Campbell Institute News

"She [Senator Kirsten Gillibrand] has been a leading spokesperson in the chamber for women’s issues and women’s rights and it’s not surprising to me at all that she would be one of the first Democrats to call out Sen. Franken and when the conversation inevitably turned to him, President Clinton," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"In this instance, the negative reaction President Trump has generated throughout the Western World may complicate the situation," says Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "Being Trump's ambassador, say, in Norway or Denmark, is going to be trickier than in past administrations, requiring greater skill and deftness."

"As far as the First Amendment is concerned, LGBT rights advocates should have the full and free right to advocate for their point of view and opponents of LGBT rights have the right to advocate for their point of view," Thomas M. Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, says.

The tax policy issue has emerged as a "handy" one for Cuomo to bring up repeatedly as he prepares to seek a third term in 2018, while harboring possible ambitions for a White House run in 2020, said Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) for the Central Time segment "How To Spot And Fight Fake News." Thorson advises people to be wary of spreading fake news just to correct it. "It's hard to . . . unring that bell of misinformation," she says.

Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor of political science, says not only are deportations harmful to families, but are also disruptive to the labor force and economy.

"He [President Trump] doesn’t have to be an advocate of climate change research," says Harry Lambright, professor of public administration and international affairs. "But he has to neutralize the idea that he is a climate change denier."

"If President Trump and his advisers can out-think and out-strategize [Putin] in order to get Russia to provide some useful assistance in changing North Korea’s nuclear program, then it could be a win for the president, but it’s high-risk to say the least," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"The current struggle over an affirmative message is further compounded by the fact that the negative messaging is taking up all the energy," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher. "Everything is about opposing Trump." 

"When you see a piece of misinformation, even when it’s in the context of being corrected and you believe the correction, it can still have lingering effects on your attitudes," says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science.

"People have always been susceptible to misinformation," Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, says. "The real challenge now lies in the immediacy, scope and ease of dissemination we now see with new technologies like social media."

Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, says that while constitutional conventions could help advance civil rights by allowing organized groups to propose and implement changes to the state constitution, there is a fear that the same issues that plague state legislatures, like corporate cash or politician corruption, could also influence the construction of a new constitution.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, says Trump could attempt to contain the criticism from retiring Republicans by moderating his tone and laying off individual attacks on members.

"Voting ‘yes’ on this particular ballot initiative does not mean there’s going to be a new Constitution," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "It means you’re setting the process in motion to rewrite the Constitution."

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, and her co-author found through survey research that sports fans tend to harbor more right-leaning attitudes on economic and foreign policy issues, even as Republicans are no more likely than Democrats to follow most sports.