A pique at March 21, 2016
Quote for the day
“One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping stone to something better,”
Colonel Sanders. The Colonel wasn’t always successful. He had felt the burn before
finding success with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Preparing for the AP American
Government and Politics exam is not for the faint of heart. This is no time to be
chicken. Nor is it time to treat our students like horse-race journalists. Right about
now we begin to second-guess ourselves. Have we learned anything? Will we ever be
prepared? A little failure now may go a long way at succeeding later. Order up that
daily dose of government nuggets. It may be time for us to “feel the Colonel” and heed
his advice.
Measuring Stick
There is much talk these days about listening to the voice of the people. “Let the
primary voters speak” we are told. Geoffrey Cowan has written an excellent little book
about the birth of the process unfolding before our eyes – “Let the People Rule:
Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary.” In a speech at Carnegie
Hall, in 1912, Teddy Roosevelt advocated for direct primaries in order to challenge
what he called the “tyranny of minorities.” Cowan argues, however, that Roosevelt’s
motives might not have been quite so honorable. Roosevelt had been bribing possible
black delegates in Southern states to vote for him over the incumbent Taft. He needed
more black votes in the South to win the nomination and direct primaries was the only
way to accomplish that goal. “The right of the people to rule,” Roosevelt said, is “the
great fundamental issue before…our people.” As long as it helps me win the
nomination, right?
Today we hear about “listening to the people” and “whoever gets the most votes”
should be the party nominee. Both political parties should stand by the rules of the
game that were determined when these contests began. If Trump does not receive the
1237 delegates required, for instance, it would seem the rules say there must be a
contested convention. Otherwise we would in fact realize a “tyranny of the minority”
again. The Republicans in 1912 experienced a contested convention. If you recall TR’s
“big stick” came up short. Roosevelt ultimately lost the nomination to President Taft.
From a civics standpoint, I would look forward to a contested convention. Though I
would not want to witness a 1912 outcome again. Roosevelt’s delegates did not take
kindly to the process in the end. Roosevelt’s delegates started picking fights on the
Republican convention floor. After they marched out of the Republican convention TR
delegates created their own party – The Bull Moose Party. The voice of the people we
want, but not their fists. Avoiding their bull might be more difficult.
The Ides have it
Who writes this stuff? Last week, in the shadow of the Ides of March, president Barack
Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the vacated seat of Antonin Scalia on the U.S.
Supreme Court. Game on. The fight between Obama and the Republican Senate is
unlike anything we have seen in recent years. But we have seen it before. As told by
Plutarch and Shakespeare, alike, the Roman Senate over two thousand years ago was
not about to relinquish the republic to a single emperor. One of their first acts of civic
rebellion was to remove the garland draped around Caesar’s statues. One of the
Roman Senate’s first acts of civil disobedience was to deny Caesar the honor of the
garland around his neck. MMM. Will this Republican Senate deny our imperial
president his Garland? Et tu, McConnell? Life is a stage after all.
What to say when . . . asked about POLITICAL EFFICACY. Political
efficacy is a basic measurement important to all successful democratic polities. Political
efficacy measures how well the people understand their government. It also takes into
account how responsive the government is to the people. Increasing levels of political
participation marks societies with high levels of political efficacy. This increases both the
legitimacy and authority of the government. Unfortunately the contrary is true as well.
Declining participation typifies low political efficacy. With a decline in legitimacy and
authority elected officials loose their vitality and ultimately their ability to govern.
Democracy is unthinkable without an electorate characterized by a certain standard of
efficacy. It might be my favorite “F” word – efficacy.
Things to Know
On the AP American Government and Politics Test students will have 45 minutes to
complete 60 Multiple Choice Questions. Here is our advice for performing at optimum
levels: READ each question CAREFULLY. Look for words like NO or EXCEPT. Avoid
skipping around; answer the 60 questions in order. Mark up the critical words. Restate
the question in your own way. What do I think they are asking? Answer the question
BEFORE looking at the discriminators. Find the answer and MARK the answer sheet
carefully. BUBBLE conscientiously. What if I do not know the answer? Try to reduce
the discriminators down to at least 2 or 3. Make the BEST educated GUESS that you can.
NO BLANKS anymore. If time permits DOUBLE CHECK your work. [In a 60 item AP
M/C test try to KNOW 30 questions hands down. Have an educated guess on 15. Do
not panic if you have NO IDEA on 15 questions. FEW KNOW IT ALL.] Check out
CitizenU.org for even more help.