The Hoover Institution hosted "Political Parties in America: Trends and Truths in the Trump Era" on Monday, June 19, 2017 from 2:00pm - 7:00pm EST.
What is the state of America's political parties today? And what does the current turmoil reveal - or obscure - about the fundamental nature of party and faction in America?
In 2015 and 2016, Donald Trump waged an outsider's campaign that won the Republican Party and then the White House, while in the Democratic Party another outsider, Bernie Sanders, won more than 40 percent of the party's popular vote against Hillary Clinton.
Months later, as President Trump leads Republicans from the White House while Democrats regroup for 2018 and 2020, we ask: what is the state of political parties in America today? Are the parties due for a radical realignment? In a time of Twitter and Super PACs, are they simply antiquated and reaching a point of exhaustion? Or do recent events reflect just one more chapter in the two-century history of American party politics?
To discuss these questions, the Hoover Institution and the Foundation for Constitutional Government are pleased to invite you to a conference at the Hoover Institution's Johnson Center in Washington, D.C., for expert discussions on the state of the Republican and Democratic Parties, and on the nature of political parties in America.
All panels will be moderated by Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard Editor at Large
2:00 - 2:05pm
Welcome and Introduction
2:05 - 3:20pm
The Republican Party Today
Spencer Abraham, Former U.S. Senator & Secretary of Energy
Jeff Bell, Political Strategist, Author, and former Speechwriter for President Reagan
3:20 - 3:30pm
Break
3:30 - 4:45pm
The Democratic Party Today
Doug Sosnik, Political Strategist & Former Counselor to President Clinton
Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund
4:45 - 5:00pm
Break
5:00 - 6:30pm
Party and Faction, In Principle and Practice
Harvey Mansfield, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow & Harvard University Professor of Government
Morris Fiorina, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow & Stanford University Professor of Political Science
James Ceaser, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow & University of Virginia Professor of Politics
6:30 - 7:00pm
Reception
