Reviews (1)

Past points out shortcomings of the present
Doris Weatherford's book is a rare find eclipsing other histories of the first wave of the Women's Movement in it's precise details and meticulous data search.By simply stating the wealth of information kept in record bythe Seneca Falls group, Weatherford points out the inconsistencies betweenthe lack of modern day Feminist Movement dialogue.Indeed, I found myselfwishing the Second and Third Wave Feminists had captured the insight tokeep as meticulous a record on their struggles and activism.If you'relooking for Who-What-Why and How in the Women's Movement or for data on theSuffrage struggle and the hundred year battle to win women the vote, thisis THE book.As in her other books on women's history, Doris Weatherfordis the consummate researcher.The biblio alone is worth gold.Weatherfordwrites in an easy style that both engages and interests the reader as shebreathes life into Elizabeth Cady-Stanton, Victoria Woodhull and Susan B.Anthony and the tremendous stuggle of American Women's Suffrage. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Elections    2. History    3. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Suffrage    7. Suffragists    8. U.S. - Political And Civil Rights Of Women    9. United States    10. United States - 19th Century/Turn of the Century    11. Women    12. Women's Studies - General    13. Women's Studies - History    14. Elections & referenda    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. Campaign management    2. Great Britain    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Political Process - General    5. Political Science    6. Political campaigns    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. United States    10. Political structure & processes   

Subjects:  1. Communication in politics    2. Elections    3. History    4. History & Theory - General    5. Minority Studies - Race Relations    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Political Science    8. Political aspects    9. Political campaigns    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Race relations    13. United States    14. Communication Studies    15. Political Science / Elections    16. Political Science and International Relations    17. Political science & theory    18. Racism & racial discrimination    19. USA   

Subjects:  1. (George Walker),    2. 1946-    3. 2001-    4. Bush, George W    5. Bush, George W.    6. Government - Executive Branch    7. History - General History    8. History - U.S.    9. Political Process - Elections    10. Political Science    11. Politics and government    12. Politics/International Relations    13. United States    14. United States - 21st Century    15. 21st century    16. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    17. Political Science / Elections    18. Political leaders & leadership    19. Politics | American Politics | Public Administration    20. USA   

Editorial Review

Longtime Read more

Reviews (11)

our new branch of government
The government as envisioned by the US Constitution consists of three parts: the executive, judicial and the legislative.Interestingly, the founding fathers never included any mention in the Constitution of how the state and local governments should be comprised.For most of America's history, state governments copied the national model to some degree.This has changed since the 1970's, with the introduction of referendums and initiatives in over 20 states and numerous counties, districts, and cities.These two changes have allowed voters to directly influence, change, and often counteract the actions of the three established branches of government.The Constitution defines clear checks and balances between the three branches, and ways by which individuals would be chosen to serve in these branches.But there is no such legal underpinning for the referendum and initiative.The resulting consequences are the subject of this well-thought out and well-referenced book.
good book, but lacks balance
David Frohnmayer, president of the University of Oregon, described the degenerating initiative process by saying, "It's no longer citizens fighting the oligopoly.Now it's the oligopoly paying people to act as citizens."An explanation of David S. Broder's feelings on the initiative process would mirror these words.In his "Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money," Broder makes his convictions known.Although he provides little balance on the issue, he writes a strong, solid message from the anti-initiative camp. Democracy Derailed Derailed
_Democracy Derailed_ is obviously very well researched. Broder cannot be faulted for his attention to detail. He talks with a wide variety of people, some who feel that the initiative process serves democracy wonderfully, others who disagree. And while it seems as if he tried to make the book fairly evenhanded, every once in a while Broder makes an off the cusp comment that is virulently cynical about the people's ability to make good choices. Certainly the masses have not always made the best decisions, but Broder is unwilling to give them any credit at all. This distrust of the public seems especially out of place when it is revealed that most of the initiatives that are promoted solely for the benefit of a special interest fail. That seems to indicate a public that can make good decisions. Read more

Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Referendum    9. United States    10. Political Science / Elections    11. Political Science-Government - U.S. Government    12. Political Science-Political Ideologies - Democracy   

Subjects:  1. 2004    2. Election    3. Elections    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Presidents    9. Religion    10. Religion, Politics & State    11. Religious right    12. United States    13. 21st century    14. Christian social thought & activity    15. Elections & referenda    16. Political parties    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. Election    2. Encyclopedias    3. History    4. History & Theory - General    5. Political Process - Elections    6. Political Science    7. Political campaigns    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Presidential candidates    11. Presidents    12. United States    13. Elections & referenda    14. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    15. Political Science / History & Theory   

Reviews (1)

A Rare Textbook Find: California Politics With a Purpose
For those who teach American politics and government, there are distressingly few good textbook choices available for national or state courses. A rare exception to the dismayingly dreary or tiresomely trendy tomes that abound is "Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State." Authors Brian P. Janiskee and Ken Masugi have combined the standard features (formal and informal institutions, demographics, historical vignettes, recent developments, political terminology, etc.) with a thoughtful historical and philosophical approach that places California within the broad scope of American experience and Western political thought.Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Government - Local    3. Government - State & Provincial    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Political Process - Elections    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Textbooks    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Speech    12. Local government   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Government - Executive Branch    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Television - General    8. Elections & referenda    9. Political Science / General    10. Political campaigning & advertising    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. Politics / Current Events    2. Politics/International Relations    3. Elections & referenda    4. Europe    5. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    6. Political Science / Elections    7. Political parties    8. Politics | International Studies | International Organizations    9. Political Process - Elections    10. Political Science   

Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. Nomination    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Presidents    8. Primaries    9. United States    10. American History    11. Political Science / History & Theory    12. Political Science and International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Media Studies    2. Performing Arts    3. Performing Arts/Dance    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    6. Sociology    7. Television - General    8. Television - History & Criticism    9. Television Plays And Programs    10. United States - General    11. West Wing (Television program)    12. Television   

Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. Elections    3. General    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Reference    9. Elections & referenda    10. Political structures: democracy   

Reviews (1)

Electoral College Education
Remember the American Presidential election of 2000?Almost any other country, almost any other time-period, almost any other bid for power, and you would have had civil wars, kidnappings, stealthy assassination by poisoning, palace intrigue, a military coup, a foreign invasion, or something neat.Shakespeare could have written a tragedy or Sir Walter Scott could have penned a great romance about the event.Historians could have written histories that read like mysteries.Mystery writers could have written fiction that read like history.But the American political system is unbelievably dull.With hanging chads and pregnant chads being the prime suspects, not even the fictional talents of a John Grisham or a Dan Rather could make this American story anything but dull.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Political Process - Elections    2. Politics - Current Events    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Reference    5. Religion    6. Religion / General   

Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Proportional representation    7. Elections & referenda    8. Political Science / Elections    9. Political science & theory    10. Politics | Comparative Politics | Comparative Politics   

Editorial Review

If the 1996 presidential election marked the year of the soccer mom,then the 2000 campaign ought to usher in the year of Joe Sixpack, according toRuy Teixeira and Joel Rogers. Or, at least an early-21st-century version of thewhite working stiff who was widely viewed as the key to success in Americanpolitics between the New Deal and 1980s. "It's next to impossible to cement adominant electoral coalition without capturing the support of a good share ofthe forgotten majority"--i.e., the roughly 55 percent of the voting populationthat is white, earns a moderate income, has a low-rung white collar job orlabors in the service industry, and lives in the suburbs. As Teixeira and Rogersadmit, this is an incredibly diverse group of people. Yet, the authors claim,they also share common interests--mainly economic--that neither the Democratsnor the Republicans address.

Reviews (2)

Timely
The mere mention of a white working class causes many pundits to cringe. Liberals, because the notion of a "white" anything smacks of political incorrectness; conservatives, because mention of any kind of working class puts the fear of Marx in their soul. For decades this key demographic group has been either ignored in polite conversation or caricatured in popular culture. Either way their collective existence has remained submerged, like an iceberg. Yet, as Teixiera and Rogers point out, this grouping composes 55% of the American electorate, or more than enough votes to guarantee governance to any party that can win their allegiance. You know it's an election year . . .
when books like this roll around."America's Forgotten Majority" is clearly written for the Democratic Party, even though the authors claimed to be apolitical in the book's preface ("the contentof politics is not our chief concern"). Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Minority Studies - General    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Politics - Current Events    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Political Theory    8. Current Events   

Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. 1989-    3. African Americans    4. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    5. History & Theory - General    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. U.S. Ethnic Politics    12. United States    13. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    14. Political Science / General    15. Social groups & communities    16. USA   

Subjects:  1. France    2. Norway    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Social choice    8. United States    9. Voting    10. Elections & referenda    11. Political Science / General   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History & Theory - General    3. Lobbying    4. Organizational change    5. Political Process - Elections    6. Political Process - General    7. Political Science    8. Politics and government    9. Pressure groups    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. United States - 19th Century/Turn of the Century    13. 20th century    14. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    15. American history: from c 1900 -    16. Political Science / History & Theory    17. Political structure & processes    18. Pressure groups & lobbying    19. USA    20. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (9)

Compelling, Albeit Short
McGinniss has a knack for boiling down what could've been a lengthy and detailed account of how to pitch classic curmudgeon Richard M. Nixon to the wary American public.His book is short, sweet, and very well-written. Historical Proof of Left Wing Vietnam-era propaganda
After reading this book, it was apparent to me that the author was implying that Nixon was a dark and grumpy man who needed his image repackaged.McGinnis boasts of Nixon and his PR teams ability to hide the "true" Nixon and to trick the public into voting for his image.He proclaims that the real Nixon was the one that the country saw debating Kennedy on TV in 1960.Nothing could be further from the truth.First off, Nixon won the 1960 election but did not contest the results for the good of the nation.All historians admit that JFK had help from Daily in Illinois and LBJ in Texas.Furthermore, in the 1960 debates, Nixon had a high fever and was recently out of the hospitable and JFK's staff broke into the basement of the studio and turned up the heat to make him sweat! If anyone decieved the voters with his image, it was JFK using his dramatic but bubbly rhetoric and not backing it up and JFK the family man and the idealist.JFK exploited the Missile Gap, had numerous affairs, assassinated Ngo Dihn Diem, wire tapped Martin Luther King, screwed up the Bay of Pigs, and had ties to the Mafia!Now, I could be wrong, but JFK's campaign sounds like a true selling of the President.'Selling of the President' has little credible content but infact is a good historical document that portrays Left Wing propaganda of the 1960s.

The true story of the 1968 presidential campaign
Somewhere in the second chapter of this splendid book, Leonard Hall, national Republican chairman said; "You sell your candidates and your programs the way a business sells its products."This succinct message captures the essence of Joe McGinniss and his book, "The Selling of the President."Read more

Subjects:  1. 1968    2. Election    3. Government - National    4. History: American    5. Nixon, Richard M    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Presidents    9. Television in politics    10. U.S. Presidential Elections    11. United States    12. Elections & referenda    13. History / United States / 20th Century    14. Political leaders & leadership    15. USA