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What Happened to the Vital Center? Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America Nicholas Jacobs full chapter instant download
What Happened to the Vital Center? Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America Nicholas Jacobs full chapter instant download
What Happened to the Vital Center? Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America Nicholas Jacobs full chapter instant download
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What Happened to the Vital Center?
What Happened to the
Vital Center?
Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the
Fracturing of America
N IC HO L A S F. JAC O B S A N D SI D N EY M . M I L K I S
1
3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197603512.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
Contents
Preface vii
Notes 295
Index 341
Preface
concern that the basic institutions and principles of liberal democracy are
under assault.”15 Bringing to mind the refrain, attributed to Mark Twain,
that “history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme,” there is deep theo-
retical agreement between the Galston-Kristol “new center,” predicated on
“Opportunity, Security, Accountability, and Ingenuity,” and Schlesinger’s
more than 60-year-old rendition of the vital center.16 Like Galston and
Kristol, we believe that some essential element of our politics has gone awry.
But unlike these public intellectuals and the many others who are attempting
to renew American democracy—and for that matter, Schlesinger—we argue
that the maladies that fracture the nation and weaken national resolve are
badly aggravated, if not caused by, the decline of America’s two-party system.
Our central argument is that party politics can help produce an energetic
democratic politics that nourishes the vital center. We defend this by detailing
the collapse of the American party system during the last 50 years, which
once sustained the New Deal political order. The vitality of both political
parties and the party structure as a whole have a fundamental bearing on the
type of politics we can practice in the United States. To the extent that many
believe there is no principled alternative to the intransigent calls of the far
left and the far right, we suggest that such a resolution will be born, not from
a soulless splitting of the differences between Democrats and Republicans,
but rather from the spirited debate between competing party organiza-
tions. Robust party institutions, properly structured, have, and can again,
give forceful, but responsible, animation to the country’s inevitable political
disagreements. Robust parties can encourage candidates running for state
and national office to build geographically vast and inclusive coalitions—a
necessary ingredient to ensure that all communities are included in the con-
versation. Robust parties require diffuse leadership; when power is shared by
multiple officials within an organization, parties maintain a sense of a col-
lective past and a shared future—both within the halls of Washington and
among the public. Finally, robust parties nourish responsible, meaningful,
and fulfilling citizen engagement.17
To be sure, party organizations have not always provided a salutary check
on populist movements; this book does not argue for a return to some golden
age of party politics. Sometimes, as during the Civil War, social movements
have arisen that raise such fundamental grievances, and seek to resolve these
injustices with such dedicated attention to institutional reform, that the party
system has been rightfully remade. We reference the Republican Party—an
insurgent third party—that arose amid the conflagration over slavery, as a
Populism and American Democracy 7
party that gave effect to, rather than “stabilized” the timeless struggle over
America’s original sin. We are also deeply attentive to the Democratic Party’s
“Faustian Bargain” with segregationists, which made it a particularly “effec-
tive” institution for blunting the long civil rights movement and maintaining
the status quo. These struggles over national identity, in particular, have
resulted in heated party contests—reckonings—that cannot be resolved by
party organizations alone.
One chief aim of our book, however, is to distinguish this variant of move-
ment politics, which has animated democracy in the United States, from the
anti-institutionalist strain of protest that diminishes the vital center. There
must be a role for the average citizen, and the traditional form of party or-
ganization in American political development has not always encour-
aged active participation. But far from the movement-style politicking that
advantages those voices at the extremes of society—be they intellectual elites
or those who outwardly disdain liberal values—party leaders can bring more
voices into politics, so long as they have the financial capacity and personnel
to, at the same time, remove themselves from all the shouting. Politicians
must be able to respond to public demands but also to broker compromise,
practice cooperation, and cope with inevitable disagreement in society. In
short, a reconstituted partisanship—bounded by the renewal of party organ-
izations—can in fact serve as a safeguard against current and future populist
challenges to constitutional government.
Aside from a relatively small circle of scholars with an uncommon appre-
ciation of institutions, few believe a strengthened party system is the solu-
tion to raw and disruptive partisanship.18 Most scholars warn that parties
have become too strong in the 21st century. Yet, as Daniel Schlozman and
Sam Rosenfeld have argued, our polarized age is one of partisan revival
within a “hollow” party system. In the mass electorate, “party identification
predicts voting behavior better than any time since the dawn of polling.” In
government, “interparty antagonism and intraparty discipline have reached
unprecedented levels.” And yet, they point out, “parties do not feel strong.”
Aside from raising money and offering voters helpful labels on Election Day,
party organizations seem inadequate to the tasks of building enduring and
stable coalitions and providing a vital connection between the electorate and
representatives.19 We share the view of Schlozman and Rosenfeld that the
solution to the puzzle of weak parties and heightened partisanship is the de-
cline of party organizations. Vital party organizations, in fact, have histori-
cally mediated populist demands and moderated party conflict. Strong party
8 What Happened to the Vital Center?
Muirhead have argued, parties dominated by combatants who not only disa-
gree on principle and policy but also consider their opponents enemies have
become unable to enforce “the discipline of regulated rivalry.”23
Parties have at various moments in American history fostered debate and
nurtured resolution. However, since the 1960s, Democrats and Republicans
have methodically chipped away at the norms, rules, and procedures that
sustain them as collective organizations with a past and a future, giving
rise to what we call “executive-centered partisanship.”24 Both Democrats
and Republicans have adopted a faith in presidential power, which, while
promising to fulfill important party commitments, has in actuality sapped
both parties of their collective strength. It subjects partisans to the periodic
machinations of a single leader, ordained by a minority faction within each
party, who commands loyalty, not as a consensus builder but as the vanguard
of partisan objectives.
Executive-centered partisanship sits at the crosscurrents of two related
phenomena in American political development, which are largely untethered
to contemporary policy debates between the left and right. First, the form of
party contestation we must now contend with is a consequence of organiza-
tional and electoral reforms that both the Democratic and Republican parties
embraced throughout the 20th century, undergirded by common pressures
to democratize party life. These populist incursions culminated with the
McGovern-Fraser reforms, which established a system of open causes and
direct primaries by the early 1970s. Both parties altered the rules governing
the presidential selection process with the intention of giving more power to
“the people” in selecting candidates for office and in determining party prior-
ities. However, the effect of these reforms did not empower the median voter,
the average American, the vital center. Rather, the weakening of traditional
party organizations enhanced the influence of donors, interest groups, and
social activists who scorned the pragmatic politics and compromises hith-
erto credited with forging majority coalitions.25
The institutional consequences of those reforms were enhanced by a
second development: the creation of the Executive Office of the President,
comprising the White House Office (the West Wing) and important staff
agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget. Formed during the
New Deal pursuant to the 1939 Executive Reorganization Act—the organic
statute of the modern presidency—the White House grew in size and power
during the 1960s. The forging of an elaborate executive office has allowed the
White House to form alliances with activists and outside groups who disdain
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under lock and key. Alternate sections are assigned to a class to avoid congestion
and confusion.
The cost of the building several years ago was $3,500. Local carpenters built the
demonstration theater, lumber rack, cabinets, etc. The demonstration bench cost
$27; the stain and glue tables approximately $4.50 per running foot; and the
cabinets for unfinished work $12 per section.
INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT.
Bench, open frame without drawer, glued up top 23 in. by 52 in. $ 10.00
tool rack, rapid-acting vise, approximate cost
Jack-plane, Stanley or Bailey No. 5, each 2.09
Wooden mallet, Stanley No. 1 .13
Rule, Stanley No. 34 .17
Hammer, Maydole bell-faced claw, 13 oz. .50
Wing Dividers, P. S. W., 6″ .23
Chisels, socket firmer, Buck Bros., 3⁄8″ and 3⁄4″ both .83
Marking-gage, Stanley No. 62 .12
Try-square, Stanley No. 20, 6″ .21
Saw, Bishop Handy Saw, 12″, No. 9 .75
Swedish Sloyd Knife No. 7 .40
Bench Brush, No. 2A, Orr & Lockett .30
Bench-Hook .25
Chisel-Board .00
Total $ 5.89
SUMMARY.
24 Benches, @ $10.00 $240.00
1 Demonstration Bench 27.00
25 Sets of Tools, @ $5.89 147.25
General Tools 108.83
List price $523.08
INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT.
Drawing-boards, 16″ × 22″, basswood, each $ .70
T-squares, 22″, plain blade, fixed head, each .20
45° Triangle, 8″ each .16
30°-60° Triangle, 10″, each .15
Desk Stool, 24″, rubber tipped, each 1.25
Total
$ 2.46
Total for 25 sets, less 10%
$55.45
This list presupposes that the mortising of the first year will be
done by chisel alone, no boring. If mortises are to be bored first, it
will be advisable to equip each bench with a Barber’s 8″ ball bearing
brace, cost $1.45.
In addition to the general tools specified for the grammar school,
make the following changes and additions:
GENERAL TOOLS.
MACHINERY.
Tables have much to commend them over the pedestal. They are
easily swept around and keep a room looking orderly. Fig. 12 shows
a type of table that is commendable. On the left are drawers for
keeping the students’ instruments. On the right is a drawer for
keeping general equipment that is used by the boys in common.
Below this drawer is the cabinet for holding the drawing-boards.
These boards are so locked that only the board belonging to the boy
with the key can be released. Such a table with a top 24″ by 48″ and
41″ high will cost $30, list price. Estimate for individual equipment will
be as follows:
TABLE EQUIPMENT .
1 Table $30.00
1 Stool 3.50
5 Boards, of size to fit cabinet, @ $1.50 7.50
5 Sets Instruments, German Silver, @ $5.00 25.00
1 Scale, @ 38c .38
1 T-square, 24″, celluloid lined 1.50
1 45° Triangle, 8″, celluloid .48
1 30°-60° Triangle, 10″, celluloid .48
1 French Curve, .20
1 Bottle Ink .25
Total
$69.29
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT.
Sheets Paper.
Heavy Manilla Envelope for holding drawings.
Thumbtacks.
Eraser.
Pencil, hard, 4H.
Pencil, soft, H.
GENERAL EQUIPMENT.
1 Roll Blueprint Paper, (not to be purchased until ready to be used).
1 Blueprinting Frame, 18″ by 24″.
1 Roll Tracing Cloth.
Blackboard Triangles, Straight-edge, Compass.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 1.
Introductory Talk—
The purpose of manual training.
Explanation of signal bells—beginning, five minute rest, closing.
Regulations concerning drinking fount, lavatory, toilet.
Responsibility for tools; care of bench top.
Shop deportment. To and from shop.
Ownership of finished work.
Preparation for Demonstration; Assignment for Lesson 2—
Essentials of Woodworking, Appendix III, Sections 1 and 4.
Demonstration—
The essential points in making Introductory Drawing.
Instruments, lines, angles, lettering.
Sharpening pencil—sandpaper.
Work—
All pupils begin Introductory Drawing.
Note:—Copies of drawings from which pupils are to work should
be in the hands of the pupils while demonstration is being given.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 2.
Recitation—
Working vs. perspective drawings?
Drawing instruments (T-square, etc.) How held?
Kind of lines (vertical, oblique, etc.) How drawn?
Angle defined. How measured? Does extending the sides change the value?
The angles of the triangles? How avoid inaccuracies at the vertex in drawing?
How many degrees in a circle? In the sum of the angles about a point?
How would you draw an angle of 75 degrees?
The order of procedure in putting on border and cutting lines?
Why have a cutting line?
Letters and figures, how proportioned? (Test pupils at black board.)
After the proportions are once learned, how lay out for lettering?
Preparation for Demonstration; Assignment for Lesson 3—
Essentials, Appendix III, Sections 2 (relating to scale), 3, and 6.
Demonstration—
The essential points in making Drawing for Woodwork Group I. (Cutting-
board.)
Order of procedure; scale; blocking out; placing and spacing views; simple
dimensioning.
Work—
Complete Introductory Drawing.
Make drawing for Woodwork Group I.
Rapid workers measure, draw, and dimension three views from a rectangular
block. (Blocks used in the study of woods.)
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 3.
Recitation—
Scale? Figures on the drawing vs. size of the drawing.
Projection and relation of views—The four principles developed.
Order of procedure—Determining the size and spacing; blocking out vertically;
horizontally; dimensioning; lettering; inking; if not to be inked?
Preparation for Demonstration; Assignment for Lesson 4—
Essentials, Appendix III, Section 2. (That part relating to lines, etc.)
Demonstration—
The essential points in making Drawing for Woodwork Group II.
(Counting-board, key-rack, hat-rack.)
Foreshortening.
Work—
Complete drawing for Woodwork Group I.
Make drawing for Woodwork Group II. Counting-board.
Rapid workers make another drawing in Group II.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 4.
Recitation—
The conventions—Seven kinds of lines—how made and their meanings?
What part of a mechanical drawing is made freehand?
A broken view? Why used?
Section drawing? Cross-hatching?
Preparation for Demonstration; Assignment for Lesson 5—
Essentials, Appendix III, Section 5.
Demonstration—
The essential points in making Geometric Sheet.
Circles.
Work—
Make the geometric drawing first.
Complete unfinished drawings for Woodwork Group II.
Rapid workers make other drawings for this latter group.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 5.
Recitation—
The hexagon? How made?
The six point star?
The octagon?
The ellipse?
Assignment for Lesson 6—
Review Essentials, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in Appendix III.
Demonstration—
The essential points in making drawings for Woodwork Group III. (Ring toss,
game-board, laundry-register, spool-holder.)
Hidden edges.
Work—
Complete drawings for Woodwork Group II.
Make drawings for Woodwork Group III.
Rapid workers make other drawings in Group III.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 6.
Recitation—
Perspective vs. working drawing?
Instruments, their uses?
Scale drawing?
Seven kinds of lines? Their meanings?
The freehand part of a mechanical drawing?
Broken view?
Cross-section? Cross-hatching?
Four principles of projection?
Spacings of letters and figures?
Hexagon? Octagon? Six point star? Ellipse?
Order of procedure in making mechanical drawing?
Assignment for Lesson 7—
Essentials, Introduction, and Section 25.
Demonstration—
The essential points in making drawings for Woodwork Group IV. (Sleeve-
board, bread-board, cake-board, scouring-board, coat-hanger.)
Center and section lines, cross-sections, tangents, points of tangency,
dimensioning circles.
Work—
Complete drawings for Woodwork Group III.
Make drawings for Woodwork Group IV.
Rapid workers make other drawings in Group IV.
GRADE VII.
(Mechanical Drawing)
Lesson 7.
Recitation—
Sharp, clean tools, why?
Care of bench top?
Care of tools not in immediate use?
Some of the more important results in manual training?
Take a rectangular block and name the terms used, length, etc.
Grain? “Against the grain?”