| November-December 2006
Politics & Government: Presidency | Elections | Congress | The Courts | State Government |
Government Initiatives: Crime & Law Enforcement | Homeland Security | Social Security & Welfare |
Tax Reform |
Politics & Government:
C1 - In Memoriam: Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006
American Enterprise Institute, December 2006
Contents:
Full interview of President Ford by The American Enterprise (Published
in Whatever Happened to the Truth? May/June 1999)
Speech by President Ford upon receiving AEI's 1977 Francis Boyer
Award
Remarks by President Ford and others on William J. Baroody receiving
the 1980 Francis Boyer Award. Fulltext
C2 - Jimmy Carter & George W. Bush: Faith, Foreign Policy,
and the Evengelical Presidential Style
Berggren, Jason; Rae, Nicol C.
Presidential
Studies Quarterly, December 2006, v36, #4, pp606-634
"In this article, [the authors] argue
that Presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush share a distinctive
approach to politics and governing: an "evangelical" style of
presidential leadership. Though they differed in terms of party
and ideology, [the authors] claim, using examples from their foreign
policies, that the evangelical faith of Carter and Bush provided
them with a particular vision of the presidency and the global
role of the United States. Richard Neustadt argued that aptitude
for politics is the most essential attribute for contemporary
presidential success and that the evangelical approach will inevitably
lead to political failure. From our analysis of the Carter and
Bush approaches to foreign policy, we conclude, however, that
in certain circumstances, the evangelical style can contribute
to successful presidential leadership and is worthy of further
serious study by presidential scholars." Jason Berggren
is a Ph. D. candidate and instructor in political science at Florida
International University. Nicol C. Rae is professor of political
science at Florida International University. Fulltext
C3 - Splitville, D.C.
Simendinger, Alexis; Kirk, Victor
National Journal, November 11, 2006, v38, #45, pp21-23
President Bush predicts that he and his fellow republicans can forge deals with the new Democratic majority in Congress. Trouble is the new republican monority has its own ideas about reclaiming majorities in 2008 by championing "core GOP Principles". Alexis Simendinger and Victor Kirk are both staff writers with the "National Journal". Fulltext
C4 - Baker's Choice
Lizza, Ryan
New Republic, November 13, 2006, v235, #20, pp21-23
This article profiles James Baker, examining his relationship with the Bush family and his role in the Iraq War. His recent reemergence as co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group has garnered a lot of attention in Washington, with his group's report being largely anticipated by republicans and Democrats alike. Lizza Ryan is a staff writer for the New Republic. Fulltext
C5 - U.S. Midterm Elections 2006 and the European Reaction - Useful
Links and Information
AICGS Analyses, Nov 10, 2006, online edition
In light of the U.S. midterm elections on November 7, 2006, the
American Institute for Contemporary German Studies has compiled
a page of links and information regarding the reaction in the
German and European press to the change in leadership in the U.S.
Congress. Fulltext
C6 - Red and Blue Nation: How Deep
is America's Political Divide?
Nivola, Pietro
S.; Brady, David W., eds.
Brooking Institute, December
8, 2006, online edition, 95p
On the heels of
an election that shifted political party control of Congress,
some observers insist that the nation remains a house divided
into "red" states and "blue" states. Yet, the current research
leaves many open questions about the causes, consequences, and
depth of the country's political divisions. Pietro
S. Nivola is Vice President and Director of Governance Studies
at The Brookings Institution. David W. Brady is Deputy Director
and Senior Fellow at The Hoover Institution. Fulltext
C7 - Going Blue
Cohen, Richard E.; Baumann, David, Kirk, Victor
National Journal, November 11, 2006, v38, #45,pp14-20
House and Senate Democrats say that the lessons they have learned from mistakes they made the last time they were in power -- and from watching Republicans pay a political price for their blunders -- will help them run a smarter majority during the next two years... But can they keep their focus once they assume control of the Congress? Contributing to this article were National Journal Staff Correspondents Richard E. Cohen, David Baumann and Victor Kirk Journal. Fulltext
C8 - Democrats To Watch
Cohen, Richard E; Baumann, David; Caruso, Lisa; Freedberg, Sydney Jr, et al.
National Journal, November 18, 2006, v38, #46-47, pp20-34
This cover story looks at the diverse House Democrats whose unity will go a long
way in determining their party's success in the 110th Congress. Among them are liberals, blue dogs, and all kind of flavoirs in between, as well as power brokers, policy wonks, deal-makers- up-and-down comers, and renegades. The article also list representatives who are likely to be influential on Iraq, human rights and security.
Contributing to this report were National Journal Staff Correspondents Richard
E. Cohen, David Baumann, Lisa Caruso, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. Fulltext
C9 - Democratic Dilemmas: The Party and the Movements
Gitlin, Todd
Dissent, Fall 2006, v53, #4; pp36-42
In democracies, the people who either bear the ideals or bury them, or both, are politicians. And organizations of politicians—parties—are
the indispensable means of political power. But parties are impure vessels. They consist, by definition, of people who aspire to political
power. They win public support by making promises, but they lead you to a compromised land...Most Americans, by contrast, are less than attached to parties, even the ones they vote for. With good reason, they think that parties stink of corruption; that even at best, parties are the property of professionals while they, the citizens, are only amateurs... A crucial asymmetry has opened up in the relationship between parties, focused on interests and power, and movements, focused on ideals." This article discusses the relationship between political parties and movements
in the U.S. Todd Gitlin is a professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University. This article is largely drawn from Uphill: Reflections on the Know-Nothing Presidency of George W. Bush and the Prospects for a Post-Conservative Recovery, a book to be published in 2007 by John Wiley. Fulltext
C10 - New Members of Congress
Charles Mahtesian, Emily Langer, Tricia Miller,
Kyle Trygstad, et al. National Journal,
November 11, 2006, v38, #45, 29 pages
The article presents biographies of elected members of the U.S.
Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in the November 7, 2006
election. Fulltext
C11 - Party Influence in Congress and the Economy
Wolfers, Justin; Zitzewitz,
Eric; Snowberg, Erik
AEI-Brookings Joint Center, December 2006, online edition,
12p
“To understand the extent to which partisan majorities in Congress
influence economic policy, [the authors] compare financial market
responses in recent midterm elections to Presidential elections.
[The authors] use prediction markets tracking election outcomes
as a means of precisely timing and calibrating the arrival of
news, allowing substantially more precise estimates than a traditional
event study methodology. [The authors] find that equity values,
oil prices, and Treasury yields are slightly higher with Republican
majorities in Congress, and that a switch in the majority party
in a chamber of Congress has an impact that is only 10-30 percent
of that of the Presidency. [They] also find evidence inconsistent
with the popular view that divided government is better for equities,
finding instead that equity valuations increase monotonically,
albeit slightly, with the degree of Republican control.” Justin
Wolfers is an assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy
at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Eric Zitzewitz
is an assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University.
He specializes in Competitive strategy, agency problems, and regulation.
Eric Snowberg, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.. Fulltext
C12- Familiar Battles
Halloran, Liz; Schulte, Bret
U.S. News and World Report October 2, 2006, v141,#12, pp32-38
The new Supreme Court term will focus on issues that have bitterly divided the nation for many years, such as late-term abortion, affirmative action and global warming. Liz Halloran and Bret Schulte are staff writers with U.S. News & World Report. Fulltext
C13- State and Metropolitan Area Data
Book: 2006
United States Census Bureau. July 2006, web-posted October 25, 2006, 448p
“This annual survey features more than 1,500 data items for the United States and individual states, counties and metropolitan areas from a variety of sources. Information in the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book covers the following topical areas: age, agriculture, births, business establishments, communications, construction, cost of living, crime, deaths, education, elections, employment, energy, finance, government, health, households, housing, immigration, income, manufactures, marriages and divorces, media, natural resources, population, poverty, race and Hispanic origin, residence, retail sales, science and engineering, social services, tourism, transportation, and veterans.” Fulltext
Government Initiatives:
C14 - Law and Terror
Kenneth Anderson
Policy Review, September/October 2006, #139, pp3-24
"The article discusses the need to develop a counterterrorism
legislation in the U.S. The administration of President George
W. Bush should have been working toward an institutionalized counterterrorism
policy. It stresses that the Congress is focused only on the "Hamdan
versus Rumsfeld" case when it seeks to secure a policy on
war on terror. The Supreme Court implies its willingness to lessen
its role in foreign policy and war if the executive and legislative
branches would collaborate." Kenneth Anderson, a research
fellow of the Hoover Institution and professor of law at American
University, is completing a book on global governance. Fulltext
C15 - Homeland Security: National Baseline Survey Findings Show Significant Levels of Interoperability Across the Nation
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the
results of a nationwide survey of first responders and law enforcement
that assesses progress in achieving interoperable communications.
The national interoperability baseline survey was issued to 22,400
randomly selected law enforcement, fire response, and emergency
medical services (EMS) agencies, and confirms that roughly two-thirds
of emergency response agencies across the nation use interoperable
communications at varying degrees. Fulltext
C16 - Is Social Security Progressive?
Congressional Budget Office, December 15, 2006, online edition, 8p
"Social Security is the nation’s largest domestic program. It provides income support to 49 million beneficiaries, including retired workers, disabled workers, and their dependents and survivors. Benefit payments currently account for more than a fifth of federal outlays, and the payroll taxes that finance the program account for more than a quarter of federal revenues. Social Security can have a significant effect on the economic well-being of workers and their families... Because the Social Security system involves both taxes and benefits, measures of its progressivity must incorporate information about both. To do so, analysts commonly focus on various measures of “money’s worth,” or the net benefit, positive or negative, that participants receive from the system. One measure of money’s worth is the ratio of lifetime Social Security benefits that an individual receives to his or her lifetime Social Security taxes paid. If that benefit-to-tax ratio is higher for lowerearning individuals, then the system is considered progressive." Fulltext
Tax Reform
C17 - Fiscal Policy Lessons from Europe
Mitchell, Daniel J., Ph.D
The Heritage Foundation, Backgrounder #1979, November 26, 2006, online edition
Living standards are much higher in America than in Europe, unemployment is far lower, and growth is much stronger; left unchecked, however, the growing burden of government threatens to turn America into an uncompetitive European-style welfare state. Ireland shows that reform is possible with dramatic tax rate reductions and a large reduction in the burden of government spending. Daniel J. Mitchell is McKenna Senior Fellow in Political Economy. Fulltext
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