Matters of Policy & Politics

A California governor faces a recall election later this year and among the challengers: a Hollywood celebrity with a Republican pedigree. Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento-based political strategist and co-communicator for the global story that was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 recall run, explains how the California political landscape has changed in the years since the rise of the “Governator” and whether Caitlyn Jenner or some other recall challenger has what it takes to “terminate” Gavin Newsom.

Has the past year of pandemic, virtual-learning and a sluggish re-opening of public schools changed America’s education debate as well as parental attitudes toward alternate forms of instruction? Paul Peterson, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard, discusses COVID’s impact on the nation’s charter-school and school-choice movements and the clout of teacher unions.    

President Biden polls consistently, but not spectacularly, as Republican's struggle to counter the Democratic message of “go big.” David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, assess the “less is more” communications approach of the new White House and whether Democrats run the risk of a backlash in the 2022 midterm elections if they over-reach on hot-button issues such as immigration, gun control, voting rights and packing the Supreme Court. 

Eight years ago, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wrote a book, Immigration Wars: Forging An American Solution, offering a practical, nonpartisan approach to solving one of America’s most divisive matters – only to see a window for reform in Washington quickly close. The co-author of that book, Hoover fellow and Arizona Supreme Court associate justice Clint Bolick, explains why immigration reform remains elusive and what fixes are most sensible.

New economic numbers show California’s unemployment improving but still well above the national average as the Golden State wrestles with its seemingly intractable woes – homelessness, unaffordable housing, educational inequality, etc. Lee Ohanian, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and weekly contributor to Hoover’s “California On Your Mind” web channel, explores what lies ahead for America’s most populous state, including an economic surge and a possible gubernatorial recall election this fall.  

As liberal historians urge President Biden to “go big,” will any new policy shifts have the same lasting effect as the New Deal? Richard Epstein, the Hoover Institution’s Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow, discusses the similarities and differences between what Franklin Roosevelt set in motion in the 1930’s and what the Biden Administration is pursuing at present. 

President Biden’s choice for Interior Secretary, former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, made history as the first Native American to hold a federal cabinet post. She’s also an outspoken critic of fossil fuels and fracking – a departure from past Interior picks. Terry Anderson, the Hoover Institution’s John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow and a proponent of “free market environmentalism,” discusses the potential impact on federal land management, what Haaland could do for her fellow Native Americans in terms of self-reliance, and previews his upcoming book on climate change.

A federal COVID relief package that dictates how states can spend grant money, a federal election reform bill that likewise imposes restrictions on state governments, plus talk of killing  the Senate filibuster all lead to one question: are such actions constitutional and what did the Founding Fathers envision? John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, analyzes the legality of the latest legislation from Congress plus the Supreme Court’s legacy after denying the last of the Trump election challenges.

The first Californian to hold national office since Ronald Reagan also made history as America’s first female and biracial vice president. Journalist Dan Morain, author of Kamala’s Way: An American Life, discusses Vice President Harris’ climb up California’s political ladder to Joe Biden’s running mate, in theory, first in line for the Democratic nomination should Biden not seek re-election in 2024.

Two elections this year and next will underscore Europe’s political shift – Germany choosing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s successor, France possibly giving Emmanuel Macron a second presidential term. Hoover Institution senior fellow Russell Berman examines the two leaders’ political fortunes, how COVID and the cancel culture have affected both nations’ characters, as well as the state of the transatlantic alliance given a new American president.