Do Presidential Debates Matter?
By Michael A. Genovese There are three rules to presidential debating: 1. Don’t lose; 2. Don’t say anything stupid; and 3. Do not get off message. Today debates are the norm; they used to…
Commentary
Scary Politics
Threatening messages often are central to political campaigns, and opinions abound about their effect on elections Bethany Albertson ’99, professor of government at UT Austin, decided to run experiments to see how voters react…
Podcast: Tracking Gerrymandering with Justin Levitt
Gerrymandering, it has been said, creates elections in which politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. Justin Levitt, an expert in constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tracks…
Civics 101: The State Taketh Away
Because of federal and state civil asset forfeiture laws, you could go out for a night on the town and return on foot because your car, cash and wallet contents were confiscated by police…
Podcast: Our Freedom Ride & The Fight Against Segregation
In July 1961, Robert Singleton, retired LMU professor of economics, and Helen Singleton M.A. ’85 left Los Angeles for New Orleans, where in defiance of state segregation laws, they boarded a train bound for…
Podcast: Money, Motivations and the Trump Factor in 2020
With 23 candidates, the Democrats’ presidential primary process looks like a dinner party with too many guests. Richard Fox, LMU professor of political science who specializes in U.S. elections, discusses the fight for money,…