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Kevin R Kosar
Kevin R Kosar

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Nov 28, 2022

Can the House Freedom Caucus Revive the “People’s House”?

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the Speaker in waiting, reportedly has promised to shift some power over policymaking back to committees. This is good to hear. The history of the House of Representatives over the past 50 years is a story of power flowing upward to the Speaker. As Don Wolfensberger…

Congress

2 min read

Can the House Freedom Caucus Revive the “People’s House”?
Can the House Freedom Caucus Revive the “People’s House”?
Congress

2 min read


Nov 10, 2022

Remarks on elections and federalism as a double-edged sword

Arizona State University’s Center for Constitutional Design invited me to speak on a panel on this topic. I riffed on Prof. …

Conference

8 min read

Remarks on elections and federalism as a double-edged sword
Remarks on elections and federalism as a double-edged sword
Conference

8 min read


Nov 9, 2022

Panel discussion on the Electoral Count Act and election reform generally

The Cato Institute’s Sphere Initiative invited me to join a Zoom panel discussion on November 1, 2022. It was fun — -the audience was civics and social studies teachers. You may watch the video at https://www.cato.org/sphere/election-reform-midterm-election.

Conference

1 min read

Panel discussion on the Electoral Count Act and election reform generally
Panel discussion on the Electoral Count Act and election reform generally
Conference

1 min read


Nov 2, 2022

How Did James Madison Think About Congressional Elections? A Q&A with Jay Cost

The significance of James Madison’s contributions to creating our representative democracy cannot be overstated. He saw the troubles of the first union as a member of the Congress of the Confederation. He was a major player at the Constitutional Convention, and wrote the Federalist Papers to get the new federal charter ratified. Subsequently, Madison helped get the new government up and running by serving in the House of Representatives in the First and Second Congresses. Later, he twice was elected president.

Congress

1 min read

How Did James Madison Think About Congressional Elections? A Q&A with Jay Cost
How Did James Madison Think About Congressional Elections? A Q&A with Jay Cost
Congress

1 min read


Nov 2, 2022

America’s fiscal stewards have left their stations

The good news is that Congress avoided a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution the other week, which President Joe Biden signed. …

Congress

1 min read

America’s fiscal stewards have left their stations
America’s fiscal stewards have left their stations
Congress

1 min read


Nov 2, 2022

To win more seats in Congress, the GOP must rethink primaries

Almost inevitably, the president’s party loses congressional seats during a midterm. Between 1934 and 2018, there were 22 of these elections and the incumbent party shed House seats in 19 of the 22 and Senate seats in 16 of them. The average loss per chamber was 28 in the House and 4 in the Senate. All of this should have the Democrats in utter panic. Democrats have incredibly slim majorities today: eight in the House and one in the Senate (if you count Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker). Their president and party leader, Joe Biden, has a high disapproval rating — 53 percent, far worse than Barack Obama had in 2010 when voters threw out 63 members of Team Donkey…. (Read more)

Congress

1 min read

To win more seats in Congress, the GOP must rethink primaries
To win more seats in Congress, the GOP must rethink primaries
Congress

1 min read


Jun 1, 2022

Why more Americans should visit the offices of members of Congress

Recently, I conducted an informal survey. I asked 10 friends and professional colleagues whether they had ever visited the office of their member of Congress. Not a single one of them had. I was not surprised: Until I went to work for Congress in my early 30s, I had not visited a legislator or his staff. Despite being a student of politics, despite the fact that representatives and senators have district and home state offices within reach. It simply had never occurred to me to approach the people I had voted for or against and share my views…. (Read more)

Aei Blog

1 min read

Why more Americans should visit the offices of members of Congress
Why more Americans should visit the offices of members of Congress
Aei Blog

1 min read


Mar 27, 2022

A democratic norm endures January 6th: Congress and deference to states’ election certifications

The siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the effort to subvert the counting of all states’ lawfully submitted electoral slates appeared to validate the narrative of democracy’s impending demise. The incident sent shock waves through all three branches of government, and the day will live in infamy. Yet, for all the awfulness of January 6th, the day ended positively: The democratic norm of Congress respecting states’ certified elections endured. Remarkably, this norm of deference was subsequently upheld a few months later when the House of Representatives chose to let the result of a disputed Iowa election stand, despite an obvious partisan incentive to overrule it….

1 min read

A democratic norm endures January 6th: Congress and deference to states’ election certifications
A democratic norm endures January 6th: Congress and deference to states’ election certifications

1 min read


Jan 14, 2022

‘First Class’ Review: Undeliverable Objectives

In 2021 the United States Postal Service booked a $4.9 billion net loss. The USPS also reports that it has more than $120 billion in unfunded liabilities in pensions, retiree health benefits and other debts. To conserve cash, the agency has quit making payments on some of these obligations, and its perennial deficits likely portend a default…. (Read more)

Wall Street Journal

1 min read

Wall Street Journal

1 min read


Feb 22, 2021

The return of earmarks: A Q&A on what’s happening and what to expect

Various reports indicate that congressional Democrats intend to bring back earmarks. Politico quoted Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as saying they will return, and that House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro “is working through the details of a reformed process.” This news is not a bolt out of the blue. Last week, an AEI report by Professor Zachary Courser of Claremont McKenna College and I noted that talk of reviving earmarks has been percolating for years. Many legislators lamented losing the ability to fix crumbling roads and renovate public parks in their home districts. Our study found legislative gridlock rose after the earmark moratorium….(Read more)

Aei Blog

1 min read

The return of earmarks: A Q&A on what’s happening and what to expect
The return of earmarks: A Q&A on what’s happening and what to expect
Aei Blog

1 min read

Kevin R Kosar

Kevin R Kosar

538 Followers

Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC. My books: Congress Overwhelmed (2020) and… See http://kevinrkosar.com

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