Washington Post catch up

Two great columnists sure to widen and deepen your knowledge of inside the beltway politics

Time is finite and weekdays during term time usually mean, for teachers and students alike, that we are running to stand still. I preach to students on the benefits of exposing yourself to the New York Times and Washington Post websites as a way of connecting to American Politics. Now that the election is over, coverage in UK papers of the realities of US politics has dropped off. Yes, there is still a steady diet of coverage on foreign policy and so on, but not the fine detail that will really help students understand American constitutional dynamics in practice.

I make an effort (in a very unenvironmenatlly freindly way, I know, but until we stip building coal fired power stations I’m not sure I can be accused of being unethical man) to print out a clutch of articles by David Broder and EJ Dionne Jr from the Washington Post at the end of the week and read them at home over the weekend.

Here, for instance, is a corker on the regional composition of Hosue membership and how this impacts on legislative priorities. Great if you are looking at the complexities of legislative management in Congress or relations between the President and Congress.

Key here is the importance of Democrats in the House of rural and/or conservative districts. It shows that despite increased partisanship in Washington in recent years, we should be careful not to consider parties as completely homogenous blocs. The possible recalcitrance of southern House Democrats to support some of Obama’s more left leaning plans explains why he courted representatives form across the aisle on his stimulus and budget proposals.

Note that just because the White House and Congress are controlled by the same party, does not mean that President is guaranteed an easy ride. The Failures of Carter and Clinton during periods of unified government are testament to that.