Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine   Engineer: Amy Browne Political Parties: Do They Still Matter? We talk about the state of the two party system, how recent trends have weakened the parties even as partisanship has grown, whether our political parties threaten our democracy or hold the main hope for its salvation. Guests: Professor Mark Brewer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/mark-brewer/ Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor to The Atlantic. www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/ To learn more about this topic: More professionalism, less populism, from the Brookings Institution How American Politics Went Insane, from The Atlantic How Trump is helping to save our democracy, from the Washington Post The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Starr Gilmartin Maggie Harling Linda Hoskins Ann Luthe