Julian Zelizer — In Defense of Partisanship - with E.J. Dionne Jr.

Partisanship is a dirty word in American politics. If there is one issue on which almost everyone in our divided country seems to agree, it's the belief that the intense loyalty within the electorate toward Democrats and Republicans is the source of our democratic ills--division, dysfunction, distrust, and disinformation. The possibilities that responsible partisanship can offer were at the heart of an important intellectual tradition that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, one which was institutionalized through a sweeping set of congressional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s. In Defense of Partisanship reimagines what partisanship might look like going forward from today. A new era of party-oriented reforms has the potential to pay respect to the deep differences that divide us while simultaneously creating a more functional path on which two responsible political parties compete to shape policy while still being able to govern. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9798987053683?ic_referral=hej166tFGLfJu_etE-1lGVH-UcTgRI-geWzUPTfTyGAwM-D_qu3VK2iC-GH4LDElONo2vynnkZkQKEdV0MmcBb2qLDaf2YCiGONtlZuvBMmlvofGI_V-2rvsyWDHqEHphwwi2w New York Times best-selling author Julian E. Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a CNN Political Analyst, a regular guest on NPR’s "Here and Now," a guest host on POTUS Sirius XM, and a columnist for Foreign Policy. He is the award-winning author and editor of 26 book, and is currently working on a new book about the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the 1964 Democratic Convention entitled ‘Is this America?. Zelizer is in conversation with E.J. Dionne Jr.. Dionne is a distinguished university professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and a senior fellow and W. Averell Harriman Chair in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is also a syndicated columnist for the Washington Post. He is the author or co-author of nine books including, most recently, 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting, coauthored with Miles Rapoport. Others include New York Times Bestseller Why the Right Went Wrong, Our Divided Political Heart, and Why Americans Hate Politics. He is the co-editor with John DiIluio of What’s God Got to Do With the American Experiment?  His media career also includes 20 years with NPR, and 14 with the New York Times, including stints in Paris, Beirut, and Rome. *recorded 1/15/2025