You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics, 2007 Edition

by Rourke, John T.

Edition:

4th

ISBN13:

9780321430168

ISBN10:

0321430166

Format:

Paperback

Pub. Date:

1/1/2007

Publisher(s):

Longman

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Summary

This best-selling, debate-style reader is edited and updated annually by John Rourke to examine the most important and provocative issues in American politics. The 2007 edition draws students into the key topics that have made headlines and affected our political system during 2006 and are likely to affect our daily lives in 2007. 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.

Preface

Constitution

(14)

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

Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Individual Right

Advocate: Robert A. Levy, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Oversight Hearing on the District of Columbia's Gun Control Laws,'' before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, June 28, 2005

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

Also suitable for chapters on Courts, Civil Liberties, Criminal Justice Policy

Federalism

(16)

Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Appropriate National Power or Usurpation of State Authority?

Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Appropriate National Power

Advocate: John Paul Stevens III, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Source: Opinion in Gonzales v. Raich, June 6, 2005

Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Usurpation of State Authority

Advocate: Sandra Day O'Connor, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Source: Opinion in Gonzales v. Raich, June 6, 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Rights, Courts, Constitution

Civil Rights

(12)

Evaluating the ``Right to an Abortion'' Decision In Roe V. Wade: Positive Impact or Negative Impact?

Evaluating the ``Right to an Abortion'' Decision in Roe v. Wade: Positive Impact

Advocate: R. Alta Charo, Professor of Law and Bioethics; Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, University of Wisconsin Law School

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``The Consequences of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Boston,'' U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights June 23, 2005

Evaluating the ``Right to an Abortion'' Decision in Roe v. Wade: Negative Impact

Advocate: Teresa Collett, Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``The Consequences of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton,'' U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights June 23, 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Courts, American Political Culture/Ideology, Interest Groups

Civil Liberties

(16)

The Phrase ``Under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance: Violation of the First Amendment or Acceptable Traditional Expression?

The Phrase ``Under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance: Violation of the First Amendment

Advocate: Douglas Laycock, Professor, School of Law, University of Texas; and Counsel of Record for 32 Christian and Jewish clergy filing an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Elk Grove School District v. Newdow

Source: A discussion of the topic ``Under God? Pledge of Allegiance Constitutionality,'' sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and held before the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., March 19, 2004

The Phrase ``Under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance: Acceptable Traditional Expression

Advocate: Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice; and Counsel of Record for 76 members of Congress and the Committee to Protect the Pledge filing an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Elk Gove School District v. Newdow

Also suitable for chapters on Courts, Political Culture (role of religion in politics)

American People/Political Culture

(12)

Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants: Rewarding Illegal Behavior Or Rewarding Contributions To America?

Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants: Rewarding Illegal Behavior

Advocate: James R. Edwards, Jr., Adjunct Fellow, Hudson Institute

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Should We Embrace the Senate's Grant of Amnesty to Millions of Illegal Aliens and Repeat the Mistakes of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986?'' U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, July 18, 2006

Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants Rewarding Contributions to America

Advocate: Tom Harkin, U.S. Senator (D-IA)

Source: Congressional Record, March 29, 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Social Policy

Public Opinion/Participation

(10)

Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Laudable Patriots or Dangerous Vigilantes?

Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Laudable Patriots

Advocate: Chris Simcox, President of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Securing Our Borders: What We Have Learned From Government Initiatives and Citizen Patrols,'' U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, May 12, 2005

Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Dangerous Vigilantes

Advocate: Asheesh Siddique, Editor, The Princeton Progressive Review, Princeton University

Source: ``The New Nativism,'' Campus Progress News, Spring 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy

Media

(14)

Shielding Journalists' Sources from Subpoena: Protecting Democracy or Impeding Justice?

Shielding Journalists' Sources from Subpoena: Protecting Democracy

Advocate: Norman Pearlstine, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc.

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Reporters' Shield Legislation: Issues and Implications,'' U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, July 20, 2005

Shielding Journalists' Sources from Subpoena: Impeding Justice

Advocate: James B. Comey, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Reporters' Shield Legislation: Issues and Implications,'' U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, July 20, 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Liberties

Interest Groups

(44)

The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: Goliath or David?

The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: Goliath

Advocates: John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Program on International Security Policy, University of Chicago; and Stephen Walt, Robert and Rene Belfer Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Source: ``The Israel Lobby,'' London Review of Books, March 23, 2006

The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: David

Advocate: Alan Dershowitz, Professor, School of Law, Harvard University

Source: ``Debunking the Newest -- and Oldest -- Jewish Conspiracy: A Reply to the Mearsheimer-Walt 'Working Paper,''' Faculty Research Working Papers, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Also suitable for chapters on Political Culture, Foreign Policy

Political Parties

140

(18)

Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: The Democrats' Best Bet or a Problematic Candidate?

Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: The Democrats' Best Bet

Advocate: Carl Cannon, White House correspondent for the National Journal

Source: ``She Can Win the White House,'' Washington Monthly, July/August 2005

Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: A Problematic Candidate

Advocate: Amy Sullivan, editor, Washington Monthly

Source: ``Not So Fast,'' Washington Monthly, July/August 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Elections

Voting/Campaigns/Elections

158

(14)

Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote: Reasonable Requirement or Unnecessary Barrier to Participation?

Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote: Reasonable Requirement

Advocate: Patrick J. Rogers, attorney and member of the Board of Directors of the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Non-citizen Voting,'' before the House of Representatives, Committee on House Administration, June 22, 2006

Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote: Unnecessary Barrier to Participation

Advocate: Christine Chen, Executive Director of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Non-citizen Voting,'' before the House of Representatives, Committee on House Administration, June 22, 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Rights, Federalism

Congress

172

(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,'' 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

Also suitable for chapters on Elections

Presidency

184

(14)

Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Justified or Politically Motivated?

Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Justified

Advocate: John W. Dean, former Counsel to the President of the United States

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Senate Resolution 398 Relating to the Censure of George W. Bush,'' U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, March 31, 2006

Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Politically Motivated

Advocate: Professor Robert Turner, Associate Director, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``An Examination of the Call to Censure the President,'' United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, March 31, 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy

Bureaucracy

198

(16)

The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Undermining Progress or Regulating Reasonably?

The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Undermining Progress

Advocate: Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Professor, Florida Coastal School of Law and U.S. Olympic triple goal medalist in swimming (1984)

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``The First Tee and Schools: Working to Build Character Education,'' U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce, June 28, 2006

The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Regulating Reasonably

Advocate: Amanda Ross-Edwards, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, North Carolina State University

Source: ``Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: A Step in the Right Direction,'' an essay written especially for this volume, October 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Rights, Education Policy

Judiciary

214

(16)

Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Frustrating the Majority or Protecting The Minority?

Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Frustrating the Majority

Advocate: Orrin G. Hatch, U.S. Senator (R-UT)

Source: Congressional Record, May 10, 2005

Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Protecting the Minority

Advocate: Harry F. Byrd, U.S. Senator (D-WV)

Source: Congressional Record, March 1, 2005

Also suitable for chapters on Constitution, Congress

State and Local Government

230

(14)

Taking Property By Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Serving the Public Good or Abusing of Government Power?

Taking Property by Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Serving the Public Good

Advocate: Jeffrey Finkle, President And Chief Executive Office, International Economic Development Council

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``Protecting Property Rights After Kelo,'' before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy And Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, October 19, 2005

Taking Property by Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Abuse of Government Power

Advocate: Michael D. Ramsey, Professor, School of Law, University of San Diego

Also suitable for chapters on Constitution, Courts, Economic Policy

Budgetary Policy

244

(14)

A Line-Item Veto for the President: Prudent Way to Restrain Spending or Unwise Grant of Power?

A Line-Item Veto for the President: Prudent Way to Restrain Spending

Advocate: Paul Ryan, U.S. Representative (R-WI)

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``The Constitution and the Line-Item Veto,'' U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, April 27, 2006

A Line-Item Veto for the President: Unwise Grant of Power

Advocate: Cristina Martin Firvida, Senior Counsel, National Women's Law Center

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``The Constitution and the Line Item Veto,'' U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, April 27, 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Constitution, President, Congress

Criminal Justice Policy

258

(20)

The Death Penalty: Fatally Flawed or Defensible?

The Death Penalty: Fatally Flawed

Advocate: Stephen B. Bright, Director, Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia; Visiting Lecturer in Law, Harvard and Yale Law Schools

Source: Testimony during hearings on ``An Examination of the Death Penalty in the United States'' before the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, February 1, 2006

The Death Penalty: Defensible

Advocate: John McAdams, Professor of Political Science, Marquette University

Also suitable for chapters on Civil Rights

Education Policy

278

(14)

Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality or Unfair Advantage?

Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality

Advocates: 41 College Students and 3 Student Coalitions

Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bolligner (2003)

Affirmative Action Admissions: Unfair Advantage

Advocates: 21 Law Professors

Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bolligner (2003)

Also suitable for chapters on Constitution, Civil Rights

Foreign Policy

292

(19)

U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Stay the Course or Withdraw Quickly?

U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Stay the Course

Advocate: George W. Bush, President of the United States

Source: ``This Is Going To Be Freedom's Century,'' address delivered at the Freedom House, Washington, D.C., March 29, 2006

U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Withdraw Quickly

Advocates: Wesley B. Renfro and Brian Urlacher, doctoral students, Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut

Source: ``With Terrorism Growing and Civil War Looming the United States Must Withdraw from Iraq,'' an essay written especially for this volume, October 2006

Also suitable for chapters on Policymaking, National Security Policy

Credits

311

You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics, 2007 Edition

9780321430168

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Table of Contents