Crossroads Lecture: Is Congress a Broken Branch or…?

Sunday, April 13, 2014, 4 p.m., Orcas Center

— from Sue Kimball —

Professor Paul Gronke to present: Is Congress a “Broken Branch” or is America a “Broken Policy”?

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series will host Reed College Political Science Professor, Paul Gronke, who will present – Is Congress a “Broken Branch” or is America a “Broken Policy”? – Sunday, April 13, 2014, 4:00 pm at the Orcas Center.

Congressional approval is at an historic low, rivaling that of certain household insects. The Congressional center, the leverage point for policy making and compromise, has been shattered. And significant numbers of members believe if we drive off of a fiscal and budgetary cliff, we’ll end up like Thelma and Louise in their powder blue ’66 T-Bird. We’ll float magically across the canyon.

Unfortunately, reality is not like the movies. Is Congress a “broken branch” in need of institutional reform? Or is the real dysfunction in the broader American political system? A broken Congress may just reflect a broken polity, demanding too much, sacrificing too little, and too busy to spend a few minutes a day educating themselves about the difficult compromises necessary to make national policy.

“Newly elected officials think that they’ll come to Congress and solve political problems right away. But politics as we see it is most often the result of many decisions made by many people over a long period of time,” said Gronke. “Political change is like a marathon, it takes a long time, and if you run it like a 100 yard dash, you’ll end up getting tired out.”

Gronke will reflect on Congress and the electorate, drawing on his thirty years as an observer of both, uncovering the warts but also suggesting tough but effective medicine for curing the woes of the American political system.

“Many people long for a political era where political divisions were not so stark, and political agreements across the aisle were more common. Older people often think about the time of the 1950s. But there’s a reason that politics was like this in the 1950s, and it’s not all good,” he said. “Many of the changes that our nation experienced in the 1960s and 70s were important and long overdue, but some of the politics we experience today are a consequence of those changes.”

At Reed, Gronke teaches courses on political behavior, political institutions, and social science research methods.

Gronke is an avid runner, and a political junkie. You’re as likely to find him in a local coffee shop as in his office.

Come with your questions for the Q & A session after the lecture, and join us for a reception following the presentation.

Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore, online at www.orcascrossroads.org or at the door. Some complimentary tickets are available in advance at the Senior Center.

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series is supported by the Crossroads Associates Circle, the Daniel and Margaret Carper Foundation, and Individual Contributors. Find more information at the Orcas Crossroads website: www.orcascrossroads.org