Julian Zelizer

As Tea Party Republicans insist that Obamacare be defunded or delayed, government has ground to a halt. What do we make of this moment in historical context? Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of Governing America: The Revival of Political History (Princeton University Press, 2012) discusses the history of shutdowns, inter-party schisms, and other moments of crisis.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of Governing America: The Revival of Political History and Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at The Cato Institute and author of several books including, The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous and Less Free, discuss how current Congressional Republicans' positions on war and defense spending have been influenced by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Republicans lost two Senate races, those in Missouri and Indiana, that they probably should have won. What does this say about the tactics, strategy, and identity of the Republican Party? Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is a historian of the conservative movement in American.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of Governing America: The Revival of Political History, looks at what renewed interest in American political history says about the country.

Tuesday night’s state of the union address will be a prime-time assessment of the nation's policy, economy and infrastructure and a laundry list of Administration policy goals set for the future. It will also serve as the opening salvo to President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. To look at the State of the Union as prime time electioneering is Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of Jimmy Carter: The American Presidents Series: The 39th President, 1977-81 and Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security - From World War II to the War on Terrorism, offers a historical perspective on the midterm elections.

Soon, there will be several changes at the top levels of the Obama administration. Following the November elections, the White House’s top economic advisor, Larry Summers, will return to his position as a professor at Harvard University; Herbert Allison also announced he would step down as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial stability. Perhaps less surprising is the much rumored, though finally announced, departure of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in October.

Without enough votes in the Senate to revote on a modified bill and pass health care reform, the Democratic Party may resort to using a 1974 budgetary law known as reconciliation. The process protects the bill from filibusters that require a 60-vote majority to end debate, and would instead allow the bill to pass by a simple majority.

A new CNN poll finds that 86 percent of Americans think that government is broken. This week, we kick off a series called "Frustration Nation," where we examine the gridlock in the capital and how politics has come to be so divisive in America. For the first installment, we put today's situation in a historical context.

The election of Republican Scott Brown as Massachusetts' new junior senator on Tuesday night sent shock waves through Washington. Politicians of on both sides of the aisle flocked to microphones to give their takes on the future of health care reform now that the Democrats no longer have the Senate 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. But how did we come to expect a 59-vote majority as a bad thing? We look at the history of the supermajority.