PoliticalScience

Political science professor Thomas Schaller appeared on yesterday’s Marc Steiner Show to discuss the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Schaller spoke about the DNC and what it means for the election with fellow panelists Rae Abileah (Code Pink), Neil Sroka (Progressive Change Campaign Committee), Cory McCray (BEST Democratic Club) and legislative consultant Tyrone Keys. The program also received calls from Gov. Martin O’Malley and Maryland State Delegate Mary L. Washington, directly from the DNC. Want to learn more about Schaller’s perspective on the election? Check out his regular columns in Salon and the Baltimore Sun.

“Obama’s speech Thursday night will not be the most important of his career, nor even his most important electoral speech…But Charlotte ain’t Denver, and this moment calls for neither hope nor change,” writes Thomas F. Schaller, professor of political science at UMBC, in his latest Salon column. Schaller suggests, ‘What it calls for instead is an unapologetic defense of four years worthy of this president’s historical measure.” He expects Obama to tout the successes of his first term, but “to do so in humble, even sober tones,” given the country’s ongoing economic challenges and a less optimistic outlook than dominated… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

An article in today’s Baltimore Sun explores the Maryland GOP’s efforts to have a greater impact in the Democratic-leaning state. One aspect of this work could be capitalizing on an open seat for governor and a potentially messy Democratic primary in 2014 by remaining unified behind a single GOP gubernatorial candidate. “They can hope for a disorganized Democratic Party and fuel that dissension,” UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller told the Sun. This could “put them in a position to be there like a trapeze to catch the governor’s race if it drops.”

During his speech accepting the GOP vice presidential nomination, Paul Ryan used strong language blaming President Obama for the unraveling of the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson Commission, created to develop a policy strategy for fiscal sustainability. Ryan remarked, “He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.”PolitiFact asked a number of experts, including UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers, for their take on Ryan’s remarks. “‘They?’ ‘Them?’ Why didn’t he say, ‘us?’” wrote Meyers. “It’s beyond hypocritical. It’s repeatedly and cynically dishonest.”Experts from the… Continue Reading Roy Meyers, Political Science, on PolitiFact

Social Movements and the New State: The Fate of Pro-Democracy Organizations When Democracy Is Won, from Stanford University Press, is the latest book by Brian K. Grodsky, associate professor of political science at UMBC. Reviewers have called it “exceptionally rich” and “theoretically innovative.” The book description reads: The world’s democracies cheered as the social movements of the Arab Spring ended the reigns of longstanding dictators and ushered in the possibility of democracy. Yet these unique transitions also fit into a broader pattern of democratic breakthroughs around the globe, where political leaders emerge from the pro-democracy movement that helped affect change.… Continue Reading Brian Grodsky, Political Science, Publishes New Book on Pro-Democracy Movements

Missouri representative Todd Akin’s claims regarding “legitimate rape” served as the inspiration for political science professor Tom Schaller’s latest column inThe Baltimore Sun. In “Todd Akin rape claim is just the tip of the GOP wacko iceberg,” published August 21st, Schaller noted that regardless of how offensive and strange the views of the embattled Missouri senatorial candidate are, they are not so atypical when compared with other views held by far right politicians regarding sex, contraception, abortion, feminism, economic policy, climate change and race. Schaller concluded the column by making note of Akin’s support for repealing the 17th Amendement, which allows for the direct election of… Continue Reading Tom Schaller, Political Science, in The Baltimore Sun

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