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- Government cannot govern unless political machines or something like them exist and work<\/strong>, because machines are uniquely willing and able to negotiate compromises and make them stick.<\/li>\n
- Progressive, populist, and libertarian reformers have joined forces to wage a decades-long war against machine politics<\/strong> by weakening political insiders\u2019 control of money, nominations, negotiations, and other essential tools of political leadership.<\/li>\n
- Reforms\u2019 fixations on corruption and participation, although perhaps appropriate a long time ago, have become destabilizing and counterproductive<\/strong>, contributing to the rise of privatized pseudo-machines that make governing more difficult and politics less accountable.<\/li>\n
- Although no one wants to or could bring back the likes of Tammany Hall, much can be done to restore a more sensible balance<\/strong> by removing impediments which reforms have placed in the way of transactional politics and machine-building.<\/li>\n
- Political realism, while coming in many flavors, is emerging as a coherent school of analysis<\/strong> and offers new directions for a reform conversation which has run aground on outdated and unrealistic assumptions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Rauch also explores possible realist solutions, such changes to campaign finance laws, congressional earmarks, primary elections, and transparency rules.<\/p>\n
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- Progressive, populist, and libertarian reformers have joined forces to wage a decades-long war against machine politics<\/strong> by weakening political insiders\u2019 control of money, nominations, negotiations, and other essential tools of political leadership.<\/li>\n