29
Nov
2008
Test Review
Our test review for this unit will not be ‘typical.’
We’re going to use several activities combined together to create an excellent review.
However, if you miss the review day (11/24) it will be more difficult. Here is a copy of what we will do in class.
The test will be on 12/2
Those of you who fell behind, or missed something, may use this also in order to catch up.
Interactive Test Review (.doc format)
In addition, please use the PowerPoints that I have provided on this website! You can find them at this link.
Finally. Take the time to define and understand the following terms and concepts:
Electoral Votes
Session
Trustee
Partisian
Politico
Gerrymandering
Apportionment
Constituents
Veto
Filibuster
Cloture Rule
The hopper
Rules Committee
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore
Majority Whip
Majority Leader
Ways and Means Committee
Pork-barreling
Franking privilege
Interest group
Lobbyist
Executive order
Signing statement
Good luck – have a Happy Thanksgiving!
23
Aug
2008
14
Aug
2008
Mark Warner and the Democratic Convention
Mark Warner will deliver the keynote address on the second night of the Democratic Convention. Warner is the former Governor of Virginia and candidate for U.S. Senate. This is big for Mr. Warner!
Typically, the keynote address is awarded to an upcoming figure in the Democratic Party. The future. It’s not awarded to power, its awarded to potential. Previous keynote speakers include:
- Barack Obama, 2004
- Barbara Jordan, 1992
- Ann Richards, 1988
A speech at the Democratic Convention doesn’t guarantee success, however. Former House of Representatives member Harold Ford Jr. spoke in 2000. However, he lost a hotly contested bid for Senate in 2000. Today, he is a party insider, working behind the scenes.
Update: Politico has an excellent article outlining my ideas in this post. The major difference being their skill in political writing! Read it here.
13
Aug
2008
6
Aug
2008
Flip-Flops aren’t just for the beach!
In the 2004 presidential campaign John Kerry’s (D) presidential bid was almost entirely destroyed by accusations that he was a ‘flip-flopper.’ This came mostly after he said about the war in Iraq, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it…”
It appeared that 1) he couldn’t make his mind up, and 2) he changed his positions for political gain. Kerry did not look Presidential. He looked weak. To mock him, people dressed up like flip-flops, George W. Bush repeated the accusation, and it stuck. It stuck good. John Kerry lost.
This election both John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (R) have been accused of being ‘flip-flopers.’
What both of them have going against them is their time in the U.S. Senate. A body that only gets things done when Senators compromise and change their positions on issues. Unfortunately for John McCain, he has been in the Senate many, many more years than Barack Obama. This allows people to dig up times where he has changed his position and ‘flopped.’
Politico, along with PoliFact, has an excellent analysis that lays out the major issues that both presidential candidates (especially Obama) have ‘flip-flopped’ on. They rate each ‘flop’ on a ‘flip-o-meter‘ (Ratings of No-Flip, Half-Flip, and Full-Flip) However, the mere existence of a ‘meter’ seems to mock any charges of ‘flip-flopping.’ Politico itself notes:
[T]he presidential race has featured so many alleged flip-flops by either Obama or John McCain … that the charge itself is in danger of losing some of its potency. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to determine on which issues the candidates have actually reversed their positions, and whether their shifts were indeed motivated by political expediency (the implication behind most flip-flop charges) or changing circumstances.
We’ll see if charges of ‘flip-flopping’ resonate like the did in 2004, but I somehow don’t think they will.