Can weight make a difference?

I saw this and I was just confused. I don't see why a politician's weight has to be brought into the race, but I guess it's just another way for the other Republican nominees to bring up their stats for the upcoming election. Gingrich shouldn't be judged by his weight in the news but by his political prowess. I also don't think that it was right for Christie's weight to be mentioned during his run.

Rick Perry with some harsh words

This struck me because I don't think Rick Perry even thinks he himself has a shot anymore. When you tell people that you're going to reassign them to a "God-awful place" you are basically telling them to shove off. It seems as though he is no longer trying to get votes but to lose votes with this. Rick Perry needs to take a note from Herman Cain and reassess his campaign.

Support for Tea Party Drops Sharply

Now this was surprising. I found this article on the Tea Party and was extremely surprised how sharply the Tea Party fan base has decline. Districts that agreed overwhelmingly with the Tea Party just a year ago are now disagreeing with them. The numbers given in the article are stunning.

Hermain Cain Reassessing Candidacy Amid new Allegations

I just read a short article on the new allegations coming out against Hermain Cain. I figured since we touched up on it the first minute or two of class today I thought I would post an article about it just so we have a bit of a better understanding of how Mr. Cain is assessing the situation.

Jon Stewart- NPR

Jeff Smith article

Here is a link to the article about the arrest and conviction of Jeff Smith.  Who would have seen that coming?

A Scathing Critique of the GOP

David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush and a frequent GOP spokesman on Fox News, CNN and other cable outlets, writes a long piece questioning the sanity of the current crop of Republican leaders.  Well worth the time to read-- provides great insight as we head into the primary season (first Republican primary is the Iowa caucuses, on January 3-- just weeks away).  This will be great Thanksgiving weekend reading-- and may give you fuel for the fire if you are having dinner with any politically-inclined relatives.

Should Candidates Have to Pass a Civics Test?

A "panel discussion" from the New York Times, with five commentators weighing in on this topic-- especially timely in light of the embarrassing 'brain freeze' moments from Herman Cain and Rick Perry over the past week.  Worth reading in its entirety, especially in light of your summer reading.  Some of you made this very suggestion in your critical reviews of "Just How Stupid Are We?"  See what the 'experts' think!

Reforming Campaign Finances

A thoughtful analysis from a Harvard law professor.  Directly related to the issues we'll be exploring in Chapter 10!  If you don't read it before then, please plan to read when we are studying campaign finance issues.

On Maximizing Voter Turnout

Here's an interesting article by Congressional expert and political commentator Norman Ornstein, on the scheme being put forth by Republican legislators in Pennsylvania (led by State Senate majority leader Dominic Pileggi of Chester) to change the way the state would allocate its electoral votes. Ornstein critiques the idea and then proposes an alternative reform, designed to increase voter turnout and reward those states with the highest percentage of voter participation. What do you think? I'm interested in your reaction to either or both proposals that are discussed here.

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to the AP GoPo Blog! This blog is designed for the members of Mr. Danson's AP Government and Politics class at Penncrest High School. It is a place for us to post articles that we find relevant to our course content, that we think others in the class might find interesting, or that we would like to discuss with the group. While there will be a formal requirement for everyone to post and respond to articles here, it is my hope that we will visit more frequently in order to help each other keep up to date with the wild and wacky world of politics in the USA today!