A Few Reasonable Words

From sanctuary states to repealing Obamacare, How should we think about conflicts between the federal government & state governments? Is there any clear way to determine who has the right to set policy, or is our system built for constant conflict between the states and the federal government? And if so, is that a good thing? 

How worried should we be about civic ignorance? Most Americans know very little about government, but is that a problem for democracy? And if so, what should we do about it?

What is (was) DACA? Who is affected by the program? And how well do the administration's claims about needing to rescind DACA for separation of powers reasons hold up to scrutiny?

Congress gets a recess and our students get summer break, so we figured we could take a vacation as well. 

Why do politicians seem to never stop campaigning? Has our democracy lost touch with the difference between governing and electioneering? Should we be mad about all this? And if it is a bad thing, how much of it is the media’s fault? (Hint: A lot) 

Everybody knows the Declaration of Independence, but there’s nothing quite like political scientists nerding out on founding documents, so grab a hot dog and check out the fireworks while we break down America’s great Dear John letter to England.

The Senate finally released their super-secret bill for restructuring the American Health Care system, so we’ve decided to re-run our “Lawmaking 101” episode in hopes of getting everybody back up to speed just in time for health care battles anew!

What does it mean for the President to invoke executive privilege? Is executive privilege actually in the Constitution? Do Presidents only invoke executive privilege when they have something to hide? And isn’t getting to live in the White House privilege enough?

Folks wring their hands about our President’s use of social media, but how much do his tweets really matter for politics, policymaking, or the presidency? How does Twitter compare to previous technological innovations like radio and television? Should we care that our president seems addicted to twitter? And how seriously should we take his tweets? 

We believe in the rule of law. We believe the president is above the law. But how do we hold the executive branch accountable for wrongdoing when it’s the executive branch’s job to investigate and try wrongdoing?