Rakestraw - AP GOV blogs

1. What problem did General Electric have with the version of the tax reform bill passed by the House of Reps? It could cost the company more than 1 billion dollars in new taxes. 2. How is the Senate version different than the House version of this tax reform bill regarding the provision GE was worried about? The senate version would allow the company to factor in losses when calculating its tax liability. 3. How do foreign owned airlines and Delta want the tax bill to be different? They are fighting for a provision that would make pay taxes earned on U.S. flights in certain cases. 5. What will happen to the bill after it is debated and voted on in the Senate? It will be merged with the House bill and sent to the White House. 6. What problem do real estate company lobbyists have with the House version of this tax bill? They do not like that it will make home buying less effective and weaken the housing market. 7. Who does the Build Coalition represent? They protect corp...

1. Which two senators does the article single out as being potential obstacles to the passing of the tax bill & where are they from? Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, and Susan Collins from Maine. 2. What indications has Murkowski made about how she may vote on this tax bill? She told Roll Call she would consider voting for the bill if the Senate also passed a bipartisan Obamacare stabilization bill — then walked it back a few hours later. She clarified in a statement she supports a stabilization measure but “one should not assume this is a precondition for my support for the tax bill.” A few days later, she wrote an op-ed for a local newspaper declaring she supported repealing the individual mandate. But then her office said the same day that did not necessarily mean she would support the tax overhaul. 3. What did Republicans add to the bill that would specifically encourage Murkowski to vote for the bill? the bill contains a big sweetener for Murkowski — a provision that co...

1. How many total Republicans in Congress have already announced that they will not run for reelection in 2018? 14 republicans have said they will not be running for reelection 2. How many total Democrats in Congress have already announced that they will not run for reelection in 2018? Only two Democratic House members are retiring and not running for another office. 3. What is so unique about the discrepancy between these two groups? The discrepancy in retirements between the two parties suggests that many Republicans fear a backlash against their party due to President Donald Trump’s poor approval rating. 4. What factors do the authors of the article suggest are behind these decisions not to run for reelection? They can be old and are just retiring. They could also be scared of a challenging election. They could also not want to participate when the party is soon going to be in the minority. 5.  Why might the elections for those in "safe red districts...

1. What three observations did the study find about media outlets with a right leaning audience? The journalists listed fewer types of sources, were less likely to criticize Trump, and were more focused on character than policy. 2. How did right leaning media outlets and left leaning media outlets use sources differently? The left leaning outlets used a wider variety of sources and cited them more often. 3. How much more likely were left leaning outlets to include negative coverage of Trump? 7 times more likely. 4. How often did left leaning and right leaning outlets refute something said by Trump? Left wing outlets refuted 15% of the time, while right wing outlets refuted 2% of the time. 5. What five topics accounted for most of the media coverage about Trump? Political skills, immigration, appointments/nominations, U.S.- Russia relations, health care 6. Are journalists more likely to cover the president's character or his policies? Why do you think this is? Charac...

1. What news events are being covered by major outlets at the same time as Hurricane Maria? covered topics include a health care bill that failed to pass, a primary election in Alabama, and a "spat" between the president and sports players. 2. Use the first chart to estimate about how many fewer times Hurricane Maria & Puerto Rico are mentioned online than the hurricanes that hit the mainland US. Irma and Harvey were mentioned four to five times more online than Maria was! 3. Use the second chart to estimate about how much less time was devoted to  Hurricane Maria & Puerto Rico in TV coverage than the hurricanes that hit the mainland US. The U.S. hurricanes also had almost four to five times more mentions than the Puerto Rican hurricaanes 4. Which two networks mentioned Hurricane Maria the most? CNN and BBC. 5. What do some cite as the reason for Puerto Rico being treated differently by the media? Many observers are speculating that Puerto Rico’s status a...

1. According to the research, who is more likely to become a lobbyist, a member of the House or the Senate? A member of the house. 2. Why were Congressmen less likely to become lobbyists in the 1970s and 1980s? The lobbying industry was not nearly as big then. 3. Why does this research likely underestimate the revolving door? They only looked at 98 issues and could not find a reliable predictor, but saw that groups that hired a revolving door lobbyist tended to win about 63% of the time 4. Why do you think committee chairmen are more likely to become lobbyists?  They have more influence, knowledge, and connections with the policy they are advocating. 5. Does the author think that registration requirements help prevent former Congressmen from lobbying?  Why?  No, because they can still get things done without registering. 6. What is the difference in money spent on lobbying between "public interest lobbies" and corporations? For every 1 dollar spent for int...

1. What was the overall general finding of Broockman and Kalla’s analysis of campaign activities? In general elections, campaigns’ attempts to win swing voters appear to not work at all. 2. What two time frames did Broockman and Kalla analyze in their study? The 2015 and 2016 elections 3. At what rate did they find that people were actually persuaded with campaign activities close to the election? 11% 4. How were the results different in the study between activities months before the election, and those that occur close to the election day? Kalla and Broockman found that, if the campaign actions such as canvassing, and phone calls happen within two months of election day, the average effect on voter preferences was effectively zero. About one in 800 people reached were persuaded, they estimate. By contrast, when the campaign action happens well before election day, and the effects are measured quickly thereafter, there's a real impact on opinions, but it disappears before electi...