Month: January 2021

Benjamin “Ben” Davis, #PoliticalScience (MPA ’10; BS ’08) alumni, is one of East Carolina University’s 2021.

Davis’ #HarriotCollegeMajor is helping him #MakeADifference in the lives of all U.S. citizens. He works in the Chief Information Office of the Defense Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director of the Intelligence Community Security Coordination Center, where Davis oversees daily operations of cybersecurity. He most enjoys “working alongside the selfless professionals within the national security apparatus and doing my part to ensure the safety and security of the nation.”

“ECU afforded me the foundational knowledge and skills to succeed in any career, such as critical thinking, writing and the ability to handle complex challenges and situations,” Davis said. “Secondly, it afforded me a network of peers that I engage with and rely on today.”

Davis lives in Alexandria, VA, and has the honor of representing ECU on the Military Bowl’s Board of Directors. The bowl is a post-season NCAA Football bowl game benefiting the United Service Organizations of the Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore area.

Did You Know: Impeachment is NOT Just for Presidents! “In the past, the House has also used its impeachment powers on leaders other than sitting presidents. Among those impeached include U.S. Sen. William Blount from Tennessee; in 1797, Blount was accused of working with Great Britain in the country’s attempt to take the Spanish-controlled territories of what today are Florida and Louisiana. U.S. Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached in 1876 on bribery charges. And a number of judges have also been impeached, including John Pickering in 1803, West Humphreys in 1862, Harold Louderback in 1933, and Samuel Kent in 2009″ (from https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2019/06/07)

Did you know:

• “The American concept of impeachment has its origins in Ancient Rome. Only senators could be impeached, but not the emperor. This lead to a number of assassinations—a potentially bloody situation the Founding Fathers hoped to avoid.
• “In countries with presidents, about 94% of them have some mechanism for removing them from office.
• “Since 1990, at least 132 different heads of state have faced some 272 impeachment proposals in 63 countries. Most leaders survive impeachment attempts.”

From https://www.factretriever.com/impeachment-facts.

The spring semester has officially started – today is the end of the first week of classes. Some few of us are back to face-to-face, but most of us are still online… and hoping that this is the last ‘virtual’ semester.

Here’s to a safe, successful semester – and to looking forward to getting back to normal (not the “new”) “normal”!

Today, Jan. 20, at noon, Joe Biden will take the presidential oath of office. Unlike most of his predecessors, Donald Trump will not be in attendance at the inauguration ceremony.

This is not the first time an outgoing president has been absent from their successor’s inauguration. “Three presidents have declined to attend their successor’s inauguration. In 1801, John Adams left town at 4am the morning of President-elect Thomas Jefferson’s swearing in. In 1829 his son, John Quincy Adams, would one-up his famously obstinate father by departing the White House the night before Andrew Jackson took office. And in 1869, Andrew Johnson refused to attend Grant’s inauguration” (from https://listverse.com/2021/01/15/top-10-fun-facts-from-us-presidential-inaugurations/)

Dr. Sharon Paynter of the Dept. of Political Science is heading the Rural Opportunity Grant Program study, funded by the SECU Foundation. The study, which began in August of 2020, will run through July of 2021. Together with partners in Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, and Northampton Counties, ECU and its partners will focus on challenges related to affordable housing.

Kassab, Hanna Samir., (2020). “Soft Power and Struggles for Leadership: The United States, Russia and China” Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal (CCPS), vol. 6, no. 2, 507-538.

Abstract: This article argues that struggles for global leadership and soft power are at the center of gaining consent of the ruled. The United States once led the world in leadership. It is now facing serious challenges because of its own doing. The Iraq War (2003) was a disaster, not just for American power projection, but for its global standing. The political soft power vacuum was an opportunity for great powers. The rise of China and the resurgence of Russia opened new fronts in their desire for global leadership. Without followers, one cannot be a leader. This makes the battle for weak states part of the international system.

In the News: Removing a President From Office (Part II)?

The 25th Amendment technically allows for a president to be removed from office, but, this was quite arguable not it’s original intent. The Amendment was written for situations in which a sitting president was alive, but physically incapable of discharging the duties of the office. This was the case, for example, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919 and was incapacitated through the end of his presidency.

In order to remove President Trump by way of the 25th Amendment, the vice president, with the majority of the Cabinet, would have to declare the President incapacitated for reasons of mental health. This, again, was not the original intent, but would likely stand up to constitutional scrutiny if enacted.

One detail: Invoking the 25th Amendment makes the vice president “acting” president only. He or she does not assume the office in the same way as if the president was removed after impeachment, resigned or dies in office.

In the news: Removing the president from office (Part I)?

The US Constitution contains two provisions for removing a president from office, although technically, only one of these was intended for permanent removal.

Presidents can be impeached, or formally accused, for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ by a simply majority (greater than 50%) the House of Representatives. Three presidents throughout history have been impeached: Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump.

When this occurs, a ‘trial’ is conducted in the US Senate, where the Senate votes whether to remove the president from office. A two-thirds majority vote is required for this.

Removing a president from office by way of the 25th Amendment is different, and will be the subject of Wednesday’s post.

Dr. Baumgartner recently published “Is It Funny if No One is Watching? Public Response to Late-Night Political Satire.”

Abstract: “The past decade has seen a dramatic shift in substance and tone in the political humor found on late-night television talk shows in the U.S. Relatively light-hearted political comedy has in many cases been replaced by more politically oriented political satire. This change has been welcomed by media elites, and most hosts seems to have embraced the idea that their material should be socially and politically relevant. However, we know less about how the public views this change. I present evidence that suggests that public reception to late-night political satire is mixed. Using Google Trends, Nielson ratings and public opinion data, I show that the viewing public seems to be ambivalent about tuning into meaningful political satire as opposed to light-hearted political comedy.”

See: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610X.2020.1850101