American Politics Commons^™

U.S. - Asean Organized Crime Cooperation As Part Of Washington's Rebalancing Policy Toward The Asia-Pacific, Tuan Anh Luc

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the reasons why the United States of America (U.S.) has been involving in the effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat transnational organized crime. The author argues that Washington has been doing so because: first, it wants to prevent and suppress negative influences of Southeast Asian organized crime and protect national interests; second, it wants to increase regional capabilities, sometimes at the Association's request, and narrow differences so as to effectively deal with transnational organized crime; and third, it wants to justify its presence in the region and pave the way …

Leadership In African American Politics: The Role Of President Obama On The Issue Of Same-Sex Marriage, Kevin Christopher Faulk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, African Americans overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama in his bid for the Presidency. Their supported averaged at 95% of African American voters. At the same time that Senator Obama was on the ballet, Prop 8 - legislation designed to amend California's Constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman - was passed with a large majority of African American support. Why did strong Democrats vote in favor of a law that most Democrats rejected? Previous research has concluded it was the role of the Black Church in African American politics that moves the community to a more …

A Melting Pot Of Voices: Public Discourse And The Latino Immigrant Experience In The United States, Elizabeth Katherine Vammen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the discourses surrounding the immigrant experience in the United States to reconcile first-hand accounts of Latino immigrant experiences with the discourse prevailing in broader domains such as immigration law, public forums, non-fiction essays, and the news media. In order to break down barriers that prevent productive discussions, this analysis identifies stifling language guised under what Antonio Gramsci defines common sense rather than good sense. At the same time this study aims to deconstruct stifling language, it uses first-hand accounts from Latino immigrants to provide insight as to where the American public is not listening. By analyzing common …

Mediated Homestyle: Congressional Strategy And Local Press Relations In The 111th House Of Representatives, Michael K. Romano

Dissertations

For over thirty years, research on Congressional behavior has provided evidence of a link between constituent opinions and the ways in which members publically conduct themselves. Homestyle (Fenno, 1978: pg. 32), the way members “cultivate their constituencies,” has emphasized that personal encounters between members and their constituents is an effective strategy for decreasing the level of uncertainty members have about their approval. Homestyle, however, overlooks the fact that members of Congress cannot directly interact with their constituents on a daily basis. The mass media, specifically local media outlets, help legislators by transmitting relevant information about political events and legislators’ actions …

Democracy A Casualty Of Voter-Suppression Politics, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A Montana Public Radio Commentary by Evan Barrett.

Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications:

Missoulian, August 8, 2014

Independent Record, August 13, 2014

Billings Gazette, August 18, 2014

Montana Standard, August 19, 2014

Greg Shaw, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

Illinois Wesleyan University Professor Greg Shaw talked to Charlie Schlenker about the federal appeals court ruling against several key parts of the new healthcare reform law. Shaw says the ruling is likely “only a bump in the road”, and the doubts the ruling will stand.

Jfk Memory Project At Wku (Mss 491), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text of remembrances (Click on Additional Files), photographs, and oral history interviews for Manuscripts Collection 491. Materials collected during a commemorative project related to a campaign visit John F. Kennedy made to Bowling Green, Kentucky in October 1960 and to his November 1963 assassination. The core of the collection is a set of remembrances that were sent into the Department of Library Special Collections, WKU about both events. Other items include oral history interviews (8), photos (36), contemporary news clippings as well as clippings about the project, a scrapbook of post-assassination clippings, and assorted other ephemera …

Trade, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of analysis of U.S. foreign trade policy during the early decades of the country's history. Examines bilateral U.S. trade relations with France and Great Britain, provides import and export statistics, details on commodities and products imports and exported, trade statistics, and information on the political and economic factors shaping U.S. trade during this period.

Coastal Defenses, U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of U.S. military coastal defenses during the period up to and including the War 1812.

Revenue, U.S. Government, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of U.S. Government revenue receipts and spending during the early years of national history. Presents revenue generation statistics, information on revenue sources, and information on domestic and international political and economic factors affecting government revenue receipts.

Watch Closely And Pay Attention, Kevin Cool

Colby Magazine

Stuart Rothenberg '70 has what Washington wants- information and lots of it.

In The Loop, Outside The Beltway: When The National Press Wants Perspective And Insight, It Turns To Colby's Political Pundits, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

It was the opening night of the Democratic Convention and Anthony Corrado, headphones in place, was seated in a soundproof cubbyhole on the fourth floor of the Eustis Building at Colby awaiting a call from National Public Radio's Scott Simon. The NPR host was at the convention in Los Angeles. The interview was to be broadcast live. When Simon came on the line, his first question was whether the entertainment industry is more likely to give to the Democratic Party than to Republicans. "They certainly are," Corrado said, without missing a beat. "In fact, one of the groups that the …

Protesters Should Research Own Nation, Gil Villagran

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Murrieta protesters against Border Patrol detention of "illegal aliens" in "their community" are willfully ignorant of why children and mothers with babies would leave their homes on a perilous journey infested with drug gangs and human traffickers, to a country they know does not want them and likely will deport them. Ironically, the protesters seem oblivious to America's origin by illegal immigrants to the so-called new world. Patriots would have done well to spend their Fourth of July weekend researching our own history.

America’S Newest Citizen - John Q. Corporation, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A Montana Public Radio Commentary by Evan Barrett.

Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications:

Ravali Republic, July 19, 2014

Missoulian, July 11, 2014

Independent Record, July 16, 2014

Flathead Beacon, July 17, 2014

Moore, Robert B., 1860-1937 (Sc 2851), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2851. Letter, 13 November 1896, of Robert B. Moore, Bowen, Kentucky, to Frank Powers, Grayson, Kentucky. Moore, a lumber dealer, reports an increase in business. He also describes himself as a “sound money” man who voted for William McKinley in the recent presidential election. Despite anticipating a “hot time,” he reports finding no disturbances at his local polling place.

Chelf, Frank Leslie, 1907-1982 (Mss 492), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 492. Correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, audiotapes, film and miscellaneous material relating primarily to the political career of Democrat Frank L. Chelf, who represented Kentucky’s Fourth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1944-1966. Includes Chelf’s voting record and bills, research and speeches related to his legislative interests.

Disproportional Representation: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Educational Attainment Representation In State Government, Jayme L. Neiman

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present dissertation examines unequal political representation in the United States. More specifically, I ask whether American citizens with low relative levels of education are under-represented by their state governments compared to their well-educated counterparts. I posit that this question is vital to our understanding of the quality of democracy in America.
In order to answer the primary question, I take a mixed-methods approach, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to obtain a clearer picture of the representation scene. In the quantitative chapters, I demonstrate that in terms of both service responsiveness and policy responsiveness, those individuals with …

Countering Radicalization And Recruitment To Al-Qaeda: Fighting The War Of Deeds, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Authors Bookshelf

This Letort Paper proposes that actions, policies, and deeds—those of the U.S. Government and al-Qaeda—be leveraged as a means of delegitimizing al-Qaeda terrorist propaganda. Two chief fronts—changing deeds and challenging deeds—is proposed. Changing deeds requires that the United States carefully and systematically examine its own foreign and military policies and their specific consequences for the Arab and Muslim world. Challenging deeds comprises systematically countering with evidence and fact al-Qaeda’s two greatest propagandistic fabrications: that the United States is a crusader at war with Islam, and that al-Qaeda is the vanguard defender of a besieged and oppressed Muslim Umma. Provocative at …

Absence Of Evidence And Evidence Of Absence In The Effects Of Same Sex Marriage Laws On Rates Of Opposite Sex Marriage, Alexis Dinno

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation will explore the question of whether legal recognition of same sex marriages affects state- rates of opposite sex marriages in the U.S., with attention given to statistical methods for equivalence testing.

Congruence Across Levels Of Role-Taking In U.S. Foreign Policy, Paul A. Kowert, Stephen G. Walker

Political Science Faculty Publication Series

A psychosocial approach to national behavior, emphasizing the foreign policy roles selected by states, has proven to be a fertile source of insights into the ways states respond to their external environment. Disaggregating the phenomenon of role into several distinct processes—e.g., roletaking, role contestation, role enactment, and role transition—highlights interactions across different levels of analysis as part of a general process of role location. We focus in this paper specifically on the process of role-taking leading to role selection and conceive of this process as operating simultaneously at the state, domestic, and individual levels of analysis. Rather than assume that …

On Self-Declared Caliph Ibrahim’S May 2015 Message To Muslims: Key Problems Of Motivation, Marginalization, Illogic, And Empirical Delusion In The Caliphate Project, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: On May 14, 2015 a 34-minute audio message was released by the self-proclaimed Islamic State’s media arm al-Furqan.

The Silent Crisis: Including Latinos And Why It Matters, Representation In Executive Positions, Boards, And Commissions In The City Governments Of Boston, Chelsea, And Somerville, Miren Uriarte, James Jennings, Jen Douglas

Human Services Faculty Publication Series

The Silent Crisis: Involving Latinos in Decision-Making & Why Latino Representation Matters provides a measure of the economic, social, and political inclusion of Latinos at mid-decade in three cities of the Commonwealth where about one fourth of the state’s Latino population lives. Often wrongly referred to as a “new population,” Latinos have been present in Massachusetts since the end of the 19th century, arriving in large numbers beginning in the 1960s and 1970s and growing to nearly 630,000 persons (9.6% of the population) by 2010. That same year, they accounted for 62.1% of the population of Chelsea, 17.5% of the …

Idealism And Pragmatism In The Rhetoric Of John Boehner: A Weaverian Analysis Of Congressional Discourse, Cody Hawley

Masters Theses

American political rhetoric is characterized by a synthesis of contradictory idealistic and pragmatic elements, both of which are necessary if there is to be convincing persuasion. The way in which politicians rhetorically approach this dichotomy is significant, however, current studies on the topic are limited to presidential discourse. There is little research on this topic in other settings such the United States House of Representatives. This criticism analyzes John Boehner's congressional rhetoric in the idealistic-pragmatic dichotomy. The critical method utilized is Richard Weaver's four forms of argument-genus, similitude, consequence, and circumstance. Eight speeches of John Boehner, four from his position …

Climate Planning In Politically Conservative Cities: A Case Study Of Seven Climate Action Plans, Coleman Moore Frick

Master's Theses

Current research indicates that the potential risks associated with human-induced climate change are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Although there have been several attempts, no effective international treaty or policy has been enacted by the United States with the purpose of combating this global issue. In the past decade, local climate action plans (CAPs) have emerged as a planning solution designed to reduce greenhouse emissions (GHGs). Previous studies have examined CAP attributes, but no research has focused solely on climate planning in politically conservative jurisdictions. This research finds that of 245 CAPs completed to date nationally, approximately 90 …

Like Oil And Water: How Federalism Muddies The Waters Of Interest Group Decision-Making, Melissa Shaffer-O’Connell

Dissertations

Federalism often creates additional decisions for interest groups in determining how best to advocate for their policy recommendations in the legislative process. Should they focus their advocacy at the local, state, or national level of government? What activities should they use at each level of government? This dissertation examines interest group behaviors in water quality policy in the Great Lakes region from 1940 to 2000, in oil policy in the Beaufort Sea region from 1970 to 2000, and in both policy areas in 2010-2013. I evaluate the reasons for interest group decisions in choice of tactics and targeted level of …

Mcchesney, Hardin Field, Jr. (Mss 494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 494. One reel of 16 mm. film labeled “Chandler Years in Review,” used by Hardin Field McChesney, Jr. in connection with reporting on a scandal involving the campaign of Edward “Ned” Breathitt for governor of Kentucky.

"Women In The House Y'All:" She Should Run, Post-Feminism, And Women's Representation In Politics, Amy Gooch

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

This project investigates “She Should Run,” a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in public leadership by attempting to eliminate barriers to success. The project argues “She Should Run” addresses the lack of women’s representation in government, but does so by mobilizing problematic essentialist rhetoric and post-feminist constructions. Drawing on second wave feminist scholarship, this rhetorical analysis examines the cultural conditions that mediate women’s role in politics as well as their willingness to participate. This project claims that the organization ultimately reestablishes existing essentialist notions of women’s identities and uses post-feminist rhetoric to delegitimize the aims of …

Leap Of Faith: Clergy In State Legislative Elections, Victonio B. Spencer

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study expands the literature on clergy as political actors by shedding light on the relative electoral performance of clergy who hold office in state legislatures. Kinney’s 2008 study on the occurrence of clergy in local office, as well as other works showing the divergence in attitudes towards church-state separation among racial groups and religious traditions, illustrate potential factors affecting the performance of clergy in elections. The analyses examine the factors related to differences in vote percentages, margins of victory, and campaign funding between clergy and non-clergy. These factors include racial and religious traditions and how their effects interact. The …

The Evolution Of American Microtargeting: An Examination Of Modern Electoral Messaging, Luke Dietrik Bunting

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The original intent of this work was slightly different than what follows. In an effort to provide information on the current state of micro targeting, 1 had planned to research the campaign tactics of the 2012 Obama and Romney presidential campaigns in Ohio. This goal quickly became unattainable due to time restrictions and a lack of available interviewees. Several requests for interviews went unanswered, and state political parties were not able to provide adequate information on the efforts of the campaigns. Through searching the Internet for information on campaign officials responsible for the Ohio presence of the Romney and Obama …

No More 9/11s: Reconceptualizing National Security And The Creation Of An American Garrison State., Jacob M. Waxman

Political Science Honors Projects

The NSA’s electronic surveillance program unsettled many Americans as an abuse of government power. In my research I reconcile this program with traditional American civil-military relations and conceptions of national security. I apply these theories to the Cold War and War on Terror, exploring how in both cases the US built a national security state using legislation, bureaucracy, and legitimizing rhetoric to respond to the Soviet and terrorist threats. I find that 9/11 expanded the American conception of national security, which precipitated the NSA surveillance program. Without significant public and Congressional pushback, the current national security state is likely to …