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Speaking at NCSL's Legislative Summit last month, David Gergen had a trivia question that's right up The Thicket's alley: What do the four men enshrined on Mt. Rushmore have in common besides having been president of the United States?
Answer below the jump.
The audience listened with the reverence due to a former president and with admiration for his dedication to international diplomacy in the 33 years since he left office. Some disagreed with his interpretation of history, but there was universal respect for his outstanding public service.
The spry and lively 88-year-old former president summarized the work of the Carter Center: working with countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the United States but have critical human rights issues, monitoring elections in emerging democracies, treating neglected tropical diseases, and improving mental health programs (an initiative of First Lady Rosalynn Carter).
In regard to the election monitoring activities of the Carter Center--in 94 countries to date--President Carter emphasized the importance of volunteer election observers who spend six to eight days in country before and after an election and encouraged legislators and staff to volunteer. The Carter Center monitors elections only in countries where both the majority and the principal minority parties invite them to do so. He pointed out that the Carter Center's evaluation of the fairness of an election process carries considerable weight in the international community. When President Carter has called out putative election winners for cheating, those winners have often not been able to take office or have had to call new elections.
In a wide-ranging question and answer period, President Carter did not miss a beat as he touched on Canada-U.S. relations, energy policy, and American foreign policy toward North Korea, Cuba and Egypt. Commenting on American politics, he noted that in 1976 election he carried every southern state by a large margin--the last Democrat to do so. He regards the polarization of American politics today as the result of the infusion of money in politics, which is used by candidates on both sides to demonize their opponents, and increasingly sophisticated partisan gerrymandering.
For many in the audience, this session with the former president was undoubtedly a highlight of the 2013 Legislative Summit.
By Karl Kurtz
"The field of state politics lost a giant." So said University of Illinois Springfield Prof. Chris Mooney upon learning of the death last night of Rutgers University Prof. Alan Rosenthal. Here's an excerpt from a lengthy and informative article about Rosenthal in The Star Ledger today:
Alan Rosenthal, a Rutgers University political science professor whose quiet demeanor masked his far-reaching influence on government in New Jersey and beyond, has died.
Rosenthal, 81, succumbed to cancer Tuesday at his Princeton home.
Although most recently known for casting the deciding vote two years ago on a map that will help decide the state’s Senate and Assembly elections for the next decade, Rosenthal’s most enduring legacy is helping to build state Legislatures – including New Jersey’s — into more powerful branches of government that rival the governor and judiciary.
“He had more influence nationally over state legislatures and their operations in the last 40 or 45 years than anybody else in the country," said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "There’s no question about it."
But that influence did not feed into ego, according to Raymond Bateman, a former senate president who knew Rosenthal since the 1960s.
"He was a self-effacing guy. He never worked to get in the spotlight, but he always did his work well," Bateman said. "Alan was in the vanguard of people who were really trying to make the Legislature better... When Alan talked about legislatures, legislators listened."
Look for a full-length tribute to Alan Rosenthal in the July-August issue of State Legislatures magazine. The articles in that tribute touch not only on Rosenthal's extraordinary contributions to the study of state politics but also his far-reaching impact on strengthening the legislative branch of government across the nation, his leadership of efforts to improve public understanding of representative democracy and his commitment and support to NCSL and other national organizations.
As part of the tribute, I solicited testimonials from 66 current and former legislators, staff, governors, lobbyists, students and political scientists who have known Alan well. Remarkably, 37 of these highly placed and busy people responded with comments about his effect on their lives. For example, former Wyoming U.S. Senator Alan Simpson said:
Alan Rosenthal shaped my legislative life. We first met when I was a young Wyoming state legislator. Here was this amazing, creative, inspiring, warm, wise and witty man. He became my mentor as to how to make legislating work. He was a game changer for me. My life is richer for having shared a portion of it with him. I consider him to be one of the greatest influences in my life as a legislator. There have been many other influential people in other areas of my life, but he won the prize in that field. He was “The Wizard” in my mind.
Simpson's comments, along with 36 others, can be found in an online supplement to the July-August issue of State Legislatures magazine.
I have known Alan for more than 40 years as mentor, collaborator and good friend. Our once a month or so hour-long phone conversations--lively dialogues ranging across American state politics, civic education and life in general--have been a highlight and staple of my life for many years. I have missed his energy and ideas over the last several months as he has been in decline with his terrible cancer. He is irreplaceable.
7/12/03 addendum: See the New York Times and NPR obituaries.
By Karen Shanton
The petitions might not make it to the ballot. Senator Morse’s supporters have filed a protest against the sufficiency ruling, which is slated for a hearing on Thursday. On Tuesday, Senator Giron followed suit.
If they do make the cut, though, the petitions will set up a historic ballot for the Centennial State. Colorado had never even seen an attempt to recall a state legislator before this year so getting the pending recalls on the ballot would be a first for the state. It would also make Colorado just the fifth state in U.S. history to hold two or more state legislative recall elections in a single year and the fourth to trigger recalls for two or more members of the same chamber in one year.
Wisconsin is, of course, the undisputed record-holder on this score. In the two-year period from 2011 to 2012, Wisconsin petitioners gathered enough signatures to put 13 state senators–or almost 40 percent of the chamber’s total membership–on the ballot. Wisconsin’s recalls were prompted by a battle over labor issues, with GOP senators targeted for backing a budget bill that would limit public employee collective bargaining and Democrats in the crosshairs for leaving the state to delay passage of the bill.
Unlike in Wisconsin, the Colorado recall efforts don’t carry the potential for a change in partisan control. John Lehman’s win in Wisconsin in 2012, combined with victories by Democrats Jessica King and Jennifer Shilling in 2011, handed Badger State Democrats a (temporary) Senate majority. With a 20-15 edge in the state Senate, Colorado Democrats will hold the chamber no matter how the pending recalls turn out.
By Wendy Underhill
Legislative careers start with campaigns—but the skills and attitudes that help during election season don't necessarily translate to actually legislating. At least, that was the perspective of participants in "Campaigning to Legislating," a legislative effectiveness session at NCSL's Spring Forum last week.
"Especially the first time, for the first six months you keep thinking you're still on the campaign trail," said Rep. Angel Matos of Puerto Rico.
How to cross the divide between campaigning and serving? Building and developing relationships is the only route to success, she says. In her state, where party control shifted in 2006, 2010 and again in 2012, she has operating with a commitment that "we're going to work in a bipartisan manner." Her specific efforts include:
And yet once in the statehouse, "you can always find something to agree on," he says. One approach he has used to get beyond partisanship is to offer to work on bills that members of the opposite party are sponsoring—even if 80 percent of issues would have him on the opposite side from the other lawmaker. He has even offered to be the lead sponsor when a bill would have a better success when it comes from his caucus.
Like Norelli, Turner sees relationships as vital: "It's okay to speak from the floor and disagree, and then have dinner together that night."
By Jon Kuhl
State legislative leaders from across the country gathered in Washington last week for NCSL’s annual legislative leaders meeting. The meeting began with briefings on sequestration and immigration reform; hot topics in Washington and state capitols.
During lunch on Thursday, leaders heard from former Mississippi Governor and Chairman of the Republican National Committee Haley Barbour. Following Barbour’s talk, the leaders visited Capitol Hill for briefings from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Congressman Luke Messer (R-Ind.), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). In the evening on Thursday, legislative leaders heard about deficit reduction efforts in Canada from Tony Clement, President of the Canadian Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.
Up next was a discussion on technology and the economy with Michael Powell, former FCC Chairman and current President of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Following Chairman Powell was a question and answer session with David Agnew, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.
By Karl Kurtz
Risser was first elected in 1956. He says he remembers when the Legislature was made up entirely of white men.
"There were no females, there were no minorities or diversity. In fact, they didn't even have a woman's john on the legislative floor," he says. "Now it's much more diversified, which is good."
Other changes, he finds, are not so good.
"The Legislature is more polarized than I've ever seen it. There are more straight party-line votes than there have ever been. I can remember when the rurals would fight the urbans or the eastern part of the state would fight the western part or the north would fight south. But now it isn't that way," he says. "Now it's Democrats versus Republicans."
Nevertheless, he has no inclination to call it quits. "It's the most frustrating job in the world, but it keeps the adrenalin going and it gets you up in the morning. You learn something new every day," he says. "You see different people every day."
I've known Sen. Risser for 35 or so of the 57 years that he has served in the Wisconsin Legislature. He was the leader of a memorable NCSL delegation to Israel that I accompanied in the early 1980s. I knew that his father had served in the Legislature and that he is an avid bicycle commuter, but I was not aware that he was a fourth generation legislator. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather served before him, as shown in the photo.
