Jul 9, 2018, 9:27 PM ETPanel, Conference Presentation

U.S. Politics: What's the State of Our Nation?

Structural Incentives over Partisan Nature: Moderates, including former Senator Bob Corker, argue that the current dysfunction is not due to the lack of talented or collegial people in Congress, but rather that the system's rules incentivize extreme behavior rather than compromise.
The "Political-Industrial Complex": Catherine Fitch and Michael Porter posit that politics functions as a duopoly where parties and their allies have engineered rules to prevent new competition, maximizing private gain while ignoring the 90% of citizens who disapprove of Congress.
Primary System Rigidity: 44 states utilize "sore loser laws" that prevent candidates who lose a primary from running in the general election, effectively locking out popular moderate candidates (e.g., Mike Castle) regardless of general voter preference.
Electorate vs. Candidates Mismatch: The majority of the country identifies as moderate, yet the primary system ensures that candidates who advance are disproportionately from the hard left or right, driven by the need to win the lowest-turnout partisan primaries.
Media as a Reinforcing Mechanism: Media organizations are described as businesses responding to audience demand; they reinforce tribalism by providing distinct sets of facts for different audiences, with 46% of voters believing the media makes up "fake news" and 51% of Republicans viewing the media as the "enemy of the state."

Unintended Consequences of Reform: Jason Chaffetz and Bob Corker warn against over-engineering the system, citing examples where well-intentioned reforms (like campaign finance limits) led to worse outcomes (Citizens United allowing unlimited independent spending).
Weakness of Parties: Jason Chaffetz argues that while parties are currently weak, they serve a vital intermediating role; removing them entirely could leave the field open to even less accountable forces like super PACs and dark money groups.
Primary Turnout Risks: Experiments with nonpartisan top-four primaries have not yet guaranteed higher turnout or centrist results, as voters may lack incentive to participate when competing candidates are from the same party.
Corker's Stance on Earmarks: Former Senator Corker explicitly rejects the return of earmarks, citing that the current lack of secrecy and the ability to weaponize earmark details on social media makes them toxic, whereas in the past, they were discreet tools for deal-making.

The "Election Trifecta": Catherine Fitch proposes three state-level reforms to re-engineer the game:
- Non-Partisan Top-Four Primaries: Replacing partisan primaries with a single ballot where the top four vote-getters advance, regardless of party affiliation.
- Ranked-Choice Voting (Instant Runoff): Implementing a system in the general election where voters rank candidates, ensuring the winner has broad majority support (over 50%) rather than just a plurality.
- Non-Partisan Redistricting: Removing the power of politicians to choose their voters, thereby eliminating gerrymandering.
State-Level Implementation: Since the Constitution delegates election rules to states, reformers advocate for ballot initiatives (available in ~26 states), legislative action, or legal challenges to implement these changes without requiring a federal constitutional amendment.
Senate "Fulcrum" Strategy: Unite America and similar groups advocate for electing a coalition of five independent senators who can deny either party a majority, forcing them to negotiate with the center to pass legislation.
Increased Female Representation: Panelists note that with 20% of Congress being women (compared to 12% on corporate boards and 6% S&P 500 CEOs), the projected surge in female candidates for the upcoming election could fundamentally alter the legislative dynamic.

Party Realignment: Bob Corker predicts a potential third-party emergence or significant realignment, driven by the fact that the Republican Party is now inextricably linked to the Trump brand, while the Democratic Party remains largely defined by opposition to Trump.
Social Media as the New Threat: Bob Corker identifies the rise of bot-driven social media trends and the flow of money from non-fact-based movements as more dangerous to democracy than traditional campaign finance issues, as they inflate issues without accountability.
Legislative Capacity: The panel concludes that while "politics" (many blood-sucking parasites) is an inherent part of the system, the current "sleeping" state of Congress is not permanent, and the return of courage to vote against one's base is the most critical factor for future improvement.