Hofrenning talks Congressional politics on TPT’s ‘Almanac’
As Congress begins its August recess, St. Olaf College Professor of Political Science Dan Hofrenning participated in a panel discussion on the legislature’s accomplishments — or lack thereof — on TPT’s Almanac program.
Hofrenning notes that although political scientist David Mayhew made an interesting case for the productivity of a divided government, the 113th Congress certainly has not provided a supporting example.
“His argument was that periods of divided government were actually more productive than periods of unified government,” Hofrenning tells fellow panelists, noting that Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush all achieved accomplishments with the support of a Congress controlled by the opposing party. “It seems, though, that law of political action isn’t holding [with this Congress].”
Hofrenning also weighs in on the message and diversity of the national Republican party and local television news veteran Don Shelby’s possible run for Congress.