2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

33-10 THE MEDIA, PUBLIC OPINION, ANDPRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIPRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 10:30 amSusan L. Roberts, Davidson CollegeThe Mass Mediated Presidencies of John F. Kennedy andRonald Reagan: From Spectacle to SimulacraJames A. D. Buccellato, Wayne State UniversityOverview: This essay examines the mass mediated presidenciesof JFK and Ronald Reagan. The paper improves upon previousresearch by using Guy Debord's socioeconomic theory toenhance our understanding of the presidential spectacle.Code Fear: The Terror Alert System and the Rally EffectTracy C. Burdett, Eastern Kentucky UniversityOverview: Can a basis for possible manipulation of the colorcodedterror alert system by the Bush administration be found inthe concept of the rally effect? I examine approval ratings andnews items for periods preceding each change in terror alertlevel.Presidential Persuasion and Media Coverage of DomesticPolicies Post-9/11Caroline E. Heldman, Whittier CollegeErinn M. Carter, University of California, Los AngelesOverview:TBAGoing Public When the Public Has Turned a Deaf EarTodd Kent, Texas A&M UniversityJustin S. Vaughn, Texas A&M UniversityOverview: Using time series methods, we determine the causalrelationship between declining public support for George W.Bush's Social Security reform plan, his handling of the Iraq warand the energy crisis, and his performance as president ingeneral.Presidential Leadership of Public Opinion on the EconomyJeffrey S. Peake, Bowling Green State UniversityMatthew Eshbaugh-Soha, University of North TexasOverview: Studies of leadership of opinion exclude animportant link in the public presidency: the media. Whencontrolling for media, our results indicate presidents havedifficulty leading the public primarily because of their relianceupon the 4th estate.Susan L. Roberts, Davidson CollegeR. Steven Daniels, California State University, Bakersfield34-13 DUCK AND COVER: FILIBUSTERING INCONGRESSRoomChairPaperTBA, Sun 10:30 amBurdett A. Loomis, University of KansasSupreme Court Appointments: Advice and Consent,Separation of PowersWilliam L. Rosenberg, Drexel UniversityOverview: Since the origins of the United States the institutionaland political processes of Supreme Court Nominations andconfirmations have been evolving.Paper Going to the Mattresses: Filibustering in Congress, 1789-1901Gregory Koger, University of MontanaOverview: I measure filibustering in the historic Congress,finding a general increase over time and more filibustering inthe House than the Senate. Regression analysis suggests thatfilibustering varies with partisanship and the scarcity ofchamber time.PaperA Historical Analysis of Points of Order in the United StatesSenateAnthony Madonna, Washington University, St. LouisOverview: This paper is an evaluation of all points of order inthe U.S. Senate from the 56th to 106th congresses. The resultsare then contrasted to the contemporary debate over the nuclearoption.PaperPaperDisc.A War of Words:The Duration of the Filibuster in the U.S.Senate, 1919-93Charles Shipan, University of IowaDoug Dion, University of IowaWilliam D. MacMillan, University of IowaOverview: This paper applies two war of attrition gametheoretic models to describe the use of the filibuster in theSenate from 1917-1993. Using a Weibull model, we findsupport for the existence of two regimes.Curing Obstruction? Potential Effects of Reforming theFilibusterLawrence S. Rothenberg, University of RochesterFang-Yi Chiou, Princeton UniversityOverview: Policy production in the United States is typicallyviewed as obstructed, with proposals and nominations stymiedagainst majority wishes.Michael P. Bobic, Emmanuel College36-101 ROUNDTABLE: PERSPECTIVES ON THERELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICALSCIENCE AND LAW AND SOCIETYRoomChairPanelistTBA, Sun 10:30 amMitchell Pickerill, Washington State UniversityJoel B. Grossman, Johns Hopkins UniversityDoris M. Provine, Arizona State UniversityChristopher Zorn, South Carolina UniversityHerbert M. Kritzer, University of Wisconsin, MadisonC. Neal Tate, Vanderbilt UniversityJames F. Spriggs, University of California, DavisOverview: This panel will evaluate the interconnectionsbetween the public law and judicial politics field in politicalscience and the Law and Society Association. The variousdistinguished scholars on the panel will, broadly speaking,explore the relationship37-1 COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON LAWAND RIGHTSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperTBA, Sun 10:30 amMichael R. Fine, University of Wisconsin, Eau ClaireConstitutional IdentityGary J. Jacobsohn, University of Texas, AustinOverview: An inquiry into the concept of constitutional identity.The approach is theoretical and comparative, the latter to bepursued with a dual focus on India and Ireland. Anunderstanding of constitutional change must confront thequestion of identity.The Americanization (?) of Canadian Voting RightsJurisprudenceMark Rush, Washington and Lee UniversityChristopher Manfredi, McGill UniversityOverview: An analysis of the evolution of Canadian SupremeCourt voting rights decisions from a distinct, collective-rightsoriented jurisprudence to one that struggles with individual andcollective rights in the same manner as its Americancounterpart.Not in Our Right Minds: Reason, Virtue and Crimes ofPassionCatherine E. Warrick, American UniversityOverview: The relationship between reason and virtue in societyis evaluated through an examination of comparative criminallaw. The legal treatment of “crimes of passion” points to theneed to reconsider reason as the basis of virtue in law andpolitics.Constitutionalism and the Detention of Non-Citizens inAustrialia, Canada and the U.S.Rebecca E. Hamlin, University of California, BerkeleyOverview: This paper compares recent court decisions regardingalien detention in three countries.267