All posts by: Dinah Winnick

A new Baltimore Sun column by UMBC’s Thomas F. Schaller, professor of political science, examines last week’s rejection of President Barack Obama’s proposal “to exchange a cut in corporate tax rates for an infrastructure-based jobs stimulus plan” by Congressional Republications.

Schaller suggest that this rejection was motivated in part by knowledge among GOP members of Congress that “corporate tax rates aren’t nearly as punitive for corporate America as they claim them to be.” Schaller notes that although President Obama suggests lowering the nominal corporate tax rate from 35% to 28%, the figure of more importance is the “effective” tax rate, which takes into account tax exemptions and write-offs. Read the full opinion column at The Baltimore Sun.

The fact-checking site PolitiFact recently asked UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers to weigh in on the accuracy of House Speaker John Boehner’s statement that President Obama has “announced that he would not sign any spending bills this year unless sequestration spending cuts are eliminated.”

Meyers noted that Statements of Administration Policy (SAPs) Boehner references here do indicate a veto threat, saying that this type of wording from the Obama administration is usually “meant as a strong ‘no’ … but a ‘no’ that is meant to say he is firm in his position and that it’s time to negotiate.” Combining this with the finding that the SAPs reference the House Republican budget but do not specifically cite the restoration of sequestration cuts, PolitiFact rates Boehner’s statement as “Half True.”

Read the full analysis at PolitiFact.

UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller commented on the high profile that recent ex-presidents are assuming in public affairs and politics in an AP story that appeared on NPR this week,

In “Ex-Presidents Club: Lots of life after White House,” Schaller says that “the opportunities are greater” for ex-presidents who want to remain engaged after their time in office. He points to the globalization of politics and increased collaboration among current and former leaders, such as the Clinton-Bush partnerships to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia. For more detail, read “The Contemporary Presidency: Postpresidential Influence in the Postmodern Era,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 33(1), which Schaller coauthored.

Schaller has also published a new column in The Baltimore Sun on President Obama’s recent comments about race in America following the George Zimmerman verdict. In the article Schaller writes, “[Obama] asked from us is a bit of introspection before we return to our regularly scheduled programming. Sadly, I suspect few Americans will oblige him, because empathy is more difficult to achieve than sympathy (which requires shared identities and experiences).”

Del. Heather Mizeur plans to announce her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor this week, joining Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown as an official candidate in the June 2014 primary.

If elected, Mizeur would become the first woman to serve as Maryland governor as well as the first openly gay governor in the nation, but Donald F. Norris, professor and chair of public policy at UMBC, told The Baltimore Sun that Mizeur faces “formidable odds” in trying to jump from the Maryland General Assembly to the governor’s office.

“She’s not known at all outside her district. She’s going to have a really hard time getting that name recognition and raising money,” Norris said. “In politics, hardly anything is impossible, but this is about as close as it gets.” Mizeur disagrees, predicting that her opponents will be “quite surprised” when her campaign files its next contribution report next January.

“An important part of one’s success as a [gubernatorial] nominee is getting the mentions and being perceived as a credible candidate,” Laura Hussey told Southern Maryland News, responding to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s endorsement of Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown for governor.

Hussey, an assistant professor of political science at UMBC, notes that Brown is a front-runner in the election and endorsements like Rawlings-Blake’s can deter potential rivals, but Brown will face challengers.

Attorney General Doug Gansler has already raised millions for a gubernatorial bid, and U.S. Rep. “Dutch” Ruppersberger and Del. Heather Mizeur are widely considered to be possible contenders. Hussey says Ruppersberger is already established in Maryland and would be popular, but he lacks the mystique of lesser-known candidates. She anticipates that Mizeur has a strong future in Maryland politics, but may not yet have the exposure for a gubernatorial run. Gansler, she suggests, would need to boost his name recognition outside of Montgomery County.

It’s been a busy few weeks in the news for UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller. In addition to his regular Baltimore Sun op-eds — most recently on immigration reform and the GOP’s demographic future — Schaller was quoted in The New Republic article “He’s Handsome, He’s Progressive, He’s a Rocker…” on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s presidential prospects. There, Schaller argues that it’s hard do build a national campaign on being a competent manager, without having a clear, coherent political identity.

Additionally, Schaller commented in the Baltimore Sun on Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s endorsement of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown as governor, calling the announcement “big.” Schaller reflected that Brown “is well known mostly in the suburbs [and] Prince George’s County,” and the mayor’s support “gives him a huge head start.”