Alan J. Borsuk – Page 92 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Presidential, Senate Races in Wisconsin Are Tied, New Poll Results Show

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 17, 2012
Post category:Marquette Law School Political Processes & Rhetoric Public

Changing opinions, particularly among voters who label themselves independents, and the impact of campaign events – especially the first presidential debate – have brought both the presidential and US Senate races in Wisconsin to dead ties, according to results of a new round of the Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday.

Both races are now pure toss-ups, said Professor Charles Franklin, director of the poll and visiting professor of law and public policy at the Law School.

In poll results four weeks ago, Democratic President Barack Obama led by 14 points over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Two weeks ago, Obama was up by 11 points. But in polling done Oct. 11 to 14 – just ahead of the second presidential debate – Obama was favored by 49% and Romney by 48%, effectively a tie.

Franklin pointed to the impact of the presidential debate in Denver as a central factor. Obama’s performance in that debate was widely panned. “Rarely has a debate produced such a large movement in the polls,” Franklin said.

“Economist Mom” Warns About Long-Term Federal Spending Crisis

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 12, 2012
Post category:Public Speakers at Marquette

“This graph is kind of scary,” Diane Lim Rogers said as a slide appeared on the screens in the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall.

The graph showed accumulated public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product, starting in the World War II years and projected through the next several decades. The path of the line in coming years rose so sharply that Rogers said it would never actually happen. Something will force a change.

That was the core point of Rogers’ hour-long “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session Oct. 11 at Marquette Law School: We can’t stay on the path we’re on when it comes to trends in federal government revenue and federal government spending. Something will force a change, and it can either come from informed, visionary decision making or it can from the forces that will change things in any case, and perhaps not so gently.

Rogers is chief economist for the Concord Coalition, a national non-partisan organization formed by Republican and Democratic leaders who want to see what they call “generationally responsible fiscal policy.”

Feingold Calls for More Cooperation, Less Big Money in Politics

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 4, 2012
Post category:Political Processes & Rhetoric Public Speakers at Marquette

Voters should do more to demand that their elected representatives, regardless of which party they are in, demonstrate that they are willing to work with people on the other side of the political aisle to solve problems, former US Senator Russ Feingold told an audience at Eckstein Hall on Wednesday.

In an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session, Feingold certainly aired his own political views – he is co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign in Wisconsin. But he also called for new efforts to stem the impact of big donations on the political process and for a return at all political levels to times when officials cooperated more with people of differing views.

“It’s up to the people to change the dynamic,” Feingold said, responding to a question from an audience member about the highly partisan climate.. Right now, he said, many elected officials are “listening to anger” more than voices seeking cooperation. He suggested voters tell elected officials that if they cannot provide examples of how they worked with people of differing views at the end of a term, the voters won’t support them again.

Feingold said Republican leaders in Washington never gave Obama a chance as president to work across the aisle. He said key Republicans had dinner together on the day of Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and agreed, “We’re not going to let his guy get anything.” He said, “To me, this was off the charts. . . . It’s not a very good thing to do to the United States of America.”