Noted Political Scholars Mann, Ornstein to Speak at Colorado State University

Two of the nation’s most respected congressional scholars will present “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: A Conversation with Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein” at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Colorado State University’s University Theater.

Mann and Ornstein, whose book “It’s Even Worse than it Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism” has been widely discussed since its release earlier this year, have lectured extensively in the United States and abroad. They have studied Congress and its inner workings within the U.S. political system for more than 40 years.

“We’re delighted that the nation’s top congressional scholars will be visiting CSU to discuss their book and the state of contemporary American politics,” said Bob Duffy, chair of CSU’s Department of History.

Mann, who lives in Bethesda, Md., is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institute. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who writes a weekly column, “Congress Inside out,” for Roll Call.

Mann and Ornstein, who pride themselves on a nonpartisan approach to political analysis, ignited a political firestorm earlier this year earlier this year with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, “Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem.” In the piece, they conclude “The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”

A very limited number of free tickets are available to the public for the event at CSU’s University Center of the Arts box office – in person at 1400 Remington St., via phone at (970) 491-2787 or online at CSUArtsTickets.com.
 

-30-