Power, leverage, and influence have come in all different forms through our nation's history. Many political junkies have chronicled this push and pull of power between the Congress and President as the 'law of ebb and flow.' Primarily during moments of national crisis (war, recession, etc.) have created stronger POTUSes. However, there have been equally great Congresses. Honestly, I cannot tell where we are right now. I would think that we are in neither. We don't have a 'czar' Speaker... Boehner is struggling to keep his party together. The 'young guns,' McCarthy, Ryan, and Cantor, are fighting to control the House. And to dismantle the direction Obama wants to take. So, it is an interesting time indeed. I like to compare and contrast how members of Congress get things done. How the top does it; what it is like at the bottom of the pile. So, I show two movies. First up is Cliffhanger. While some people criticize PBS for painting Boehner in a sympathetic or inept light, you still get a feel for the way things are done on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Follow that up with Mr. Cao Goes to Washington. As a freshman member, he represents a traditionally black district in the heart of New Orleans... and struggles to be true to his district and to the party's needs. Between the two movies, you get some great questions about how each side gets leverage... like freshman are better working en masse, using grassroots pressure... while the party elite rely on campaign donations, sweetheart legislation, and handing out high ranking political positions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Jen's bookshelf: nerdcation
I want to start by thanking Mr. Snowden and Mr. Greenwald for their uncompromising dedication to giving the NSA violations air time and transparency.
I wanted to share some of the most important things I have learned from this book bef...
tagged:
nerdcation
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
AuthorI lovgov. LOVE IT! I love teaching government, learning about it, debating, discussing, asking questions about government. And not the standard boiler plate questions, but the hard ones that are NOT in the books. Archives
August 2018
Categories
All
|