Ill Literacy, Episode 156: The Hollow Parties (Guest: Sam Rosenfeld)

Heartland Daily Podcast

In Episode 154 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Sam Rosenfeld, co-author of The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sam Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative at Colgate University, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Daniel Schlozman, The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics. They discuss how party hollowness lies at the heart of our democratic discontents and how the nation’s parties became so dysfunctional. They also chat about the history of the party system in the United States, how today’s fractious party politics arose from the ashes of the New Deal order in the 1970s, how the 1968 DNC transformed presidential nominations but failed to lay the foundations for robust, movement-driven parties, and how, in Rosenfeld’s estimation, modern American conservatism hollowed out the party system, deeming it a mere instrument for power.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691248554/the-hollow-parties

Show Notes:

Capital Research Center: Michael E. Hartmann – “Donors, The Hollow Parties, Distance, And Democracy”

https://capitalresearch.org/article/donors-the-hollow-parties-distance-and-democracy/

The New Republic: Ben Metzner – “The Decay of America’s Political Parties”

https://newrepublic.com/article/184302/decay-americas-political-parties-schlozman-rosenfeld-interview

New York Times: Sam Rosenfeld and Daniel Schlozman – “The Republican Party Has Devolved Into a Racket”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/opinion/politics/republican-party-trump-racket.html

Politico: Ian Ward – “Democrats Are Feckless and Republicans Are Chaotic. Here’s Why.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/05/01/hollow-political-parties-donald-trump-00155297

Reason: J.D. Tuccille – “Hollow Major Parties Preside Over a Politics of 'Fear and Loathing'”

https://reason.com/2023/08/07/hollow-major-parties-preside-over-a-politics-of-fear-and-loathing/

Semafor: Davie Wiegel – “Why political parties desperately need to make a comeback”

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/10/2024/why-political-parties-desperately-need-to-make-a-comeback

Washington Examiner: Ben Jacobs – “Political party crashers”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/3010630/political-party-crashers/