Make Mexico Pay for the Blog

Part of The Ship, Part of The Crew

Growing up, I loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. My cousin and I would get together and do a big movie marathon to try to watch all of the movies all the way through. In the third movie, Will Turner cuts the heart of Davy Jones and, in turn, his heart must be the…

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

Partisanship is defined as an affiliation with political parties as Green et al. mentions in the reading “Partisan Hearts and Minds”. This reading talks about how there are many indicators of identification for people that are immediately noticeable but once the topic of party identification comes up people side with their party groups almost immediately,…

God, Country, Notre Dame

South Bend is known for one thing: Notre Dame’s die-hard loyal fans. When walking through the college town on game day, its nearly impossible to not see the shirt of the year. Touchdown Jesus and the golden dome are the go-to picture spots for prom. Our city’s entry sign even changed a few years ago…

Social Cleavages and Political Norms

The Introduction to Partisan Hearts and Minds highlights the relationship between partisan affiliation and the likelihood to vote for your party’s representative candidate. This connection is similar to the claims made in the excerpt from American Sociological Review of the impact of social cleavages on modern voting. These cleavages include: race, religion, class, and gender….

The Reality of American Dad’s Caricatured Constituents

In the introduction of Partisan Hearts and Minds, the authors maintain that party affiliation is the strongest indicator of how an individual will vote. This understanding of influential partisanship goes hand-in-hand with Brooks and Manza’s analysis of social cleavages among the US electorate in the second half of the twentieth century. They find that race,…

Partisan affiliation : the new opium of the people ?

The rise of abstention in western countries seem to be the proof that less and less people identify themselves with political parties. Indeed with an average 50% abstention at the presidential election for the United States and 60% for European elections, people are apparently becoming different to parties. This concern is widely express as it…

Turkey With A Side Of Politics

Thanksgiving with my family looks a little bit like this – my dad and uncles debating football, my little cousins running around the house, and the awkward conversations with family members you haven’t seen for a year. But, when all is said and done, 9 times out of 10 the conversation dissolves into politics. I…

College Football: A Different Type of Partisanship

Now that it’s election season, a person’s political party is more telling than it usually is. “The public’s interest in party politics climbs as elections draw near, but partisan self-conceptions remain intact during peaks and lulls in party competition” (pg 5). Every four years, your party affiliation is moved up the list as one of…

From Pre-K to Politics

Though I’m sure we’d all love to claim that we were perfect angels as children, I know that was not the case for me. I clearly remember in either preschool when everyone giggled at Ben McGeehee for his new hair cut. Even though it wasn’t that funny, we laughed because a few people started it…

“You Made Your Bed; Now Lie in It”

Many Republicans in modern America cringe as each new Trumpism is lambasted by the media, and associated with them and their beliefs. Though some approve of The Donald’s unique manner of campaigning, many others lament that this man is being showcased to the world as a representation of their party’s ideals. But Trump’s raucous and…