Fixing institutions turns out to be easier than fixing people.
If Washington looked more like New Hampshire — with its diner politics, ubiquitous town meetings and almost comically large state legislature — the proposal went, government might become a lot less dysfunctional.
spent millions of dollars on an unsuccessful crusade to shrink the size of California legislative districtsBut Cox and Halperin are hardly the only people thinking about government reform these days, especially after the chaos surrounding the House’s inability for weeks this fall to seat a speaker. For all the buffeting of American politics, and in large part because of it, the country is also whipping up a tornado of ideas — and many fantasies — about how to make it better.
Left: Chuck Grassie, a Democratic lawmaker from Rochester, is among those eating hamburgers and hot dogs in front of the Statehouse. Right: Tommy Hoyt, a Democratic lawmaker from Rochester who made the New York Post when he told a parent to “shut up” earlier this year. The case that Halperin and Cox were making was that government would be more relatable if it weren’t so distant. But the experience in New Hampshire invites the question of relatable to what. Legislators are paid just $200 per term, which helps ensure they keep their day jobs and connections to their communities. But also, “you get what you pay for,” Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general and former Republican national committeeman from the state, told me.
Jay Surdukowski in his backyard with his dog. “Any horrible thing you can think of has probably happened in the New Hampshire House,” Surdkowski said. In a Pew Research Center study earlier this year, just 4 percent of U.S. adults said the political system works extremely well, while more than 60 percent expressed little or no confidence in it.. Ranked-choice voting, which is meant to reward less partisan, less polarizing candidates, is in use in Alaska and Maine and inEarlier this year, two Democratic representatives, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Sean Casten of Illinois, introduced separate bills to expand the size of Congress.
Arnie Arnesen, a liberal radio host and former New Hampshire state legislator, says “The problem is us.” Legislators in New Hampshire are paid just $200 per term, which helps ensure they keep their day jobs and connections to their communities. “Give me a second,” he replied, holding up a telephoto lens. “Hopefully he’s wearing his name tag today.”
Left: Terry Roy, a Republican representative from Deerfield, says fringe elements typically “are not enough to swing” the New Hampshire legislature either way. Right: Tom Rath, former N.H. attorney general and Republican national committeeman, says “the issues here are … not defined as much in partisan terms as they are at the national level.”
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