The Catholic University of America

Category: Government & Civil Society

Feb 25 2010

The Loss of the “Kennedy” Seat: Why Did Democrats Panic?

After the unexpected victory of Republican Scott Brown, elected in January to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy, the news was filled with negative stories about President Obama and congressional Democrats.  Health-care reform, Obama’s signature issue, is "on life support;” Democrats lack unity and direction; and the party is reportedly in deep trouble as a number of Democrats, most notably Senator Evan Bayh, retire from Congress.  Why did one election shift momentum away so completely from Democrats?...

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0 comments - Posted by Matthew Green at 4:35 PM - Categories: Government & Civil Society

Nov 13 2009

Religion and Violence

When President Obama asked the public to reserve judgment about the motives behind the shooting this week at Fort Hood, he predictably elicited the ire of detractors who were quick to castigate him for “whitewashing” what was clearly an act of religious violence.  Obama, according to this accusation, was trying to obscure the fact that the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was a Muslim extremist whose violent outburst could only have been rooted in his religious beliefs.  This perspective is consonant with two widely held, but unsubstantiated, views about links between religion and violence...

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3 comments - Posted by William Barbieri at 11:53 AM - Categories: Religion & Society | Government & Civil Society

Nov 4 2009

Health Care Reform and Dynamics of the Legislative Process

As the old saying goes, making laws is like making sausage:  you don’t really want to see what goes into it.  But there’s another way in which the two are similar:  it’s hard to understand the process when you are only looking at one component at a time. This would seem to be the case for the path Congress and President Obama have been following in trying to enact major health care reform legislation.  All of the jockeying, deal-making, and outside opining at every stage can make the process seem as if it involves periodic swings between certain death and inevitable victory...

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5 comments - Posted by Matthew Green at 4:00 PM - Categories: Economy | Government & Civil Society

Oct 23 2009

The debate over health care reform

The debate over health care reform, though at times uninformed and uncivilized, has again focused attention on the longstanding issue of government’s proper role in a (predominantly) market economy.  It is not my intent to address this issue per se except to admit without apology that I am a firm believer in and strong proponent of private markets.  (...) When the issue is narrowed to the proper role of government in the provision of health care, however, serious complications arise that the market, without broader government involvement, cannot resolve...

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4 comments - Posted by Ernest Zampelli at 4:04 PM - Categories: Economy | Social Justice | Government & Civil Society

Oct 19 2009

Democracy’s Children: Engaging Young People in Civic Life

Scholars and pundits bemoan young people’s lagging participation in politics (only a minority vote), disinterest in following the daily news (an even tinier minority read the newspaper), and disappointing scores on tests of civic knowledge and American history (the majority fall into the “inadequate” group).  Downward trends began in the early 1970s and reached new lows around 2000.  The events of 9/11, Katrina, and conscious mobilization of the youth vote in 2004, sparked a upward shift which continued through 2008 presidential campaign and election. It is too early to say whether the data foretell a turnaround...

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2 comments - Posted by James Youniss at 10:00 AM - Categories: Education | Government & Civil Society

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