Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson used his mastery and knowledge of the US Congress and his command of the political process to garner bipartisan support for his “Great Society”, enacting some of the most significant legislation in modern history.
Now our political process is mired in partisan bickering, stalemates and government shutdowns. To investigate the causes and consequences of America’s partisan and political divide, the LBJ School of Public Affairs invites you to a lunch and afternoon panel discussions with elected officials and experts on modern political reform.
This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. Free parking is available on a first come, first served basis in Lot 38, the LBJ Library parking lot.
The afternoon will open with welcome remarks by LBJ School Professor Angela Evans, former Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service and director of the Policy Research Project Report “The Reclamation of the U.S. Congress.”
The Honorable Charlie Gonzalez and the Honorable Henry Bonilla of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Political Reform will speak about the Center’s recommendations for specific reforms to improve the political process during a luncheon event.
Eric S. Heberlig and Bruce A. Larson, authors of “Congressional Parties, Institutional Ambition, and the Financing of Majority Control”will discuss the competition for majority party control and the wide-reaching implications of this phenomenon in a 30-minute book talk.
The afternoon will conclude with a one-hour public forum with an open public Q&A with all of the panelists moderated by political scientist John C. Fortier.
This event is part of the LBJ School’s “50 for 50” initiative, a special series of 50 events for 50 years, exploring the critical civil rights issues of our time such as human rights and social justice and calling for a renewed effort to “get things done” in order to improve the lives of all citizens.