Statecraft

Why the Two Parties Operate Differently

Statecraft

Show Notes

Today I'm talking with Jo Freeman: a founding member of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s, a civil rights campaigner, an attendee to every Democratic party convention since 1964, and a political scientist. She’s not the most typical Statecraft guest. But her work on how the two parties work - not just what they believe, but how they operate organizationally - is incredibly insightful. In this conversation, we dig into: * Why do the two parties fight so differently? * What makes someone powerful in each party? * How did the women's movement transform the Democratic Party? * What happened to convention caucuses? Did they stop mattering? * What does it mean when a movement starts "trashing" its own leaders? Reading list: Who You Know Versus Who You Represent: Feminist Influence in the Democratic and Republican Parties The Political Culture of the Democratic and Republican Parties Why Republican Party Leaders Matter More Than Democratic Ones (by Tanner Greer) Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood The Tyranny of Structurelessness

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