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Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s pick of controversial Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate is the subject of Tom Schaller’s latest Salon column, “Ryan pick in 5 easy steps.” The political science professor explores what Romney’s VP selection means for the election and the GOP’s feature, starting with the arguments that Romney is playing it safe with the nomination and “the Romney camp clearly believes that a base-mobilizing strategy, rather than a swing voter-conversion strategy, is its best chance to win the White House.” Schaller also argues that Ryan’s selection is further evidence the national GOP has become… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

A recent controversy surrounding the anti-gay marriage comments of Chick-fil-A President and COO Dan Cathy is the subject of the latest Baltimore Sun column by UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller. In “Chick-fil-A head has a right to speak, not a right to be taken seriously,” Schaller focuses on what he sees as misunderstandings on the part of Cathy’s defenders when it comes to the First Amendment right to free speech. Schaller suggests that arguing that the backlash against Chick-fil-A constitutes censorship demonstrates ignorance of constitutional and policy matters. He writes, “[t]he First Amendment is no guarantee against being justifiably… Continue Reading Tom Schaller, Political Science, in Baltimore Sun

Political science professor Thomas Schaller’s latest Salon column asks, “Will Asian voters swing the election?” Nearly 6% of the U.S. population is Asian American — an estimated 18 million people — but when it comes to elections this diverse group often gets lets attention than African Americans and Latinos. Some are now calling these overlooked voters a “sleeping political giant,” but without a firm sense of how their votes might affect the 2012 presidential race.Schaller writes, “the Asian American vote remains fluid as a result of its ethnic, religious and national heterogeneity, and the often stark differences between immigrant and… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers has been named recipient of the Frieder Naschold Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Field of Public Management for his paper “The Remarkable Case of Disappearing Earmarks in the United States: The Limits of Transparency Reforms” (download full pdf).The Naschold Award recognizes the best paper presented at the conference of the International Public Management Network (IPMN) and is given once every other year. Meyers will formally receive the honor at the IPMN 2013 Conference in Siena, Italy.Meyers also recently participated in the Memos to National Leaders project, coauthoring four memoranda (full PDF)… Continue Reading Roy T. Meyers, Political Science, Receives Naschold Award

In a July 12 piece for Salon entitled “Will Obama’s Bain blows land?” Tom Schaller, professor of political science, analyzed the president’s emerging strategy of focusing on Mitt Romney’s history with the investment firm Bain Capital. Schaller expressed doubts that these critiques will work. ” After all, Obama’s populist record is mixed: undeniably strong on some issues (expanded healthcare coverage, student loans and payroll taxes), and spotty if not weak on others (Wall Street prosecutions and reform, extension of Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and job outsourcing),” he wrote. Schaller concludes the piece by writing that “even if the president,… Continue Reading Tom Schaller, Political Science, on Salon