Unit 4 FRQ topics

Possible FRQ topics include but are not limited to:
1. Selective incorporation
2. Bill of Rights
3.  Civil Rights amendments
4. Significant court cases

Should the CIA use "enhanced interrogation"?

This week the Senate released a report on the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques by the CIA to obtain information from terrorists after 9/11. It is a largely scathing report that contends the CIA mislead elected officials abotu the extent to which torture was used to obtain information. Senator Feinstein believes that these tactics are "deeply misguided," while former VP Dick Cheney says the report is "full of crap." There have been many responses to the release of the report, so what do you think?  Answer the following questions AND respond to another post to receive credit.

1. Do you think that, as a policy, torture should be condoned by the US government? What if it yields only a minimal amount of usable information?

2. Do we lose a moral high ground if we use torture or do you think that we should try to obtain information to protect Americans by any means necessary?

3. Do you think the Senate should have released the CIA report on enhance interrogation? Do you think the allegations of misleading government officials or the actual torture is a bigger issue?

Immigration reform: Will it happen? If so, then how?

President Obama took executive action on immigration, effectively allowing around 4 million illegal immigrants to "come out of the shadows" and obtain temporary legal status.  Now, 17 states are suing Obama over this action.  The implications of his actions have yet to be fully determined and there are people on both sides of this argument.  Clearly both sides want something done to reform immigration, but there is major disagreement on Obama's approach.  Read the linked articles for background, and answer the following questions about the debate:
1.  Do you think what Obama did was unconstitutional?  Why or why not?  Explain your reasoning, citing text from the Constitution in your answer.
2.  Aside from the constitutionality of his actions, do you agree with what he did?  Should illegal immigrants be given legal status, even temporarily?  Why or why not?
3.  What are three main reasons why there is a push to reform America's immigration policies?  Be specific in your answer.
4.  Should Congress shut down the government by blocking appropriations bills to prevent Obama's actions from having an immediate effect?  Why or why not?

FRQ topics

Possible FRQ topics inlcude:
1. Presidential approval ratings
2. Incumbency advantage
3. Bicameralism (differences between the two houses of Congress)
4. Supreme Court selection process
5. Bureacracy and legislative oversight

Keystone XL Pipeline

The Keystone Pipeline bill failed to pass the Senate yesterday by 1 vote.  Listen to this NPR segment and read this BBC article on the pipeline and answer the following questions.
1. How would you have voted on the Keystone pipeline?  Explain why you would have voted for or against it.
2. Who were the main opponents to the pipeline?  What were the main reasons for the Senators that voted against the Keystone pipeline?  Do you agree with these Senators?  Why or why not?
3. How do you think this will affect the runoff election in Louisiana?  Explain your reasoning.
4.  What are the three main points of supporters of the project?  Do you think they make valid points?  Why or why not? 
5.  Identify at least three key concepts from unit 3 that this story illustrates?  Explain HOW each of the concepts is illustrated in this story.

Labeling states Red and Blue: Too simplistic or just plain useful?

Read this NPR article on how the term 'red' and 'blue' states came to be and answer the following questions:
1. How has the media played a role in establishing this red/blue dichotomy?  Why would they do this?
2. Do you think it is useful/fair/justified/offensive to 'paint whole states with an ideologically broad brush?'  Why or why not?
3.  Is this oversimplification dangerous to the political process?  Does it create animosity where there might otherwise be more compromise?  Explain your answer.

Net Neutrality: What do you think?

Read this opinion article from BBC about Senator Ted Cruz's remarks on net neutrality and answer the following questions:

1. Do you agree or disagree with net neutrality? Should people have to pay more for high speed internet access or should everyone have the same internet speeds? Why or why not?
2. Do you agree with Senator Cruz about his comparison of net neutrality to Obamacare? Why or why not?
3. Why would corporations be against net neutrality? Do you think the internet is a basic right that should be cheap and fast for everyone? Why or why not?

4.  Should the government regulate the internet service providers and force them to provide a 'neutral' internet?  Why or why not? Which bureaucratic agency would be in charge of this regulation?

The Budget

In January, the Republicans will have total control over the purse strings of the American government, giving them more control (Obama still has his veto power) over the policy agenda.  Read this article from the NY Times and answer the following questions:
1. Do you think the Republicans will be successful in their efforts to decrease government spending and cut taxes for the wealthy? Why or why not?
2. Was this last election an indicator that the American people agree with the Republican approach to our fiscal crisis? Or was it something else entirely? Explain.
3. Do you think our mounting debt is/should be a primary issue on the policy agenda for America? Why or why not?
4. If the government is going to cut programs and shrink their size, what programs should be cut?  

Election 2014: A Republican wave (required)

1.       Which Senate race result was most surprising to you?  Why?

2.       Which Senate race was the biggest landslide victory?  Why do you think that was the case?  What was the closest race? Why?

3.       What was the strategy that worked for winning Republicans?  Winning Democrats?

4.       Who won the Florida governor’s race?  What are the political pundits saying about how the race played out?  What factor played the biggest role in the results? Turnout (or lack therof)?  Ideology? Negative Ads?

5.       Check out a number of news websites and pick three to compare (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NPR, NYTimes, etc.) Is the analysis of the results clearly different on any of the news sites?  How so?

6.       Pick a controversial amendment on the ballot in a state of your choice.  Why do you think it passed (or didn’t pass)?  Is this an indicator of a national trend or is the reason specific to the state?  Explain.

7.       What was the most important gubernatorial race in your opinion?  Why?  Do the governor races matter more or less than the Senate election?  Why?

8.       What do you think is in store for the next two years?  Will this momentum be carried over into 2016 for Republicans?  Democrats?  What are the political pundits saying about the prospects for 2016?  

Mitch McConnell: An Electoral Case Study

Comment on the questions we discussed in class below:

Article 1
"McConnell concedes GOP Senate will not mean Obamacare repeal"

1. What are some of the main reasons Mitch McConnell is “tempering expectations” about the possibility of an Obamacare repeal if the Senate goes Republican after this election? Cite the text specifically in your answer.

2. Identify the key congressional power that McConnell sites as the best possibility for taking down the “highly destructive Obamacare.”

3. Do you think Obama will allow any part of the ACA (e.g. the medical equipment tax) to be repealed? Why might he give in? Why might he stand firm? Why or why not?



Article 2
"Senator Mitch McConnell has more than most riding on midterm elections"

1. Why do you think the Washington thinks “they’re smarter than all the rest of us” approach garners support? Explain.

2. How can experience and being seen as a “shrewd inside player” hurt you in a campaign? How can it help? Explain.

3. Do you think McConnell will win? Why or why not?

Religious diversity of the 113th Congress

Respond to the article about the religious diversity of Congresspeople in the comments section below.

North Carolina Senate Race: It's a close one

Respond to the article we went over in class and post your responses to the questions here.

Rick Scott v. Charlie Crist III: The Final Showdown

There is a third and final gubernatorial debate in Jacksonville tonight between the two major candidates.  After the media hype surrounding fangate, we will hopefully get back to focus on the issues facing Florida.  Watch the debate tonight at 7 PM on WJXT and answer the following questions:

1.  What was the most important issue the candidates went over in the first thirty minutes (must be in the first half of debate for credit) of the debate?  Why do you think it is important? What were the positions of each candidate? Do you agree with Scott or Crist? Why?

2.  What was the most important issue the candidates went over in the second thirty minutes (must be in the second half of debate for credit) of the debate?  Why do you think it is important?  What were the positions of each candidate?  Do you agree with Scott or Crist? Why?

3.  Who do you think went more negative (highlighted the shortcomings of the other candidate) in the debate?  Identify a specific comment and the policy area from the candidate you believe went more negative.

4. Did either candidate mention or make light of "fangate?"

5. Did this debate make you a more informed (potential) voter?  What is the purpose of debates such as this one?  Do you think this debate achieved the purposes you identified?

6.  What was your overall impression of the debate?  Who would you vote for and why?  Did anything about either of the candidates surprise you?

Party Division: Prospects for 2014 and beyond

Currently the Senate Democrats are distancing themselves from Presdient Obama because of his dropping approval ratings.  Associating with the President at this point can be a dangerous proposition for incumbent Democratic Senators in contentious, competitive races.  with the election only a month away, will this strategy work for the Democrats?  Read this HuffPost article outlining the strategy.  A similar dynamic is currently building up in the Republican party as the campaign season for the 2016 Presidential election is going to start in the next six months.  In anticipation of the upcoming push for the Republican Presidential nod, two prominent Republicans are showing where they stand on policy issues.  Chris Christie is a moderate Republican Governor in New Jersey, a state with a Democratic legislature, so he must consistently compromise to maintain his image as a "straight-talk, get the job done" kind of Governor.  Rand Paul, son of Libertarian legend Ron Paul, is a dedicated advocate of free market solutions and doesn't mind holding his ground and having an 'agree to disagree' attitude about certain policies.  They are both Republicans and have been in a war of words over the last year because of their different attitudes about the future of the party  and the best way to increase the base of the party to maximize their possibilities of Presidential success in 2016.  Read this article from CNN about the two Republican hopefuls an answer the following questions about both articles. 

1. Both of these articles indicate rifts within each party (illustrated by Paul v. Christie and Senate Dems v. Obama).  Which of these rifts do you think will have a bigger impact?  The Republican rift and their chances for winning nationally in 2016 or the Democrats and their chances for keeping the Senate in 2014?  Why?

      2. Do you think the Senate Dems will be successful in 2014 or not? Will their strategy work? Why or why not?

      3. Do you think the Republicans will be successful in 2016 or not? Will their strategy work? Why or why not?

      4. Is it a good thing that Paul and Christie, “sound a lot alike” as they say in the article?  Would you vote for someone you did not agree with all of the time?  What are the possible ways this could play out in the 2016 Republican primary?  Explain.

      5. Is it a good thing that the Democrats are distancing themselves from Obama?  Is this simply political posturing to maximize reelection chances or do you think these Democrats are genuinely in disagreement with the President?  Explain.

      6. Is there any bias evident in either article?  Cite and explain.

Articles from the other side....

For this post you will be reading an article from FoxNews about the Democrats and an article from MSNBC about the Republicans.  The FoxNews article focuses on the race for the mayor of DC, which could prove historic.  D.C. has never had a non-Democrat mayor, but in 2014 two independents will be running, that might stand a chance.  The MSNBC article focuses on the Value Voters Summit, a Republican conference to discuss how the party can reach out to voters who are conservative on social issues, a major base for the Republican party.  Read both articles and answer the following questions.

FoxNews article:
1. ID at least four unit 2 concepts in the article with corresponding evidence from the article (I need a concept tied to a brief quote from the article here).
2. Identify two major factors (specifically citing the article for evidence) that affect a candidate’s chances for winning an election.  Rank them in order of importance and explain why you think each concept is important.
3.  How will Catania’s status as a former Republican-turned-independent affect his chances to win the election come November?  Explain your answer.

MSNBC article:
1. What role do these type of events play in electoral politics?  What function do they serve? Answer with reference to at least two functions along with an explanation of why it is important.
2. Do you think it is possible for Republicans to maintain socially conservative policies and still win over enough independents (also women and the youth vote) to win the 2016 election?  Why or why not?
3. What are some possible political ramifications if Republicans actually do relax their stance on social policies to attract independents?  Will this dissuade conservatives from voting for them? Will it leave an opening for a socially conservative third party to make an impact? Why or why not?