BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:In the aftermath of the 2012 election\, Thomas Mann will help us make sense of it all and discuss the book he co-authored with Norman Ornstein\, It&rsquo\;s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Const itutional System Collided with the New Politics of ExtremismAcrimony and hyperpartisanship have seeped into every part of the political process. Congress is deadlocked and its approval ratings are at record lows. Ame rica&rsquo\;s two main political parties have given up their traditions of compromise\, endangering our very system of constitutional democracy. And one of these parties has taken on the role of insurgent outlier\; t he Republicans have become ideologically extreme\, scornful of compromis e\, and ardently opposed to the established social and economic policy r egime.\nMann and Ornstein identify two overriding problems that have led Congress&mdash\;and the United States&mdash\;to the brink of institutio nal collapse. The first is the serious mismatch between our political pa rties\, which have become as vehemently adversarial as parliamentary par ties\, and a governing system that\, unlike a parliamentary democracy\, makes it extremely difficult for majorities to act. Second\, while both parties participate in tribal warfare\, both sides are not equally culpa ble. The political system faces what the authors call &ldquo\;asymmetric polarization\,&rdquo\; with the Republican Party implacably refusing to allow anything that might help the Democrats politically\, no matter th e cost.\nThomas E. Mann is the W. \;Averell Harriman Chair and senio r fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. Between 198 7 and 1999\, he was Director of Governmental Studies at Brookings. Befor e that\, Mann was executive director of the American Political Science A ssociation. URL:http://barrington.patch.com/events/pell-center-presents-its-even-wors e-than-it-looks-understanding-washington-and-the-election-results-0381c0 2d SUMMARY:Pell Center presents - It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: Understan ding Washington and the Election Results LOCATION:100 Ochre Point Ave\, Newport\, RI 02840: 100 Ochre Point Ave\, Newport\, RI END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR