The Moderation Dilemma

The effort to legislate family and medical leave policies in the United States illustrates a dilemma at the heart of the American political process. Faced with strong opposition from business lobbies, proponents of family and medical leave had to balance their desire to pass the policy they wanted against the desire to pass a policy at all. Bernstein analyzes how this "moderation dilemma" played out at the federal level and in four states. In so doing, she develops a new model of policy innovation based on the debate between the ideologically committed who want all or nothing (and often get nothing) and compromisers who will settle for less (and often get a lot less).