Exit Polls and Voter Turnout

So much for yesterday's discussion of exit polls affecting election outcomes -- here's a Monkey Cage post reporting on some new research that uses a variety of data gathering and analysis methods to conclude that exit poll reporting doesn't drive down turnout.

Unconventional Participation

Tomorrow's topic is unconventional participation. In general, political participation refers to actions taken by citizens to influence government structures, personnel, and/or policies; forms of participation are labeled "unconventional" when they entail actions that "can lead to arrest and punishment."*

In class, we'll be focusing especially on civil disobedience (AKA "passive resistance") -- that is, the deliberate refusal to obey an unjust law so as to achieve its repeal -- and some of its critics. Civil rights activists made good use of this peaceful protest method to achieve policy reform during the 1960s. For example, the lunch-counter "sit-in" campaign that was initiated by Greensboro, NC college students in 1960 (see picture) featured blatant violations of state and local ordinances as a means for achieving the desegregation of restaurants and other public facilities.

As Smith highlights, though, unconventional participation can also take on a decidedly violent cast. This map (and accompanying discussion) illustrates the extent and effects of political violence in the United States during the 20th century. The site author notes that "the biggest peculiarity of American political violence is that there's not more of it," especially in light of the US's relatively high prevalence of non-political violence. It's an interesting observation, and of course begs the question of why it's turned out this way.

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*Raymond A. Smith, The American Anomaly: U.S. Government and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Routledge, 2008) p. 163.

Global Health: How the US Stacks Up

The other day I came across this clip of a recent presentation by Hans Rosling, Swedish professor of global health:



About 11-and-a-half minutes in, he breaks down the correlation between GDP and child survival rates in OECD countries (as Rosling puts it, "the country club of the UN"). As you can see, the US is a bit of an outlier: While its per capita GDP exceeds that of any other country, its child survival rate is at the low end of the OECD set. You can take a closer look (and play around with different variables and country trends) at Rosling's interactive "Gapminder" map. To be sure, child survival in the US is quite high when compared to the world as a whole. Still, its location within the OECD constellation shows a noteworthy departure from the usually positive wealth/health correlation.

In a post last week, I mentioned that President Franklin Roosevelt proposed an "economic bill of rights" back during the Great Depression/New Deal era. One of his proposals was "the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health." His successor, Harry Truman, followed up by calling upon Congress to establish a national comprehensive health insurance program in order to "assure the right to adequate medical care and protection from the economic fears of sickness." Lobbyists for the American Medical Association (among others) worked tirelessly to oppose the initiative, though, and with the Cold War heating up, Truman's health care plan was easily branded as "socialistic" and never enacted into law. Nearly a half-century later, then-Governor Bill Clinton revived Truman's cause in his 1992 campaign for the presidency. As president, he appointed a Taskforce on National Health Care Reform to propose a comprehensive, universal healthcare plan. The Clinton health care plan was ultimately derailed by the so-called "Republican Revolution" of 1994.

In 2008, health care is a major presidential election campaign issue yet again. Do you think the 44th president will be able to achieve what Truman and Clinton strived for but ultimately failed to accomplish? What obstacles would the candidates face in implementing their respective health care plans? If implemented, how far will their plans go towards improving Americans' health?

Representative Dan Brady

Tomorrow's class will feature a visit from State Representative Dan Brady, who represents the 88th legislative district (which includes ISU) in the Illinois General Assembly. You can read up on Mr. Brady's career and legislative record on his website. You might also search local media outlets like the Pantagraph and ISU's Daily Vidette for coverage of the Representative's recent activities and statements.

Voter Turnout Resources

The source for the comparative voter turnout figures I presented in class is the International IDEA, an intergovernmental organization whose aim is to "support democracy worldwide." IDEA's voter turnout data are available here.

This New York Times "Freakonomics" column offers an interesting take on the subject of why voters vote (or don't, as is often the case) and how we might improve voter turnout in the US. Also interesting are some of the letters readers wrote to the editor in response to the article's "rationalist" explanation for voter turnout; see here, here, here, here, here, and here.