Rent 9780321241634 | You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics

Presents 18 "pro" and "con" debates on a variety of political issues.

This exciting new debate-style reader edited by John Rourke examines provocative issues in American politics today. The topics featured in "You Decide!" have been selected for their currency, importance, and student interest, and the pieces arguing various sides of a given issue come from recent journals, congressional hearings, think tanks, and periodicals. Sure to get students engaged and thinking critically about our political system, "You Decide!"

Preface

xiv

Constitution

(14)

Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Individual Right or Subject to Regulation?

... MORE

Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Individual Right

Advocate: Joyce Malcolm, Professor, Department of History, Bentley College and Senior Fellow, MIT Security Studies Program

Source: ``Infringement,'' Common Place, July 2002

Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Subject to Regulation

Advocate: Daniel A. Farber, Henry J. Fletcher Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, University of Minnesota

Source: ``Disarmed by Time: The Second Amendment and the Failure of Originalism,'' Chicago-Kent Law Review, 2000

Federalism

(10)

The Rehnquist Court and Federalism: Hobbling Congress or Defending the States?

The Rehnquist Court and Federalism: Hobbling Congress

Advocate: Leon Friedman, Professor, Hofstra University School of Law

Source: ``Overruling the Court,'' American Prospect, August 27, 2001

The Rehnquist Court and Federalism: Defending the States

Advocate: Marci A. Hamilton, Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Narrowing the Nation's Power: The Supreme Court Sides with the States,'' before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, October 1, 2002

Civil Rights

(22)

Banning D & X (Partial-Birth) Abortions: Violating Women's Rights or Protecting Fetal Rights?

Banning D&X (Partial-Birth) Abortions: Violating Women's Rights

Advocate: Center for Reproductive Rights

Source: Position paper, ``Unconstitutional Assault on the Right to Choose: `Partial-Birth Abortion' Ban Is an Affront to Women and to the U.S. Supreme Court,'' February 2003

Banning D&X (Partial-Birth) Abortions: Protecting Fetal Rights

Advocate: Kathi A. Aultman, MD, board certified obstetrician gynecologist, and Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Source: Testimony during hearings the ``Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002'' before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, July 9, 2002

Civil Liberties

(12)

Anti-Terrorist Legislation: Threat To Civil Liberties or Constitutional Shield?

Anti-Terrorist Legislation: Threat to Civil Liberties

Advocate: Timothy Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute

Source: ``Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving Our Liberties While Fighting Terrorism,'' Cato Policy Analysis No. 443, June 26, 2002

Anti-Terrorist Legislation: Constitutional Shield

Advocate: Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor, National Review

Source: ``1984 in 2003? Fears about the Patriot Act Are Misguided,'' National Review, June 2, 2003

American People/Political Culture

(18)

English as The National Language: Make It Official or Accept Linguistic Diversity?

English as the National Language: Make It Official

Advocate: Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board and CEO of U.S. English

Source: ``Statement from the Chairman,'' Website of U.S. English

English as the National Language: Accept Linguistic Diversity

Advocate: Edward M. Chen, Staff Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Implications of `Official English' Legislation,'' before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families, November 1, 1995

Public Opinion/Participation

(16)

Post-9/11 Criticism of U.S. Foreign Policy: Un-American or Patriotic

Post-9/11 Criticism of U.S. Foreign Policy: Un-American

Advocate: Victor Davis Hanson, Shifrin Visiting Professor of Military History, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis

Source: ``I Love Iraq, Bomb Texas,'' Commentary, December 2002

Post-9/11 Criticism of U.S. Foreign Policy: Patriotic

Advocate: Gore Vidal, novelist, playwright, and essayist

Source: ``We Are the Patriots,'' The Nation, June 2003

Media

(12)

``Embeded'' Reporters During The War with Iraq: Innovative Coverage or Voyeuristic Reality TV?

``Embedded'' Reporters During the War with Iraq: Innovative Coverage

Advocate: Sherry Ricchiardi, Senior Writer, American Journalism Review

Source: ``Close to the Action,'' American Journalism Review, May/June 2003

``Embeded'' Reporters During the War with Iraq: Voyeuristic Reality TV

Advocate: Paul Friedman, former Executive Vice-President, ABC News

Source: ``TV: A Missed Opportunity,'' Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2003

Interest Groups

106

(12)

Ethnic Foreign Policy Lobbying: Misplaced Allegience or All-American Tradition?

Ethnic Foreign Policy Lobbying: Misplaced Allegiance

Advocate: Geoffrey Wheatcroft, a British journalist

Source: ``Hyphenated Americans,'' Guardian Unlimited online, April 25, 2000

Ethnic Foreign Policy Lobbying: All-American Tradition

Advocate: Yossi Shain, Aaron and Cecile Goldman Visiting Professor, Georgetown University; Professor of Political Science, Tel Aviv University

Source: ``For Ethnic Americans, The Old Country Calls,'' Foreign Service Journal, October 2000

Political Parties

118

(18)

The Odds-On Favorite in the Future: Democrats or Republicans?

The Odds-On Favorite in the Future: Democrats

Advocate: John B. Judis, Senior Editor, The New Republic, and Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, the Century Foundation

Source: ``America's Changing Political Geography: Where Democrats Can Build a Majority,'' Blueprint: Ideas for a New Century, September/October 2002

The Odds-On Favorite in the Future: Republicans

Advocate: Daniel Casse

Source: ``An Emerging Republican Majority?'' Commentary, January 2003

Voting/Campaigns/Elections

136

(12)

The Electoral College: Abolish or Preserve?

The Electoral College: Abolish

Advocate: Becky Cain, President, League of Women Voters

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Proposals for Electoral College Reform: H.J. Res. 28 and H.J. Res. 43'' before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, September 4, 1997

The Electoral College: Preserve

Advocate: Judith A. Best, Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Cortland

Congress

148

(12)

Congressional Term Limits: Promoting Choice or Restricting Choice?

Congressional Term Limits: Promoting Choice

Advocate: Paul Jacob, Executive Director, U.S. Term Limits

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Limiting Terms of Office for Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives,'' before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, January 22, 1997

Congressional Term Limits: Restricting Choice

Advocate: John R. Hibbing, Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska

Presidency

160

(16)

Presidential War Powers and Terrorism: Unilateral Authority or constitutional Constraints

Presidential War Power and Terrorism: Unilateral Authority

Advocate: Douglas Kmiec, Dean of the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Applying the War Powers Resolution to the War on Terrorism,'' before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, April 17, 2002

Presidential War Power and Terrorism: Constitutional Constraints

Advocate: Jane Stromseth, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Applying the War Powers Resolution to the War on Terrorism,'' before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, April 17, 2002

Bureaucracy

176

(12)

The Department of Education and Title IX: Champion of Equality or Overzealous Crusader?

The Department of Education and Title IX: Champion of Equality

Advocate: Judith Sweet, Vice-President for Championships and Senior Women Administrator, National Collegiate Athletic Association

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Secretary's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, Hearings, August 27, 2002

The Department of Education and Title IX: Overzealous Crusader

Advocate: Amanda Ross-Edwards, Visiting Professor of Political Science, Fairfield University

Source: ``The Department of Education and Title IX: Flawed Interpretation and Implementation,'' an essay written for this volume, October 2003

Judiciary

188

(28)

Legal Philosophy as a Qualification for The Bench: Judicious Standard or Obstructionist Barrier?

Legal Philosophy as a Qualification for the Bench: Judicious Standard

Advocate: Laurence H. Tribe, Professor, Harvard Law School

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Judicial Nominations, Filibusters, and the Constitution: When a Majority Is Denied Its Right to Consent,'' before U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, May 6, 2002

Legal Philosophy as a Qualification for the Bench: Obstructionist Barrier

Advocate: Todd F. Gaziano, Senior Fellow in Legal Studies and Director, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``A Judiciary Diminished Is Justice Denied: The Constitution, the Senate, and the Vacancy Crisis in the Federal Judiciary'' before U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, October 10, 2002

Economic Policy

216

(12)

Constitutionally Require a Balanced Budget: Fiscal Sanity or Fiscal Irresponsibility?

Constitutionally Require a Balanced Budget: Fiscal Sanity

Advocate: William Beach, Director, Center for Data Analysis, Heritage Foundation

Source: Testimony during hearings on the ``Balanced Budget Amendment'' before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, March 6, 2003

Constitutionally Require a Balanced Budget: Fiscal Irresponsibility

Advocate: Richard Kogan, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Source: Testimony during hearings on the ``Balanced Budget Amendment'' before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, March 6, 2003

Criminal Justice Policy

228

(12)

The Death Penalty: Racially Biased or Justice Served?

The Death Penalty: Racially Biased

Advocate: Julian Bond, Professor of History, University of Virginia and Distinguished Professor-in-Residence, American University

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Race and the Federal Death Penalty,'' before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Constitution, Federalism, and Property Rights, June 13, 2001

The Death Penalty: Justice Served

Advocate: Andrew G. McBride, former U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General

Education Policy

240

(14)

Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality or Unfair Advantage?

Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality

Advocate: 41 College Students and 3 Student Coalitions

Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Affirmative Action Admissions: Unfair Advantage

Advocate: 21 Law Professors

Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)