Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine     Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic:  Political Equality: The Founding Vision, the Modern Reality Key Discussion Points: a) What do we mean when we talk about political equality? b) Was it an ideal embraced by our founding fathers? c) What did it mean to them? What does it mean to us today? d) To what extent has the founding ideal been realized or thwarted? Guests: a) Prof. Ralph Ketcham, Maxwell Professor Emeritus of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, www.maxwell.syr.edu/psc/Ketcham,_Ralph/ b) Prof. Mark Brewer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine, umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/mark-brewer/ The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Linda Hoskins Ann Luther Marge May Pam Person Leah Taylor Linda Washburn FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org                    

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Joel Mann Issue: Participatory Democracy Program Topic: Political Advertising and Its Effect on Voters and Elections Key Discussion Points: a) How important is political advertising in helping people learn about candidates? b) How does political advertising work and why is it worth the many millions of dollars being spent on it. c) Is it good for democracy? d) What can citizens do? Guests by name and affiliation: A) Richard R. Lau, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, fas-polisci.rutgers.edu/lau/. B) Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, www.asc.upenn.edu/faculty/Faculty-Bio.aspx?id=129. Call In Program: No

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Joel Mann Program Topic: Educating Voters; Educating Citizens Key Discussion Points: a) the difference between educated voters and well-informed voters b) the role of public education in cultivating civic engagement c) what can citizens do? Guests: A) Professor Jennifer Hochschild, the Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government at Harvard University, www.gov.harvard.edu/people/faculty/jennifer-hochschild B) Elisabeth MacNamara, the 18th president of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF), www.lwv.org/content/elisabeth-macnamara Call In Program: No Political Broadcast: No

Producer/Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Issue: Participatory Democracy Program Topic: Tea Party: What Can We Learn about Civic Engagement Key Discussion Points: a) the Tea Party movement, who are its members and what do they believe; and b) the Tea Party’s impact on elections and governing, c) what it means for civic participation Guests: -Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, www.wjh.harvard.edu/soc/faculty/skocpol -Amy Fried, Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine, umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/amy-fried/ Call In Program: No

Producer/Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Participatory Democracy Program Topic: Wealth and income inequality in the U.S. and why it matters for democracy Key Discussion Points: a) What are the trends in wealth and income disparity? Who is affected? b) What structural or public policy factors are contributing to this trend? c) What are the consequences for democracy and the general well-being? d) What can citizens do? Guests: A) Professor Susan Feiner, Professor of Economics and Professor of Women and Gender Studies, University of Southern Maine, www.usm.maine.edu/eco/susan-feiner. B) Dr. Richard Freeman, Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University and director of the National Bureau of Economic Research, www.nber.org/~freeman/. Call In Program: Yes Political Broadcast: No

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Joel Mann (NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, this audio file is 47 mins long, and the recording starts with the show in progress) Issue: Participatory Democracy Key Discussion Points: a) Do corporations have too much power in politics and government? What is the source of their power? Campaign finance? Lobbying? How does corpororate economic power translate into political power? b) Do you think free enterprise and democracy go together? Do concerns about corporate power translate into concerns about capitalism as an economic system? c) Discuss your ideas on what is needed for a healthy democracy to work? Has our own system been healthier at other times? What would be the proper role of corporations and very wealthy individuals? What can ordinary citizens do to make things work better? Guest: Robert Monks, shareholder activist, author, and corporate governance adviser, www.ragm.com/. Call In Program: Yes

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Joel Mann Issue: Participatory Democracy Program Topic: Is the Two-Party System Working or Broken? Key Discussion Points: a) The role of the two-party system in federal elections b) The effects of partisan politics in the Congress c) Possible alternatives to the current system d) What can citizens do? Guests: A) Lisa Borders, co-founder of No Labels, www.nolabels.org. B) Sandy Maisel, Professor of Government at Colby College, www.colby.edu/profile/lsmaisel/. Call In Program: Yes

Issue: Participatory Democracy Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Engineer: Amy Browne Broadcast Time: 10-11:00 a.m. Program Topic: Dysfunction in Congress: What Do We Need to Make It Work Key Discussion Points: a) What are the underlying, structural, or procedural problems that keep Congress from governing effectively: e.g., extreme partisanship, endless fundraising, erosion in the “regular order” of business, concentrated corporate and donor influence. b) What do you think are the three most important things to change: for example, redistricting, campaign finance reform, return to regular order c) What can citizens do? Guests by name and affiliation: A) Maine’s Second District Congressman, the Honorable Mike Michaud, 2nd District Congressman Mike Michaud. B) Arn Pearson, Vice President of Programs at Common Cause. Call In Program: Yes

Issue: Participatory Democracy Broadcast Time: 10-11:00 a.m. Program Topic: Free speech, corporate money, and democracy Key Discussion Points: a) The constitutional background of granting personhood to corporations and equating political spending with free speech. b) The practical outcomes for democracy. c) What can citizens do? Guests: A) Jeff Clements, co-founder of Free Speech for People and author of the book Corporations Are Not People. www.freespeechforpeople.org B) Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics. www.opensecrets.org Call In Program: Yes Political Broadcast: Yes Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters www.lwvme.org Engineer: Joel Mann

Issue: Participatory Democracy Program Name: Democracy Forum Broadcast Date: January 9, 2012 Broadcast Time: 10-11:00 a.m. Program Topic: What do we need to make our democracy work better? Key Discussion Points: a) Why do you think Congress has such a low approval rating? b) What are the systemic impediments that prevent Congress from responding to what members surely know citizens want? c) Is campaign finance reform part of the solution? What about a constitutional amendment to allow broader reform? d) Why are there so few moderates in Congress? e) Some people think the two-party system is part of the problem. They advocate solutions like open primaries or others that favor small parties. What do you think of those suggestions? f) What about revising the Senate rules to limit use of the filibuster? g) How do you view the role of the media? h) What changes would you propose? i) What can citizens do? Guests by name and affiliation: A) Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree B) Dr. Thomas E. Mann, constitutional sc