Quotes by Thomas E. Mann

About Thomas E. Mann:

Thomas E. Mann is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He primarily studies and speaks on elections in the United States, campaign finance reform, Senate and filibuster reform, Congress, redistricting, and political polarization.
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Today's Republican Party...is an insurgent outlier. It has become ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and scienc...

Thomas E. Mann

In never-ending efforts to defeat incumbent officeholders in hard times, the public is perpetuating the source of its discontent, electing a new group of people who are even less inclined to or capable of crafting compromise or solutions to pressing ...

Thomas E. Mann

Since the debt limit simply accommodates debt that has already been incurred, raising it should, in theory, be perfunctory. But politicians have found it a useful shibboleth for showing their fealty fiscal discipline, even as they vote to ratify the ...

Thomas E. Mann

He (Newt Gingrich as a freshman congressman) was both passionate about his goals and coldly analytical in his means.

Thomas E. Mann

Democrats do best in urban centers, Republicans in outer suburbs and rural areas.

Thomas E. Mann

America is an outlier in the world of democracies when it comes to the structure and conduct of elections.

Thomas E. Mann

Presidents are elected not by direct popular vote but by 538 members of the Electoral College.

Thomas E. Mann

Votes in federal elections are cast and counted in a highly decentralized and variable fashion, with no uniform ballots and few national standards.

Thomas E. Mann

Responsibility for overseeing the implementation of election law typically resides with partisan officials, many with public stakes in the election outcome.

Thomas E. Mann

Redistricting is a deeply political process, with incumbents actively seeking to minimize the risk to themselves (via bipartisan gerrymanders) or to gain additional seats for their party (via partisan gerrymanders).

Thomas E. Mann

A healthy degree of party unity among Democrats and Republicans has deteriorated into bitter partisan warfare.

Thomas E. Mann

Further-more, partisan attachments powerfully shape political perceptions, beliefs and values, and incumbents enjoy advantages well beyond the way in which their districts are configured.

Thomas E. Mann

Congress requires states to draw single-member districts.

Thomas E. Mann

The public's evaluation of the job George W. Bush is doing as president changed dramatically as a result of the horrific attacks of September 11 and his response in leading the country on a campaign against terrorism.

Thomas E. Mann

With the parties at virtual parity and the ideological gulf between them never greater, the stakes of majority control of Congress are extremely high.

Thomas E. Mann

While Republican voters have remained universally supportive of their President, Democrats and Independents are returning to a more naturally critical stance.

Thomas E. Mann

Second, the President's popularity has not translated into increased support for the Republican party or for the policies and approaches on domestic policy championed by the President.

Thomas E. Mann

The increase in straight-ticket party voting in recent years means that competitive congressional races can tip one way or the other depending on the showing of the candidates at the top of the ticket.

Thomas E. Mann

In the House, Republican prospects have been buoyed by several successful rounds of redistricting, which have sharply reduced the number of competitive seats and given the Republicans a national advantage of at least a dozen seats.

Thomas E. Mann

Party and ideology routinely trump institutional interests and responsibilities. Regular order - the set of rules, norms and traditions designed to ensure a fair and transparent process - was the first casualty. The results: No serious deliberation. ...

Thomas E. Mann

Author Bio

  • NameThomas E. Mann
  • DescriptionAmerican political scientist
  • BornSeptember 10, 1944
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPolitical Scientist; Author