{{Short description|American political scientist}} {{distinguish|Norman Orenstein}} {{Use American English|date=October 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Norm Ornstein | image = Democratic Deterioration at Home and Abroad (26792010369) (cropped).jpg | birth_name = Norman Jay Ornstein | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|10|14}} | birth_place = Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = University of Minnesota (BA)<br>University of Michigan (MA, PhD) | spouse = Judith Harris | children = 2 | political_party = Democratic<ref name="GOPbroke"/> }} '''Norman Jay Ornstein''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɔr|n|s|t|iː|n}}; born October 14, 1948) is an American political scientist and an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington, D.C., conservative think tank. He is the co-author, with Thomas E. Mann, of ''It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism''.
== Biography == Norman Jay Ornstein was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slphistory.org/ornsteinnorm/ |work=St. Louis Park Historical Society |title=Norm Ornstein |date=2017 |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> on October 14, 1948.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ornstein, Norman J. |publisher=Library of Congress |work=Name Authority File |url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50002184.html |date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>Steven Waldman. "The King of Quotes." Washington Monthly, December 1986, p. 35.</ref> He received his BA from the University of Minnesota,<ref>{{cite web |title=Pitt's Honors College to Host Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein |date=November 17, 2008 |url=http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/pitts-honors-college-host-thomas-e-mann-and-norman-j-ornstein-discussion-2008-presidential-elec |work=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> and subsequently, received a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan in 1974.<ref>Steve Goldberg. "Dr. Quote Can Be a Reporter's Best Friend." Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, December 5, 1986, p. A-14.</ref> 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.<ref>Thomas Southwick. "O'Neill's Role as House Speaker." Nashua (NH) Telegraph, January 3, 1977, p. 14.</ref>
Ornstein studies American politics and is a frequent contributor to ''The Washington Post'' and many magazines, such as ''The Atlantic'' and the ''National Journal''.<ref name="washdiplo">{{cite web|last=Coleman|first=Michael|title=Scholar Pins Congressional Dysfunction Squarely on GOP|work=Washington Diplomat|access-date=December 21, 2013|date=November 29, 2013|url=https://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9789:scholar-pins-congressional-dysfunction-squarely-on-gop&catid=1511&Itemid=428}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1211/p01s01-usju.html |last=Richey |first=Warren |title=Court Upholds 'Soft Money' Ban |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=December 11, 2003 |access-date= March 11, 2011}}</ref> Ornstein is a registered Democrat<ref name="GOPbroke">{{cite web |first1=Thomas E. |last1=Mann |first2=Norman J. |last2=Ornstein |title=How the Republicans Broke Congress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/opinion/sunday/republicans-broke-congress-politics.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203045741/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/opinion/sunday/republicans-broke-congress-politics.html|archive-date=December 3, 2017|work=The New York Times |date=December 2, 2017 |access-date=December 3, 2017}}</ref> but considers himself a centrist and has voted for individuals from both parties.<ref name=neocon>{{cite magazine|last=Ornstein|first=Norman|title=My Neocon Problem|url=http://www.tnr.com/article/my-neocon-problem|access-date=May 25, 2011|magazine=The New Republic|date=September 10, 2007}}</ref>
Ornstein is a member of the advisory board of the Future of American Democracy Foundation,<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928022457/http://thefutureofamericandemocracyfoundation.org/index.html Future of American Democracy Foundation website]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/SeriesPage.asp?series=127 |title=The Future of American Democracy Series |access-date=January 20, 2007 |archive-date=October 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024195159/http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/SeriesPage.asp?Series=127 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also served on the advisory board of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School.<ref>{{cite web |title=Advisory Board |url=http://politics.law.umn.edu/advisory-board.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309051014/http://politics.law.umn.edu/advisory-board.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |work=Institute for Law and Politics |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us: Advisory Council |url=https://represent.us/about/ |work=Represent.Us |date=2017 |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,34 |title=The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers |date=26 November 2012 |work=Foreign Policy |access-date=November 28, 2012 |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130221322/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,33 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As of 2013, Ornstein has become known for "blistering critiques of Congress", which he has been following for the past three decades.<ref name="washdiplo"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/opinion/sunday/the-dying-art-of-legislating.html?hp&rref=opinion|title=The Dying Art of Legislating|work=The New York Times|date=March 1, 2014|access-date=March 2, 2014}}</ref>
He opposed President Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite web |first=Katherine |last=Brewer |title=What Happens After Trump? |url=http://www.wbur.org/freakout/2017/10/12/after-trump-norm-ornstein-bob-corker-huey-long |work=WBUR |date=October 12, 2017 |access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Astor |first1=Maggie |title=The Electoral College Is Close. The Popular Vote Isn't. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/popular-vote-electoral-college.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage |access-date=7 November 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=6 November 2020}}</ref>
==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.<ref name=neocon/> A fictional version of Ornstein appears in Franken's political spoof novel ''Why Not Me?'' as the campaign manager for Franken's improbable presidential run.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Rourke |first=P. J. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/02/14/reviews/990214.14orourt.html?_r=1 |title=If Elected, I Will Not Serve for Long (Book review) |work=The New York Times |date=February 14, 1999 |access-date=December 3, 2017}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mornstein.org/ |website=MHO Foundation |language=en |access-date=2020-04-14 |title=The Matthew Harris Ornstein Memorial Foundation}}</ref><ref>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).</ref><ref>Rosa Caragena, [https://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).</ref>
== Works == {{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?55212-1/debt-taxes ''Booknotes'' interview with Ornstein on ''Debt and Taxes'', March 13, 1994], C-SPAN| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?55212-1/debt-taxes Panel discussion on ''The Broken Branch'', July 12, 2006], C-SPAN| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?197868-3/civility-american-politics-part-3 Discussion with Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann on ''The Broken Branch'', April 30, 2007], C-SPAN| video4 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?297673-2/state-congress Interview with Ornstein and Mann on ''The Broken Branch'', January 27, 2011], C-SPAN| video5 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?305921-1/its-worse-looks Panel discussion with Ornstein and Mann on ''It's Even Worse Than It Looks'', May 9, 2012], C-SPAN| video6 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?306130-3/its-worse-looks ''Washington Journal'' interview with Ornstein and Mann on ''It's Even Worse Than It Looks'', May 23, 2012], C-SPAN| video7 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?436776-15/norman-ornstein-discusses-one-nation-trump Presentation by Ornstein on ''One Nation After Trump'', November 18, 2017], C-SPAN}} * {{Cite book|title=Congress in change : evolution and reform|last=Ornstein|first=Norman|date=1975|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-275-10050-6|location=New York|oclc=1093142}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newcongress0000unse|title=The New Congress|date=1981|publisher=American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research|last1=Mann|first1=Thomas E.|last2=Ornstein|first2=Norman J.|isbn=978-0-8447-3415-6|location=Washington|oclc=6915350}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/peoplepresspolit0000orns|title=The people, the press & politics : the Times Mirror study of the American electorate|last1=Ornstein|first1=Norman J.|date=1988|publisher=Addison-Wesley|last2=Kohut|first2=Andrew|last3=McCarthy|first3=Larry|others=Times Mirror company|isbn=978-0-201-09358-2|location=Reading, Mass.|oclc=17442216}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalpowerso0000orns|title=Political power and social change : the United States faces a united Europe|date=1991|publisher=AEI Press|last1=Ornstein|first1=Norman J.|last2=Perlman|first2=Mark|isbn=978-0-8447-3757-7|location=Washington, D.C.|oclc=23940691}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/afterpeoplevote00walt|title=After the people vote : a guide to the electoral college|date=1992|publisher=AEI Press|first1=Walter|last1=Berns|first2=Norman J|last2=Ornstein|first3=Martin|last3=Diamond|isbn=978-0-8447-3803-1|edition=Rev. and enl.|location=Washington, D.C.|oclc=24379864}} * {{Cite book|title=Campaign Finance : an Illustrated Guide.|last1=Ornstein|first1=Norman J.|date=1996|publisher=American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research|last2=Pope|first2=Jeremy C.|isbn=978-0-8447-7108-3|location=Washington|oclc=922978724}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lessonslegaciesf00orns|title=Lessons and legacies : farewell addresses from the Senate|date=1997|publisher=Addison-Wesley Pub|last=Ornstein|first=Norman J.|others=Eisenhower World Affairs Institute.|isbn=978-0-201-69579-3|location=Reading, Mass.|oclc=35686160}} * {{Cite book|title=The permanent campaign and its future|date=2000|publisher=American Enterprise Institute|last1=Ornstein|first1=Norman J.|last2=Mann|first2=Thomas E.|isbn=978-0-8447-4133-8|location=Washington, D.C.|oclc=70731759}} * {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/brokenbranchhow00mann|title=The broken branch : how Congress is failing America and how to get it back on track|last1=Mann|first=Thomas E.|last2=Ornstein|first2=Norman J.|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands., Annenberg Public Policy Center.|isbn=978-0-19-536871-0|edition=2008|location=Oxford|oclc=259115054}} * {{Cite book|title=It's even worse than it looks : how the American constitutional system collided with the new politics of extremism|last1=Mann|first=Thomas E.|last2=Ornstein|first2=Norman J.|title-link=It's Even Worse Than It Looks|date=2012|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-03133-7|location=New York|oclc=755699560}} * {{cite book|title=One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported|first1=E. J.|last1=Dionne|first2=Norman J.|last2=Ornstein|first3=Thomas E.|last3=Mann|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=2017|isbn=978-1-250-16405-6|oclc=1005504853}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Norman Ornstein}} * [http://www.aei.org/scholar/norman-j-ornstein/ AEI Scholar Website] * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090211235108/http://www.electionreformproject.org/ AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project]}} * {{C-SPAN|1231}} * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090129060216/http://continuityofgovernment.org/ Continuity of Government Project]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ornstein, Norman J.}} Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:People from Grand Rapids, Minnesota Category:University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Category:American political scientists Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:University of Minnesota alumni Category:Washington, D.C., Democrats