State Politics and Policy

Grossmann, p. 9: "Republicans, as the more nationalized of the two major American parties, had developed mature institutions – such as think tanks, state legislator associations, and grassroots networks -- to promote conservative goals."

Hertel-Fernandez & Skocpol

Across much of America, conservatives can mount powerful state legislative campaigns through three well-funded networks that operate as complements to one another. Think tanks affiliated with the State Policy Network (SPN) spew out studies and prepare op-eds and legislative testimony. Paid state directors and staffers installed by Americans for Prosperity (AFP)sponsor bus tours, convene rallies and public forums, run radio and television ads, send mailers, and spur activists to contact legislators. And inside the legislatures themselves, many representatives and senators, especially Republicans, are members of ALEC, which invites them to serve alongside business lobbyists and right-wing advocacy groups on national task forces that prepare “model” bills that the legislators can advance at the state and local level, with assistance from ALEC staffers.

AND THE IRON LAW OF EMULATION CONTINUES...

Tom Steyer and The State Innovation Exchange 

The Troika:

• State Policy Network
• Americans for Prosperity
• ALEC 

The Policy:

• Model Legislation
• Liberals, not so much.

State polarization (update from p. 46 of Grossmann)

The obstacles:

• Path dependence, or as Robert Frost wrote, "way leads on to way."
• Retrenchment is harder than enactment.
• Feds encourage growth of state government.
• Courts may hinder activism.
• MARC:  Americans are ideologically conservative and operationally liberal.  See earlier post on coronavirus