Vanessa Williamson
Fellow in Governance Studies, Brookings Institution
Areas of Expertise:
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About Vanessa
Williamson’s research focuses on the politics of taxation in America. She worked at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America from 2004 to 2010, serving as their Policy Director from 2007.
Contributions
How to Revitalize America's Local Political Parties
Strategy Brief,
The Tea Party Lives On - And Pulls Republicans to the Right
Key Findings Brief,
Who Pays America's Taxes?
Basic Facts Brief,
Making Sense of the Tea Party
Key Findings Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
"The I.R.S. Can Register Voters As Well as the D.M.V., and Maybe Better," Vanessa Williamson (with ), Opinion, The New York Times, September 29, 2021.
"Tonight, Biden Could Use Trump’s Returns to Shift the Debate on Taxes," Vanessa Williamson, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, September 29, 2020.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on the disputable nature of taxes by Arthur Delaney, "The Worst Debate Question" HuffPost, October 15, 2019.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on impact of right to work laws on political mobilization by German Lopez, "I was Skeptical of Unions. Then I Joined One." Vox, August 19, 2019.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on Republican opinions on gun control by Perry Bacon Jr., "GOP Politicians are Much More Resistant to Gun Control than GOP Voters Are " FiveThirtyEight, August 6, 2019.
Vanessa Williamson's research on federal tax spending discussed by , "Spelling Out Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go," Wisconsin Public Radio, April 12, 2019.
"The Filer Voter Experiment: How Effective is Voter Registration at Tax Time?," Vanessa Williamson, Brookings, April 2, 2019.
"'Tax-the-Rich' Policies are All the Rage in the US," Vanessa Williamson, The Hill, February 17, 2019.
"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 70 Percent Tax on the Rich Isn't about Revenue, It's about Decreasing Inequality," Vanessa Williamson, NBC Think, January 26, 2019.
Vanessa Williamson's research on tax policy discussed by , "Trump Promises Another Tax Cut for Middle-Class," ABC4 News, October 25, 2018.
"Why the U.S. Tax System is so Complicated — but Americans are Proud to Pay Taxes Anyway," Vanessa Williamson (with ), Interview with John Sides, The Washington Post, April 12, 2018.
"Right-to-Work Laws Have Devastated Unions — and Democrats," Vanessa Williamson (with ), New York Times, March 8, 2018.
Vanessa Williamson quoted by Andrew Hanna and Caitlin Emma, "Supreme Court Could Cripple Public Unions in Run-Up to 2018 Midterms" Politico, February 25, 2018.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on views on paying taxes by Noam Gidron, "The Left Shouldn’t Fear Nationalism. It Should Embrace It." Vox, February 8, 2018.
"What Can (or Should) Activists Learn from the Tea Party?," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Washington Post, May 11, 2017.
"How the Women’s March Could Have a Lasting Historical Impact," Vanessa Williamson, Teen Vogue, January 19, 2017.
"Choose Your Own Post-Mortem: Part 2," Vanessa Williamson (with ), Brookings Institution, November 16, 2016.
"Choose Your Own Post-Mortem: Part 1," Vanessa Williamson (with ), Brookings Institution, November 16, 2016.
"What the Tea Party Tells Us about the Trump Presidency," Vanessa Williamson, Brookings Institution, November 9, 2016.
"Getting Federal Stimulus Money Turned Blue U.S. Counties Bluer, and Red Counties Redder. How Can That Be?," Vanessa Williamson (with ), The Washington Post, June 2, 2016.
"Can Sanders Do for Income Inequality What Clinton Did for Healthcare?," Vanessa Williamson, Brookings Institution, May 23, 2016.
Theda Skocpol quoted on the Koch's outsized influence on the Republican party by Jeff Stein, "How Conservative Megadonors Built a Shadow GOP That Weakened the Official Party" Vox, April 14, 2016.
"Clinton v. Sanders: New Democrats or the New Deal?," Vanessa Williamson, Brookings Institution, January 19, 2016.
"Trump's 'Populist' Tax Plan is Nothing but a Bush-Era Giveaway to the Rich," Vanessa Williamson, Talking Points Memo, September 29, 2015.
"How Bush-Appointed Ivy Leaguer Ted Cruz Became a Tea Party Darling," Vanessa Williamson, Talking Points Memo, March 25, 2015.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on Tea Party stance on immigration by Elias Isquith, "Tom Coburn’s Lunacy and the Real Meaning of the Immigration Fight" Salon, November 20, 2014.
Vanessa Williamson's research on conservative media (with Theda Skocpol) discussed by , "Fox News' Divisive Race Strategy: How O'Reilly, Hannity and Coulter Intentionally Tore America Apart," Salon, May 17, 2014.
Vanessa Williamson quoted on their book, "The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism", "The Ten Best Political Books of 2012" The New Yorker, December 14, 2012.
Interview on The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism Vanessa Williamson, The Rachel Maddow Show, December 9, 2011.
Publications
"The ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ and the 2018 Midterms: Examining the Potential Electoral Impact," Brookings, August 27, 2018.
The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism (with ) (Oxford University Press, 2012).
Shows how grassroots activism, elite funders and policy advocates, and the right-wing media interact to allow the Tea Party to boost the GOP and prod it to the right. Includes interviews with grass roots activists and an analysis of the role of the Tea Party in the 2010 and 2012 elections.