Midterm elections: From hope to grievances

Charles W. Burson, JD, senior professor of practice at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, says that the midterm elections reflect a dramatic turn from the wave of aspiration that defined our politics in 2008 to the wave of grievance that defines these midterm elections. “The Tea Party movement is the embodiment of that phenomenon. In Missouri, this wave has put the seats of Democratic Congressmen Ike Skelton and Russ Carnahan at risk, but the same wave may have also put at risk the seat of Republican Representative Jo Ann Emerson.”

Byrd was staunch defender of Senate traditions, says congressional expert

The U.S. Senate lost one of its staunchest defenders and most influential leaders with the death Monday, June 28, of long-serving Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia. “The death of Robert Byrd is important,” says Steven S. Smith, a congressional expert at Washington University in St. Louis. “He was first and foremost a senator. He loved the Senate and was the strongest defender of its traditions.”

Democrats’ end-run on health care could escalate Senate parliamentary arms race, expert predicts

As President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress head for a final showdown over long-stalled health-care reform legislation, pundits are struggling to explain an array of arcane congressional rules and protocols that may determine whether health care reform passes or dies on the vine. Many of these pundits are getting it wrong, suggests WUSTL congressional expert Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.

Brookings Institution and WUSTL form academic partnership

Paul Morigi/BrookingsThe Brookings Institution and Washington University will begin offering joint programs, including internships, lectures and other educational activities, the institutions announced April 21. The Olin Business School also will lead management of Brookings’ executive education activities, effective July 1. Strobe Talbott (left), president of the Brookings Institution, meets with Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton in Washington, D.C., the day the new partnership was announced.

Washington University in St. Louis and Brookings Institution form academic partnership

The Brookings Institution and Washington University in St. Louis will begin offering joint programs including internships, lectures and other educational activities, the institutions announced today. Washington University’s John M. Olin Business School will also lead management of Brookings’ executive education activities, effective July 1, 2009.

Post-election Democrats will push popular agenda, appeal to moderates, expert says

Steven SmithIf Democrats want to expand their House and Senate majorities, they need to protect new members who were elected from Republican-leaning districts while showing they can govern by passing a limited popular agenda: “Satisfying the base while appealing to moderates is squarely the central strategic problem for both parties in the new Congress,” suggests Steven S. Smith, a congressional expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Democrats ‘are in a bad way’ for 2004 elections; liberal and moderate wings of party may duke it out

Campaign 2004 will be a rough and tumble, says Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.While most 2004 campaign coverage remains fixated on the wild and crazy race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the 2004 election also promises to be especially challenging for Democrats seeking seats in the House and Senate. The Democrats are in for a fight in 2004, and the liberal and more moderate factions of the party may likely be their own worst enemy if they engage in a political and philosophical battle for the hearts and minds of voters. “The Democrats are in a bad way in 2004,” said Steven Smith, Ph.D., an authority on congressional politics and the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences.