Frontloading

If you have been following the news of the Republican presidential primaries, you may have noticed discussion about states moving the dates of their primaries.  Unlike the general election, states do not hold primaries on the same day; the separation of primary elections allows for a more drawn out nomination process, gives candidates a chance to work specific states critical to their overall political strategy, and gives all (or at least, most) states an opportunity to receive particular attention from the candidates.

These may be good reasons to separate the primaries, but there are some apparent downsides to organizing a presidential nomination process in this way.  For one, it makes the entire process resemble horse race coverage by the media.  Sometimes, it's almost as if you can hear the fast-talking race announcer shouting about how another horse just pulled into the lead!

In addition to the downsides of horse race coverage by the U.S. media, there are concerns about the current trend toward frontloading.  Frontloading - a procedure in which the states increasingly schedule their primary earlier in the campaign to receive more attention and have a greater impact in the overall nomination - is a trend that continues.  This year, South Caroline and Florida have already adjusted their primary schedules to assert greater control in deciding the nomination.

Based on the cartoon above and basic research on frontloading, write a response to your thoughts on the frontloading of presidential primaries.

• What is the motivation to move your primary?  What are the downsides?  What are some of the unintended consequences?
• What are the pros and cons of horse race media coverage?  Consider the implications for lesser-known candidates, candidates with more extreme position, and mainstream candidates.
• What effect do you think the schedule has on voter turnout? political efficacy? trust in political parties and the government?
• If you see this as a problem, what solutions might alter the situation?  If not, why do you think is the best scenario?

The Living Room Candidate - Campaigns and the Media

 For this blog post, we will be using the Living Room Candidate website.



For this blog post, you will be conducting an analysis of two presidential TV campaign advertisements from any election except 2008.  You will access these ads from livingroomcandidate.org.  Your post must include all of the following:

1. A brief historical background of the election.  Who ran?  Who won?  Is there a consensus on the major determinants of the election? (why did the future president win that particular election?)

2. Two embedded video clips - one from each major party.  To do this, copy and paste the embed code (visible when you select "share" from the bottom right-hand corner of the video.

3. An comparative analysis of the two advertisements.  A full analysis will consider the following:

• Which ad did you find more persuasive? Why?
• Who do you think was the intended audience for each of the ads?  What evidence supports this?
• Which ad did you find more aesthetically appealing?  Why?
• How important were images and music in the ads you chose?
• Other thoughts about what makes one political ad better and more effective than the other.

Rethinking Mt. Rushmore

 Its time to rethink our most famous multi-president monument.

In this blog post, you will be making a recommendation about your president for inclusion or rejection from the new monument, which will include a larger scope of American history.  Your task is not merely a reaction to the typical conventional  wisdom of the great American presidents, but rather a researched report on why a president should be considered for this honor or rejected.

To do this, you will use the textbook discussion of presidential character and the article provided in class from political scientist and scholar Fred Greenstein.  Your recommendation should include a somewhat comprehensive view of the president.  In other words, do rely on one point; consider the many hats of the presidency and analyze your presidential choice as chief legislator, commander-in-chief, chief executive, head of state, chief of party, chief diplomat, and guardian of the economy.  For each area you analyze, give the president an A through F grade to allow easier comparisons.

After all recommendations have been received by the Committee to Redefine Rushmore, members will vote and carving will begin.

Census 2010: Congressional Reapportionment

Look at some of the analysis of the recently released 2010 census data.  It appears that much of the population shift can be attributed to migration to the South and West.  Here you can find some of the most notable changes and this graphic illustrates the population shifts and the political changes this causes.

Using your knowledge of redistricting and gerrymandering, explain how the population shifts benefit Republicans.  What do the midterm elections have to do with this?  Do you think the changes are fair?  What effects do you think this will lead to nationally or locally?

Extending the Bush-era Tax Cuts

The lame duck Congress recently voted to extend the so-called "Bush-era tax cuts."  The extension is the product of a compromise made through negotiations between President Obama (while not actually a congressional voter, he is the leader of the Democratic party, so Democrats follow his lead) and Republican leadership in the Senate.  Click here for an illustrated representation of the deal and the failed alternatives.

Understanding these tax cuts are far more critical than simply knowing how much your family owes the government.  Taxes represent one of the most fundamental and significant differences between our two major parties.  To simplify, Democrats want progressive taxes that tax the rich at higher rates so that the government can provide necessary services while the Republicans believe in a more standardized, or "flat" tax structure that taxes similarly across incomes, so that the rich might stimulate the economy.  Underlying this divide is a philosophical division: Democrats believe the government spends tax money most fairly and appropriately, while Republicans believe this money is spent best by the earners.

Where do you fall in regard to these divisions?  What do you think is more important: tax breaks for everyone?  Tax breaks for the middle and lower classes only? 

The ideological division remains when we move to the topic of reducing the deficit.  To reduce the deficit, do you think it is better to reduce spending or increase revenue?  You balance the budget and decide which you favor.  After you have balanced the budget on the interactive website, report back to classmates sharing whether you preferred cutting spending or increasing revenues and why.

Should Photo ID be Required to Vote in WI?

Wisconsin's new state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has announced that next year, after the Republicans elected Nov. 2 take control, the first order of business will be requiring photo id at the polling place.

Remember how this issue connects to ideology - Democrats tend to favor less restrictions in voting on the grounds that it reduces democracy and Republicans tend to favor more restriction on grounds of reducing fraud.  You be the judge.

To better understand how this issue connects voting and ideology, you can listen to a radio debate on the topic on WPR's Joy Cardin show.

Do your research: this blog post discusses the viewpoints of Barrett (D) and Walker (Governor-elect - R) on photo IDs at the polls.   This editorial explains the proponent argument and this blog post and this blog post take the opposing viewpoint.

Would this really disenfranchise voters?  Who would be most affected?  Do you think fraud is an issue in Wisconsin?  Is this a solution without a problem or a needed change?  How does this issue reflect the larger ideological battles regarding voting in America?

Political Participation and Technology

First, listen to the predictions of Matt Bai, a New York Times journalist on how technology will impact voting and political participation.



Do you agree with him? What predictions would you add?  Bai mentions voting online, but what other forms of political participation will technology influence or completely change?  How will communication between citizens and leaders change?  How do you think social networking plays a role in political participation?