Who's Up? Who's Down? Congress Now and After November
Two Wednesdays, February 17 and 24, 6:30–8:00 P.M.
Compass Bank Building, Second Floor, 2001 Kirby at San Felipe
February 17: Our Current Congress–Champions, Challenges, Achievements and Choices
The Democrats regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections. Two years later, Obama decisively won the Presidency. How has policymaking changed with Democratic control and an ally in the White House? Has Speaker Pelosi’s leadership transformed congressional policymaking? Did Democrats ever really have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, or is Lieberman too wild a wild card? How does Congressional leadership conform to game theory models of conflict like “The Game of Chicken” and “The Prisoners’ Dilemma”?
February 24: Midterms 2010–What Can We Expect?
Congress’s legislative agenda is crammed with a host of issues including tax reform, additional health care proposals, debates about the funding and fighting of the Afghan War and the withdrawal strategy from Iraq, and attempts to stimulate employment to reinforce the recovering economy. But congressional midterm elections are just around the corner! Who’s up? Who’s down? Do Republican gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia on Election Day 2009 predict problems for the Democrats in congressional races on Election Day 2010? What can the history of elections teach us about future elections? What will lawmaking look like after the dust settles in November 2010?
Sean M. Theriault, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas, Austin. In 2009, he was nominated by students and awarded the Friar Centennial Teaching Fellowship, the university’s most prestigious award for undergraduate teaching excellence. He is the author of numerous articles and two books: Party Polarization in Congress (2008) and Power to the People (2005).
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