Norman Ornstein

Biography

Norman Jay Ornstein was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on October 14, 1948. His father was a traveling salesman, and the family spent much of Norman's childhood in Canada. He was a child prodigy, graduating from high school when he was fourteen and from college when he was eighteen. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota, and subsequently, received a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan in 1974. By the mid-1970s, he had become a professor of political science at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and was establishing a reputation as an expert on the United States Congress.

Ornstein studies American politics and is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and many magazines, such as The Atlantic and the National Journal. He wrote a weekly column for Roll Call from 1993 until April 10, 2013, and was co-director, with Thomas E. Mann, of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project. He helped draft key parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act. Ornstein is a registered Democrat but considers himself a centrist and has voted for individuals from both parties.

Ornstein is a member of the advisory board of the Future of American Democracy Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation in partnership with Yale University Press and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies "dedicated to research and education aimed at renewing and sustaining the historic vision of American democracy". He also served on the advisory board of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School. Ornstein is also a member of the board of directors of the nonpartisan election reform group Why Tuesday? He is on the advisory council of the cross-partisan grassroots campaign Represent.Us, where he served as a consultant in the crafting of the American Anti-Corruption Act.

Foreign Policy named Ornstein, together with Thomas E. Mann, one of its 2012 Top 100 Global Thinkers "for diagnosing America's political dysfunction".

As of 2013, Ornstein has become known for "blistering critiques of Congress", which he has been following for the past three decades.

He opposed President Donald Trump. He also criticized the Electoral College, saying that the more that presidents are elected without the popular vote, "the more you get the sense that voters don’t have a say in the choice of their leaders".

Personal

Ornstein is married to Judith L. Harris, a litigation attorney specializing in regulatory matters. He is a longtime friend of former U.S. senator and comedian Al Franken.

Ornstein and his wife, as well as their younger son, Danny, established the Matthew Harris Ornstein Memorial Foundation in memory of the couple's elder son, who died in 2015 at age 34 from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

Works

References

References

1. (2017). "Norm Ornstein". St. Louis Park Historical Society.
2. (April 2, 2015). "Ornstein, Norman J.". [[Library of Congress]].
3. Steven Waldman. "The King of Quotes." Washington Monthly, December 1986, p. 35.
4. (November 17, 2008). "Pitt's Honors College to Host Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein". [[University of Pittsburgh]].
5. Steve Goldberg. "Dr. Quote Can Be a Reporter's Best Friend." Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, December 5, 1986, p. A-14.
6. Thomas Southwick. "O'Neill's Role as House Speaker." Nashua (NH) Telegraph, January 3, 1977, p. 14.
7. Coleman, Michael. (November 29, 2013). "Scholar Pins Congressional Dysfunction Squarely on GOP". [[Washington Diplomat]].
8. Richey, Warren. (December 11, 2003). "Court Upholds 'Soft Money' Ban". [[The Christian Science Monitor]].
9. (December 2, 2017). "How the Republicans Broke Congress". [[The New York Times]].
10. Ornstein, Norman. (September 10, 2007). "My Neocon Problem".
11. {{usurped
12. [http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/SeriesPage.asp?series=127 The Future of American Democracy Series]
13. "Advisory Board". [[Institute for Law and Politics]].
14. (2017). "About Us: Advisory Council". [[Represent.Us]].
15. (26 November 2012). "The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers". Foreign Policy.
16. (March 1, 2014). "The Dying Art of Legislating". The New York Times.
17. Brewer, Katherine. (October 12, 2017). "What Happens After Trump?". [[WBUR-FM.
18. (6 November 2020). "The Electoral College Is Close. The Popular Vote Isn't.". The New York Times.
19. O'Rourke, P. J.. (February 14, 1999). "If Elected, I Will Not Serve for Long (Book review)". The New York Times.
20. "The Matthew Harris Ornstein Memorial Foundation".
21. Norman J. Ornstein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/opinion/how-to-help-save-the-mentally-ill-from-themselves.html How to Help Save the Mentally Ill From Themselves], ''New York Times'' (November 17, 2015).
22. Rosa Caragena, [https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/04/30/the-deeply-personal-story-behind-the-pbs-documentary-the-definition-of-insanity/ The Deeply Personal Story Behind the PBS Documentary "The Definition of Insanity": Norm Ornstein and Judy Harris have their own tragic connection to mental illness.], ''Washingtonian'' (April 30, 2020).