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Full-Text Articles in Political Science

Maine, James P. Melcher Aug 2023

Maine, James P. Melcher

New England Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.


Climate Policy 2015: Reports From The Congressional Trenches, Sharon Tisher, Peter Mills Jan 2016

Climate Policy 2015: Reports From The Congressional Trenches, Sharon Tisher, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

The bipartisan commentary by Peter Mills and Sharon Tisher urges action in Congress to address the problem of climate change, and stems from interviews with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree regarding their climate-related initiatives in 2015.


What Bonds Hold? An Examination Of Statewide Bond Referenda In Maine And Other States, James P. Melcher Jan 2016

What Bonds Hold? An Examination Of Statewide Bond Referenda In Maine And Other States, James P. Melcher

Maine Policy Review

Since 1990, Maine has held votes on statewide bond referenda than any other state. In this article, James Melcher tackles three main questions: (1) How often do voters approve bond proposals in Maine, and how does this compare to other states? (2) Are some types of bond referenda more likely to pass than others? (3) Does a bond’s placement on the ballot make it more, or less, likely to pass?


Politics Then And Now: Introduction, Richard Barringer, Kenneth Palmer Jan 2014

Politics Then And Now: Introduction, Richard Barringer, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

This article is an introduction to several articles and excerpts published in this issue of Maine Policy Review based on a series of related lectures. One set of lectures, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” was presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013, and the other was the William S. Cohen lecture held at the University of Maine. Most of the speakers are prominent public office holders who were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was …


Maine As A Bulwark Of Democracy, Peter Mills Jan 2014

Maine As A Bulwark Of Democracy, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Productive Partisanship, Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell Jan 2014

Productive Partisanship, Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a lecture given in a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with


Governing For The People, Kenneth Curtis Jan 2014

Governing For The People, Kenneth Curtis

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a lecture given in a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with the current situation, and discussing what Maine can offer based on experiences here.


Politics Then And Now: Looking Forward, Amy Fried, Ken Fredette, Cynthia Dill Jan 2014

Politics Then And Now: Looking Forward, Amy Fried, Ken Fredette, Cynthia Dill

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a concluding panel presentation from a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with the current situation, and discussing what Maine can offer based on experiences here.


Maine’S Paradoxical Politics, Kenneth Palmer Jan 2010

Maine’S Paradoxical Politics, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

Kenneth Palmer’s article, based on his 2009 University of Maine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maine Heritage Lecture, discusses the para­doxes of Maine’s politics that often draw national attention. He notes how these paradoxes have contrib­uted to the state’s having a “creative and effective political system.” Maine politics are dynamic in nature, with parties loosely hung together, governors winning by pluralities rather than majorities, and significant turnover both in members and parties in legislative districts. Palmer suggests that Maine’s political leaders find themselves as centrists, primarily because they want to find practical solutions to difficult problems.


Bite-Sized Democracy: The Virtues Of Incremental Change, Peter Mills Jan 2010

Bite-Sized Democracy: The Virtues Of Incremental Change, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Peter Mills draws on his long years of public service in both houses of the Maine Legislature to reflect on the values of gradual, incremental change in public policy.


“These Very Impelling Reasons Against My Running”: Maine Women And Politics, Mary Cathcart Jan 2008

“These Very Impelling Reasons Against My Running”: Maine Women And Politics, Mary Cathcart

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay Mary Cathcart reflects on women in politics and describes her own trajectory in coming to serve in the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate. She discusses the upcoming (2009) launch of the Maine NEW Leadership program at the University of Maine, a national education program for college women


Maine Gov. James B. Longley: Don Quixote And Sir Thomas More, With A Dash Of Machiavelli—An Appropriate Political Dna For The Day?, Jim Mcgregor Jan 2005

Maine Gov. James B. Longley: Don Quixote And Sir Thomas More, With A Dash Of Machiavelli—An Appropriate Political Dna For The Day?, Jim Mcgregor

Maine Policy Review

Jim McGregor, Governor James B. Longley’s executive assistant during his term of office from 1975 to 1979, provides his reflections about Longley the man and the era in which he won election against all political odds to become Maine’s first independent governor. While many historians and State House observers concentrate on the “confrontational Longley,” McGregor sheds new and hitherto private light on the multifaceted Governor Longley and suggests he may have been a man ideal for the time during which he served.


The 2005 Brac Process: The Case To Save Maine’S Bases, Derek P. Langhauser Jan 2005

The 2005 Brac Process: The Case To Save Maine’S Bases, Derek P. Langhauser

Maine Policy Review

Derek Langhauser gives a postmortem of Maine’s response to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission’s announcement of imminent closure of bases in Portsmouth-Kittery, Brunswick and Limestone. Although Maine did not “win back” the Brunswick facility, Maine rescued the facilities in Portsmouth-Kittery and Limestone, secured additional resources for the Bangor Air National Guard and Bangor Naval Reserve Center, and was granted an expansion of the Limestone accounting center. Maine’s response to the BRAC Commission’s original announcement is testament to the extraordinary capacity of the states’ people to work together in times of crisis


Maine Code Of Election Ethics, Gregory P. Gallant Jan 2002

Maine Code Of Election Ethics, Gregory P. Gallant

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Gregory Gallant discusses the voluntary Maine Code of Election Ethics, sponsored and organized by the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. The code is a voluntary effort designed to elevate political discourse in Maine’s federal and gubernatorial elections. Gallant reflects on the ways in which this code reinforces Margaret Chase Smith’s recognition of the critical role played by civic engagement in American society.


Bridging The Disconnect, David Mathews Jan 1998

Bridging The Disconnect, David Mathews

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Missing The Point About Campaign Election Ethics, Kathryn Hunt, Greg Gallant Jan 1998

Missing The Point About Campaign Election Ethics, Kathryn Hunt, Greg Gallant

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


One Question At A Time, Please!, Chris Spruce Jan 1996

One Question At A Time, Please!, Chris Spruce

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Chris Spruce addresses the conundrum of public referenda, championed by many as the most direct form of democracy and criticized by others for creating winners and losers without the traditional give and take of American politics. He reviews the recent history of public referenda in Maine, including the recent clear-cutting initiative. Perhaps we lose more than we gain when we oversimplify complex public issues with inherently conflicting values biases.