Skip to content
R Street InstituteR Street Institute
  • Research
    • All Research
    • Our Policy Areas
    • Policy Studies
    • Explainers
    • R Sheets
    • External Policy Studies
  • Commentary
    • All Commentary
    • Real Solutions Blog
    • Op-Eds
    • Podcasts
  • Outreach
    • All Outreach
    • Letters
    • Testimony
    • Regulatory Comments
    • Amicus Briefs
  • Events
  • Connect with R Street
  • Home
  • Our Issues

American Institutions Network

From 2019-2019, R Street’s American Institutions Network (AIN) focused on the protection of democratic norms and American institutions by fostering discussions, partnerships and action. A collaborative discussion group, AIN aimed to shift today’s policy discussions away from politically-charged headlines to focus on the underlying institutional and cultural shifts that are threatening America’s form of government. Our points of focus were:

 

Congress as the First Branch: Congress must provide a real check of power to the executive branch and assert its place as the “first branch”, ensuring that the executive operates within legal, ethical and statutory bounds. Congress must retain its ability to legislate through normal, established, and traditional legislative procedure and channels.

 

Professional, Honest Government Institutions: Government agencies must not be used to monitor, attack, or punish political opponents. Regulatory structures must be appropriate, unilateral, and long-term. Information that is being used to inform decision making must be reliable and accurate. Information provided by government officials should be honest and grounded in empirical fact.

 

An Independent Judiciary: America’s judicial branch must be respected as apolitical, including, but not limited to, rejecting outcome-based views of justice and politicization.

 

A Free Press: The press must be identified and seen as a viable check on political power rather than a political propaganda tool itself. It must be re-established as an institution of our republic.

 

Civil, Loyal Opposition: Political dialogue and debate are essential to America’s form of government. As such, mutual tolerance, the understanding that competing parties accept one another as legitimate, should be consistently practiced. Information that is released to the public and used in public discourse by our political leaders must be trusted as true and accurate. Additionally, forbearance, or the idea that election-winners exercise respectful and appropriate restraint when wielding power rather than treating politics as winner-take-all, is necessary for the continuation of national stability.

Filter Listing

Real Solutions American Institutions Network, Federal Government Affairs

Eight facts about the 116th Congress to ring in the last eight legislative days before August recess

Aubrey Neal July 15, 2019
News American Institutions Network, Democratic Institutions, Federal Government Affairs

President’s Tweets Count as Official Statements, Twitter Followers Get First Amendment Protections

Aubrey Neal July 10, 2019
Real Solutions American Institutions Network, Democratic Institutions, Federal Government Affairs

Is the Fourth of July really the Second?

Alex J. Pollock July 2, 2019
Real Solutions American Institutions Network, Democratic Institutions, Federal Government Affairs, South, State Policy

Texas Workforce Commission’s new regulation further weakens our democracy

Jesse Kelley, Aubrey Neal June 26, 2019
Op-Eds American Institutions Network, Democratic Institutions, Federal Government Affairs, Governance, Political Civility

Make America Diverse Again

James Wallner June 11, 2019 Law & Liberty
Op-Eds American Institutions Network, Federal Government Affairs, Governance

On Education, Sanders Is Saying the Quiet Part Loud. Very Loud.

Andy Smarick June 4, 2019 The Bulwark
Coalition Letters American Institutions Network, Democratic Institutions, Federal Government Affairs, Judicial Governance

R Street Heads Up Coalition Letter to 2020 Presidential Hopefuls on Court Packing

Aubrey Neal June 3, 2019
Op-Eds Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Policy, Democratic Institutions

Trump’s Defiance of the Rule of Law

Paul Rosenzweig June 3, 2019 The Atlantic
News American Institutions Network, Federal Government Affairs, Judicial Governance

Over 70 percent of young adults believe the Supreme Court is motivated by politics, not law

Aubrey Neal May 24, 2019
Real Solutions American Institutions Network, Federal Government Affairs, Governance, Judicial Governance

Congress and the Judiciary: The top 3 takeaways from a discussion on what the House and Senate can do to fix the courts

Aubrey Neal May 16, 2019

R Street Institute

1411 K Street N.W., Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20005

Media Inquiries: pr@rstreet.org

(202) 525-5717
feedback@rstreet.org

  • Link to Twitter
  • Link to Linkedin
  • Link to Youtube

Sections

  • Column 1
    • Research
    • Commentary
    • Outreach
    • Events
  • Column 2
    • About R Street
    • Employment
    • Support R Street
    • Connect with R Street

Subscribe

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest research and learn about upcoming events.

Explore:

  • Research
  • Commentary
  • Outreach
  • Events
  • Connect with R Street
  • Support R Street
  • Our Issues
    • Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
    • Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats
    • Energy and Environment
    • Federal Government Affairs
    • Finance and Trade
    • Governance
    • Harm Reduction
    • Insurance
    • Project for Women and Families
    • State Policy
    • Technology and Innovation
    • Our Organization
  • About R Street
    • Team
    • Employment
    • Media Relations
    • Projects
  • Support R Street
  • Connect with R Street
  • Link to Twitter
  • Link to Linkedin
  • Link to Youtube
  • Research
    • Research Overview
    • Policy Studies
    • Explainers
    • R Sheets
    • External Policy Studies
  • Commentary
    • Commentary Overview
    • Real Solutions Blog
    • Op-Eds
    • Podcasts
    • R Street Responds
  • Outreach
    • Outreach Overview
    • Letters
    • Testimony
    • Regulatory Comments
    • Amicus Briefs
    • Books
  • Events
  • Connect with R Street
  • About R Street
    • About R Street
    • Team
    • Federal & State Affairs
    • Media Relations
    • Projects
    • Employment
  • Support R Street
  • Our Issues
    • Issues Overview
    • Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties
    • Competition Policy
    • Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats
    • Energy and Environment
    • Federal Government Affairs
    • Finance and Trade
    • Governance
    • Harm Reduction
    • Insurance
    • State Policy
    • Technology and Innovation
  • Link to Twitter
  • Link to Linkedin
  • Link to Youtube