American Politics Commons^™

Election Reform In Virginia: Deliberation And Incremental Change, Daniel J. Palazzolo, John T. Whelan, Elizabeth Peiffer

Political Science Faculty Publications

Several key factors explain the incremental approach to election law after the 2000 presidential election. The close election in Florida spurred lawmakers in Virginia to create the Joint Subcommittee Studying Virginia's Election Process and Voting Technologies. This special subcommittee was formed to learn more about the capacity of election administration. Through that process, Virginia officials concluded that the election system was fundamentally sound, though they identified a need for additional resources to increase staff, improve polling place access for disabled voters, and clean up registration rolls. A declining fiscal outlook limited budget resources and constrained the legislature from adopting the …

Judicial Nominees: Defining The Terms Of Senate Debates, Gary L. Mcdowell

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Since roughly the beginning of the Reagan administration the left wing of the Democratic senatorial cohort has enjoyed remarkable success in disparaging Republican nominees to the federal judiciary as mere "conservatives". Its argument has been that those nominees would decide cases on everything from abortion to economic regulation on the basis of their "conservative" policy preferences. Sadly, as a general rule, the conservatives have allowed the Democrats to get away with this distortion.

The Fight For Political Representation In A Southern Suburb: The Use Of The Voting Rights Act And The Federal Court System By Black Plaintiffs In Henrico County, Virginia, Thomas J. Shields

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

There has been an abundance of written work on the historic fight for black political equality in southern urban areas. However, almost no scholarly work exists on the fight for black political equality in the rapidly expanding southern suburbs. This article analyzes the rise of the black population and its fight for political representation on the local governing board in Henrico County, a large suburb of Richmond, Virginia. The article details the increase in the black population in Henrico County from 1950 to 2000 and provides a descriptive analysis how black plaintiffs used the Voting Rights Act in a redistricting …

Coming To Set Terms For Dci, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Senator and presidential contender John Kerry has loudly and critically clanged the intelligence-reform bell in President Bush's ears. Recently, Mr. Kerry proposed great expansion of the director of central intelligence's (DCI) authority over the National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. But true reform must first come with the DCI's emancipation from the White House through providing a 10-year term as a presidential appointee.

Congressional Leadership, Daniel J. Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

Congressional leadership takes place within an institution that serves two primary functions: making laws and representing citizens. Leaders play essential roles organizing the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senatethey set the schedule for debating bills and resolutions; formulate proposals to address public problems; represent their party's priorities through the media and in relations with leaders of the opposing party; support or oppose the president's initiatives in the legislative process; and build coalitions to pass legislation. The main challenge of congressional leadership is to advance the collective interests of the nation or of the leader's political party, …

Communitarianism And Republicanism, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

Communitarianism and republicanism are closely related schools of thought - so closely related that friend and foe alike sometimes conflate them. The relationship is evident in their Latin roots: communitarians are concerned with communitas, the common life of people who form a community, and republicans are devoted to the res publica, the good of the public. Of the two, however, only republicanism traces its lineage as well as its name to ancient Rome. Indeed, scholars often look beyond Rome to the philosophers and city-states of ancient Greece, particularly Aristotle and Sparta, for the origins of republicanism. For the …

Wisdom To Know The Difference: The Rhetoric Of Pat Nixon, Linda B. Hobgood

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Henriette Wyeth Hurd painted the official portrait of Patricia Nixon. The woman depicted is serene, almost sad. She appears fragile, yet brave. Above all, the face that gazes from the canvas understands--the wisdom in her eyes reflects that sense of tribulation bequeathed by experience. Both the painting and the subject reflect "calm at the center." It is an insightful portrayal of the American first lady known to the world as "Pat."

A Certain Comfort: Betty Ford As First Lady, Nichola D. Gutgold, Linda B. Hobgood

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Her White House stay was short-lived, but the lessons of Betty Ford's experience remain vividly instructive. By accident of a national political crisis which catapulted her to the rank of the first lady in 1974, Mrs. Ford's tenure lasted a brief two years until her husband, Gerald R. Ford lost his bid for reelection. During that time, she developed a relationship of candor with the press and public. She spoke her mind on social and moral issues that were at the forefront of public debate. The positions she took were not always popular with the majority of Americans, many of …

What Intelligence Community Needs, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

In order to depoliticize any claim that any U.S. president would ever take military action especially one involving tactical nuclear weapons based on politically predetermined intelligence, Congress needs to legislate and fund with a small budget what I'm calling the Contrarian Threat Assessment Directorate.

The director of this small, independent intelligence arm would be nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and report directly to the president. Through a statutory amendment, the director would become an adviser to the National Security Council (NSC) on the contrarian, dissenting and minority intelligence assessments.

The “Tip Of The Iceberg” In A Southern Suburban County: The Fight For A Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday, Thomas J. Shields

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

All across America on January 20, 1986, there were celebrations and school holidays in honor of the first holiday of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the county of Henrico, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, the students were in school. Henrico's school administration and school board decided that the students should be in school learning about the contributions of Dr. King. The African American community in the suburb of Henrico County believed this was a slap in the face. The county observed birthdays for White historical figures but would not observe the first federal holiday for one of …

Delaney Amendment, Eric S. Yellin

History Faculty Publications

In 1958, U.S. Representative James Delaney of New York added a proviso to the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act declaring that the Food and Drug Administration cannot approve any food additive found to induce cancer in a person or animal.

Republican Citizenship, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

'Republican' and 'citizen', in fact, are old and intertwined words - so old that some may wonder at their relevance in the brave new world of the twenty-first century, and so intertwined that the phrase 'republican citizenship' seems almost redundant to others. There is no republic without citizens, after all; and, according to the classical republican thinkers, there is no citizenship, in the full sense of the word, except among those who are fortunate enough to inhabit a republic. But this view of citizenship's connection to republicanism no longer seems to prevail. If it did, there would be no need …

Faux Realism: Spin Vs. Substance In The Bush Foreign-Policy Doctrine, Jeffrey W. Legro, Andrew Moravcsik

Political Science Faculty Publications

The Bush administration has coined a foreign-policy doctrine. President George W. Bush, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of State Colin Powell herald "the new realism." Think you know what they are up to? OK, then fill in the blank: The "new realism" is _______. If you find the blank hard to fill, don’t worry; so would most of today's international-relations scholars. Indeed, one fundamental problem with the Bush administration's new doctrine is that "realism" no longer has any real intellectual coherence.

The True Constitutionalist, Raoul Berger, 1901-2000: His Life And His Contribution To American Law And Politics, Gary L. Mcdowell

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

When Raoul Berger turned ninety a little over a decade ago, he was presented with a book of letters from friends and admisrers. Those sending their good wishes were among America's most distinguished jurists, public officials and scholars, including Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Professor Philip B. Kurland. The collection was introduced by a letter from former President Ronald Reagan.

Looking Under The Hood And Tinkering With Voter Cynicism: Ross Perot And “Perspective By Incongruity”, Mari Boor Tonn, Valerie A. Endress

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This essay examines Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential bid as a comic catalyst for a reinvigorated view of civic responsibility. Despite the Texas maverick’s political naiveté and penchant for miscalculation, his very presence in the campaign reanimated Americans’ conception of grassroots democracy. By examining important and previously unexplored distinctions between planned and unplanned incongruity, we probe the means by which Perot invited consideration of alternative political perspectives and offered an appealing glimpse into a dormant, more deeply held democratic ideal.

Budgeting In Virginia: Power, Politics, And Policy, Daniel Palazzolo, John T. Whelan

Political Science Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we will first sketch out how budget making has evolved from an executive-centered, Democratic dominated process to one in which the executive and the legislature, Democrats and Republicans, share power. Secondly, the makeup of the budget will be analyzed, the major revenue sources and spending programs identified, as well as the trends in those realms. In doing so, we will highlight the constraints and opportunities facing the participants in the budget process. Finally, we will discuss how budgeting during the 1998 session illustrated several institutional and partisan features that had been in place before the session began.

A Grand Notion For Power-Center Lawyers, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Like leaders of so many administrations before them, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, both lawyers, surrounded themselves with an inner circle composed mainly of lawyers-turned-political advisers and policy bureaucrats.

Some would argue that lawyers and politics are a bad brew. But lawyers trust lawyers so much that some will steadfastly defend their political bosses, even if that means being key players in the potential cover-up of a crime. In their skewed minds, accusations of crimes by leaders of the opposing political party are merely biased power politics.

Clinton And Jackson Must Rise To The Occasion In L'Affaire Lewinsky, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Having apparently prayed with everyone in the first family about - if not against - the Monica Lewinsky specter, the Rev. Jesse Jackson has become the spiritual point man for the Clinton White House.

House Leadership, Daniel Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

In 1959, political scientist David Truman described the complexity of congressional leadership: "Everyone knows something of leaders and leadership of various sorts, but no one knows very much. Leadership, especially in the political realm, unavoidably or by design often is suffused .by an atmosphere of the mystic and the magical, and these have been little penetrated by systematic observation" (Truman, 1959, p. 94). House leadership remains a complex concept, but it has been defined more clearly and more systematically in the years· since Truman's observation.

The Speaker And The Budget, Daniel J. Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

The Speakers of the House, from Carl Albert to Tom Foley, have faced various challenges in the budgetary process since the passage of the Budget Act in 1974. That act required the Congress to fix budget targets in authorizations and outlays in each of thirteen functional categories for each fiscal year and to reconcile annual authorizations and appropriations to those targets. It created separate budget committees in each chamber and altered the legislative process in an attempt to enforce budget discipline. Some challenges have been defined by the individual Speakers themselves; others have emerged from institutional changes in the budget …

From Decentralization To Centralization: Members' Changing Expectations For House Leaders, Daniel J. Palazzolo

Political Science Faculty Publications

Before the reforms of the 1970s, at least since the revolt against Speaker Joseph G. Cannon in 1910, party leaders of the House of Representatives performed tasks designed to mediate party interests both within and outside of the House. Within the House, their most important functions included organizing the party, scheduling bills, building coalitions, distributing and collecting information, and maintaining party harmony (Ripley 1967). Meanwhile, committee chairs exercised the most discretion over specific policy issues. Outside of the House, the Speaker acted as a mediator between the majority party and the, president, especially if the president was of the same …

The Limits Of Natural Law: Thomas Rutherforth And The American Legal Tradition, Gary L. Mcdowell

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The history of American constitutional jurisprudence has been marked by a persistent fascination with the idea of natural law. This springs first and foremost from the fact that we understand as our constitutional foundation those “laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” to which Thomas Jefferson made such eloquent appeal in the Declaration of Independence. Further, American politics since the founding of the republic has been characterized by a commitment, with more or less success, to the simple truth James Madison posited in The Federalist. “Justice,” Madison declared, “is the end of government. It is the end of civil …

A Right Of Access To The Courtroom : The Burger Court's Search For A Definition, Sandra D. Bowen

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze Supreme Court pronouncements concerning a right of public access to criminal proceedings in order to determine to what extent the Court has recognized a constitutional guarantee of a public trial as it may apply to the accused and to the public and press. Because the question of public access to the courtroom is a relatively new one, this study is principally centered on recent cases which were decided exclusively by the Burger Court, pro­viding a unique opportunity for a "case study." Consequently, a secondary thrust of the study is an analysis of …

A Study Of Negro Riots In The United States 1963-1968, Leona Ann Chase

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the civil rights phenomena in the context of the Negro riots during the years 1963-1968. The inadequacies of this study are in part due to the material upon which it is based. The reports of the state study commissions did not deal with racism adequately, or the probability of implementation of various recommendations. Consequently, this paper could not treat these topics except perfunctorily. In turn, it was difficult to assess the practicality of various proposal since the extent of these variables was unknown. The failure of thee Kerner Commission report to outline …

The Virginia Executive Budget, Charles William Wyatt Iii

Master's Theses

Virginia, like the other states in our union, was without any set form of budget during its first century of existence. This was partly because there was no definite need for any governmental reform in this area until the twentieth century brought about an expansion of the powers and responsibilities of governments. The states relied on the general property tax for the bulk of their revenue and its return was relatively certain and constant. It enabled a legislature to accurately judge its yield and match this yield to what was needed by an easy adaptation of the rate of taxation. …

Charles Lynch, Originator Of The Term Lynch Law, Gordon Godfrey Fralin

Master's Theses

Short sketches bearing activities and incidents in the life of Charles Lynch are frequently found in books dealing with the history of lynch law, in genealogies of colonial Virginians, in histories of Lynchburg, Virginia, or in scattered contributions to magazines. Each of these sources contains fundamentally the same information, (i.e., a list or his political offices,reputation as a zealous patriot, and his association with the term: lynch law), although there is some variation to be found. The purpose of this paper, therefore, has been to bring together all the miscellaneous bits of information pertaining to Charles Lynch which are already …

The Development Of The Federal Grant-In-Aid System And Its Effect On The Distribution Of The National Wealth, Charles A. Harvey

Master's Theses

In our modern world the problems or government are never simple. The tasks of coordinating, directing and promoting the political, social and economic affairs or a people usually present problems of the utmost complexity. Particularly is this true under the system or government embodied in our Federal constitution. Due to the system of power distribution peculiar to federalism many problems arise which are not ordinarily encountered by the so-called centralized or unitary norms of political organization.

It is not the purpose of this paper to examine in detail the characteristics of federalism. Sutfioe it to say that under such a …