There's a book waiting to be written in how congressional Democrats' clinging to an outmoded institutionalism paved the way for American fascism talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/there...
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There's a whole theory in sociology called new institutionalism that says that successful institutions tend to grow and, in the process, well, institutionalize rules of behavior and ways of thinking, creating inertia that is resistant to change en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_ins...
sep 4, 2025, 5:53 pm • 0 0 • view
There's also an academic debate about what triggers large-scale changes in institutions (internal forces, external shocks, etc.). Democratic congressional leadership is definitely facing an external shock (Trump) but so far this has only forced a kind of doubling down on existing/weak tea D politics
sep 4, 2025, 5:56 pm • 1 0 • view
In other words, by all means blame Schumer/Jeffries for being blind to both the risks they/we face and to the (small) power they do wield. But it's also helpful to appreciate that they have made themselves prisoners of a set of rules that got them where they are, even if it is destroying them now
sep 4, 2025, 6:02 pm • 1 0 • view