On content, I really like this section. I feel it’s a concept (setting agendas) that is often either ignored or only mentioned as a partisan issue. Your observation that this agenda setting is bipartisan is important. We often see agenda setting as a purely partisan endeavor to not only set the window of things to do, but to maintain power. But all of that pretext goes away when giving money to military contractors, corporations and billionaires. But as you say, it’s the system of elections that drives the behavior of lawmakers. For a two-year term that requires loads of campaign cash, it’s almost impossible to get any policy work done that doesn’t directly affect that cash flow.
First a trifling grammar comment. In the paragraph that starts “As a third-party legislator...”, the comma after “Vermont” shouldn’t be there.
On content, I really like this section. I feel it’s a concept (setting agendas) that is often either ignored or only mentioned as a partisan issue. Your observation that this agenda setting is bipartisan is important. We often see agenda setting as a purely partisan endeavor to not only set the window of things to do, but to maintain power. But all of that pretext goes away when giving money to military contractors, corporations and billionaires. But as you say, it’s the system of elections that drives the behavior of lawmakers. For a two-year term that requires loads of campaign cash, it’s almost impossible to get any policy work done that doesn’t directly affect that cash flow.