducing a new feature to The Long Form podcast, where I'll post short interviews with friends and public figures about the book that they are in the middle of. I don't want polished hot takes about a book someone has finished and fully digested. I want mid-process description of what sparks are flying around people's heads midstream through the book. And I love to know the backstory of how and why people start books. What intrigued them? What attracted them? And what are they getting out of it right now? I'm starting out with a look at one of the books I'm reading, "12 Rules for Life" by Jordan Peterson. He's a psychology professor at the University of Toronto who has developed a cult following particularly among young men. I think after listening to this you'll have a better understanding of why. Show Notes: Anthony Bradley tweet thread on why young men are into Peterson. "The Voice Evangelical Men Wish They Had," by Anthony Bradley in Fathom Magazine. "The Jordan Peterson Moment," by David Brooks in The New York Times Peterson interview with Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News James K.A. Smith tweet about Peterson's "manhood-under-attack" "myth" Vice segment on Peterson: "Jordan Peterson Is Canada's Most Infamous Intellectual" Extended clip of Jay Kang interview with Peterson. Video of Peterson's complain about the Vice interview. "What's So Dangerous About Jordan Peterson?" by Tom Bartlett in The Chronicle of Higher Education Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

He thinks machine politics is a distraction. Norm Ornstein has a different take from Jonathan Rauch and Elaine Kamarck on why our politics is broken. Ornstein believes increasing voter participation and reducing the role of money in politics are better goals, and that the Republican Party is far more of a culprit in creating dysfunction than are the Democrats. Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote a book late last year with Thomas Mann and EJ Dionne called "One Nation After Trump." Show Notes: Opening and closing song: "Mass Appeal" by Gangstarr. Norm's book from 2012, co-written with Thomas Mann and EJ Dionne, updated in 2016: "It's Even Worse Than It Looks Was: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism." Norm's book from 2006, co-written with Thomas Mann: "The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track." The paper by Jonathan Rauch and Ben Wittes from May 2017: "More professionalism, less populism: How voting makes us stupid, and what to do about it." Rauch & Wittes were responding in part to this paper from June 2015, by Mann and Dionne: "The futility of nostalgia and the romanticism of the new political realists." And here's Elaine Kamarck's paper from April 2017: "Re-inserting peer review in the American presidential nomination process." The exchange between Ornstein and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, at the beginning can be viewed here, and you can read about it here. My profile from December on Warren Throckmorton, the evangelical professor who turned against 'reparative therapy' for gays. My profile from September on Jemar Tisby, an African-American Christian living in the Deep South whose outlook on racial reconciliation darkened after the election of Donald Trump. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelonggame. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.