Ep. 54: Paul Kane on Congressional Dysfunction, Media Decline, and Broken Incentives

Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall host We Made This Political with congressional reporter Paul Kane of NOTUS, who explains how he moved from planning for law school to a 26-year career covering Congress and what makes a good congressional reporter. Kane argues that communications technology and the collapse of local and regional news have reshaped Congress, enabling “radical transparency” without reliable context and weakening accountability, illustrated by Rep. Tom Kean Jr. not being seen publicly since March 5th. The conversation covers low legislative output in 2025 and recent Congresses, the Senate’s procedural paralysis and focus on nominations, changing incentive structures favoring fundraising and attention over legislating, and norms that no longer enforce behavior because punishment can be monetized. Kane critiques media’s focus on controversy, highlights Gabe Fleisher’s Wake Up to Politics, and ends with cautious hope in growing, less click-driven journalism and stories like Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:55 Paul Kane Origin Story02:30 Reporting Lessons From Local Politics05:03 What Makes a Great Hill Reporter09:35 How Congress Changed With Phones14:23 Radical Transparency Tradeoffs15:53 Missing Congressman Case Study20:03 Low Information Voters and Swings24:15 Approval Ratings and Cynicism27:03 Why Lawmaking Has Stalled32:09 Coalitions to Gridlock33:14 Fundraising and Selection Effects35:19 McHenry’s Incentive Shift42:13 Rules Fail and Punishment Backfires45:42 Chaos Era New Normal48:48 Media’s Role in Polarization53:50 Independent News and New Models57:00 Hopeful Signs and ClosingResourcesFind Paul’s Work: Paul’s final Washington Post column: https://wapo.st/4uBtWDUPauls’s interview with former Representative Patrick McHenry (NC-10): https://535.news/interviews/patrick-mchenry-jun-3-2026/Norms in Congress (NOTUS): https://www.notus.org/analysis/congress-there-are-no-rules-mike-johnson-republicans-legislationPaul’s NOTUS bio and article listing: https://www.notus.org/paul-kanePaul’s Blue Sky profile: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:vqueu3b2o4xv4kcscj4dxdwfPaul’s X/Twitter profile: https://x.com/pkcapitolOther Writers Discussed in the Episode:Gabe’s Wake Up to Politics Newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com