Shrader Column: Joe Versus the Volcano of Outrage (Concord Monitor, 12/10/24)

  

Thanks to The Concord Monitor for running my op/ed on President Biden's use of the pardon for his son:

https://www.concordmonitor.com/My-Turn-Joe-Versus-the-Volcano-of-Outrage-NH-58339148

Debate Night: My 10 Questions for Biden and Trump

Here are my ten proposed questions for tonight’s CNN debate:

 

1—Each of you have played a key role in the decision that led to the United States abandoning our commitment to the Afghan people and a chaotic withdraw of American forces from Afghanistan. Since that point, the rights of women in Afghanistan have deteriorated, religious fundamentalists have returned to power, the nation’s economy is weak, and the quality of life for Afghans has deteriorated without our presence. What will your administration do to address this?

 

2—Vladimir Putin harbors expansionist ambitions, seeking to restore a Russian empire from a bygone era. This has led him to violate the sovereignty of his neighbors, threaten the west with war, and cause massive suffering and carnage in Ukraine. Will your administration support the expansion of NATO to challenge Putin’s ambitions and continue supporting our allies in Ukraine?

 

3—What steps will your administration take to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons that put the world at substantial risk by a hostile Islamist regime?

 

4—America is the world’s only true superpower as a result of the Cold War. What do you envision the role of the United States of America to be in the world today? Is it still our responsibility to provide leadership in world affairs, or should our country turn inward to focus more on matters at home?

 

5—Do you support mandatory, paid parental leave for every American worker, regardless of whether they are employed by the public or private sector? Why or why not?

 

6—About twenty-six million Americans do not have health insurance. What policies do you favor that would provide health insurance coverage to those Americans and their families?

 

7—This is a two-part question, one for each candidate:

 

President Trump, you claim that crime in the United States is out of control, especially in cities run by Democrats. However, the actual statistics do not support these claims. President Trump, what evidence do you have beyond anecdotes to support your claim. Are you making these false claims to frighten the American people?

 

President Biden, you will be 86 years old by the time your second term ends if reelected. Americans of all political persuasions express concern about this and a majority do not think you should have sought reelection. How do you alleviate the concerns of the roughly 70% of Americans who say that you should not run for reelection in part because of your advanced age?

9—This is a lightening round. Raise your hand if you support the following:

·       A constitutional amendment preventing convicted felons from running for or holding the presidency.

·       Term limits for members of the US Congress.

·       Term limits for members of the Supreme Court of the United States.

·       Mandatory cognitive testing for all presidential candidates.

10— This is a two-part question, one for each candidate:

President Trump, you say that you will be a dictator on day one of your presidency. What types of actions do you intend to partake in as a dictator for one day, who will be advising you on that day, and what should the American people expect?

President Biden, why did you wait three years to address the crisis at the southern border that has put a strain on various American states, counties, cities, and towns despite overwhelming evidence that your policies had caused the problems to begin with?

WrestleMania 40 Picks

 

Night 1 Predictions

 

The Rock and Roman Reigns over Cody Rhodes and Seth Franklin Rollins due to interference from Drew McIntyre

 

Becky Lynch defeats Rhea Ripley by disqualification; Rhea retains Women’s World Championship

 

Gunther pins Sami Zayn. Someone from Sami’s past will interfere, costing him the title.

 

Jimmy Uso defeats Jey Uso with another, lesser known Bloodline family member’s help 

 

Theory and Waller win the tag team 6-way match for the titles after Logan Paul intervenes

 

Bianca, Naomi, and Jade over Damage CTRL; Bianca and Jade can’t get along and leads to speculation about their future

 

Rey Jr. and Andrade over Dirty Dom and Escobar; Andrade may switch sides

 

 

Night 2 Predictions

 

Cody Rhodes over Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship after The Rock turns on Roman to set up his own match with Cody at SummerSlam

 

Seth Franklin Rollins over Drew McIntyre for the World Championship due to CM Punk’s interference; sets up rematch for Clash at the Castle Scotland

 

Iyo Sky over Bayley for the Women’s Championship

 

Logan Paul defeats Randy Orton and Kevin Owens for the US title due to Waller and Theory intervening

 

LA Knight over AJ Styles (this will be the best of the night)

 

Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits over Final Testament

Shrader Op/Ed in New Hampshire Union Leader (5/4/23)

 

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Op-eds

Nathan R. Shrader: A dreadful week in American politics

I WAS FORTUNATE to begin my career in politics around the age of 14 when I helped a neighbor in my native North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, with his unsuccessful reelection campaign for local commissioner. Even though he lost that campaign, I caught the political bug and haven’t been able to shake it ever since.

About 28 years and dozens of campaigns and government service opportunities later, my passion for American politics, warts, and all, continues unabated. However, now I am experiencing it from a different vantage point as a political science professor where I have the incredible opportunity to help spark an interest in politics among the next generation of leaders. For the most part, my students — no matter where I have taught — are not hyper-partisans nor hardcore ideologues. They are inquisitive young people who genuinely want to understand how our systems of government and politics work and why.

You cannot imagine my heartbreak when I see events unfold as we have over the past month in American politics. These events inevitably contribute to the rising cynicism, mistrust, and lack of confidence — especially among the young people just learning about our political process — in the American way, which I define as respect for democracy, freedom of thought and speech, the rule of law, and equal opportunity.

First, we have seen a former president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, arrested and arraigned on 34 counts related to hush money allegedly paid to an adult film star that ostensibly had nothing to do with his actual presidency. Already we have learned that the judge in that case donated to Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election, President Joe Biden, and that the same jurist’s daughter served as a consultant to the short-lived Kamala Harris for President campaign in 2020 and then to the Biden-Harris campaign.

Second, we have witnessed two young, courageous Black men unjustly removed from their seats in the Tennessee legislature for daring to challenge the existing power structure and the bleak status quo on firearm massacres in schools and public places. Having worked in two state legislative bodies in my career, I have never seen such a blatant, official act of racial prejudice present itself on the floor of such a body as with the removal of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. Adding insult to injury, and helping underscore the racist actions of the majority, a third White lawmaker accused of the same “infractions” as the two Black members was allowed to retain her seat.

Lastly, we have seen a sitting member of the United States Congress, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, call for the impeachment of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas without evidence that the second Black Supreme Court justice in history had broken the law and before any facts had emerged. There has already been an alarming increase in examples of politicians demonizing and denigrating the Supreme Court and judiciary by attacking the court’s integrity, the honor of those serving on it, and the very foundations of the rule of law as the cornerstone of American law and society. Now we have a member of the U.S. House — who has made her name not through any legislative achievement, but by professionally grandstanding and spotlight-seeking — looking to further delegitimize the highest court in the land by threatening impeachment without evidence of illegal behavior.

All three of these incidents bring out the worst in American politics. They collectively shape the enduring impression that our system is broken beyond repair and that we are locked in an unwinnable battle between competing “teams” who are willing to do anything, say anything, prosecute anyone, impeach everyone, or expel from a public body those who do not adhere to a certain narrow worldview.

What’s worse is that we have a generation that has come up in the last two decades of politics and who are being socialized into our political system today that have only the shared memory of our present politics of personal destruction, partisan trench warfare, and expected ideological purity.

We cannot go on this way. The three events outlined here — all of which transpired in a single week — help to illustrate just how tenuous our present situation truly is. It is time for all of us to take a deep breath, rein in our own political agendas, and fix the toxic mess we have created. America’s future depends on it.

Associate Professor of Political Science Nathan R. Shrader, PhD., is also co-director of the Center for Civic Engagement at New England College in Henniker. He lives in Manchester.

WEBLINK: https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/nathan-r-shrader-a-dreadful-week-in-american-politics/article_10d41966-1326-5e7c-a074-e9276a2ae521.html

Shrader in New York Post

 

Opinion
Letters to the Editor
March 25, 2023

 

    The issue: The 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom

I am immensely grateful for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s thoughtful and honest examination of the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom (“Iraq Lessons,” March 17).

Those who incessantly opposed and vilified the liberation of Iraq and its people by the United States and the Coalition of the Willing two decades ago have been rather silent during the approach of this anniversary. Perhaps this is because they have been consistently proven wrong and that the quality of life, standard of living, and freedom experienced in Iraq today are substantially higher than in 2003 with Saddam Hussein ruling with an iron fist.

History will continue to show that the United States, leaders like President George W. Bush and Sen. Lieberman and bipartisan majorities in both Congress and the American public were right from the beginning.

Nathan R. Shrader,

Manchester, NH

Link: https://nypost.com/2023/03/25/cops-test-nix-fury-and-more-letters-to-the-editor-march-26-2023/

Trash Talk...

Over the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to talk to the news media about the ongoing controversy surrounding the City of Jackson's garbage contract dispute. This has become one of the ugliest, nastiest political fights I have seen in my eight years living in Jackson. 

March 9, 2022- Shrader on the pervasive nastiness of this situation in the Northside Sun: https://www.northsidesun.com/local-content-top-stories/unfounded-foote-calls-lumumbas-accusations-against-him-preposterous#sthash.xHsSQewS.dpbs

April 8, 2022- Shrader on the politics and personal nature of the trash dispute in the Clarion-Ledger: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2022/04/08/look-political-situation-over-jackson-garbage-contract/9469331002/

April 13, 2022- Shrader on the potential impact of this on Mayor Lumumba's legacy in the Northside Sun:  https://www.northsidesun.com/could-trash-issue-affect-mayors-future#sthash.QpKZ6pkZ.dpbs

Five Reasons Both Parties Risk Abortion Policy Overreach

Last week's oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health have caused many court-watchers to speculate about the potential demise of Roe v. Wade. This would fulfill a long-time conservative Culture War objective while also setting the stage for a nasty battle between the nation's two political parties over the issue leading up to the 2022 Midterm Elections.

Considering the public pronouncements of the parties and some of their top officials in recent days, it would come as no surprise to see both parties overreach on policy grounds in the coming months. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I predict that Republican pols will likely embrace unpopular, overly restrictive policies with Democratic pols backing likely unpopular, overly permissive policies. Meanwhile, most voters fall somewhere between the two positions.

1—The vast majority of voters want to keep Roe in place, 65% to 28% (Fox, Sept. 2021). This includes 77% of Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans. 

2—A plurality of 26% want to keep Roe as is, but add restrictions, with most voters--including those who back restrictions--still calling themselves "pro-choice" (NPR/PBS/Marist, June 2019).

3—Opinion varies and voters fall into three categories according to the FiveThirtyEight polling aggregates: 10-15% say it should always be illegal, 25-30% say it should always be legal, and 55-60% say abortion should be legal in some cases, but not in all cases.

4—Abortion is currently is a low-priority voting issue: just 1% said it is the most important problem facing the country in one poll (Gallup, Oct. 2021) with 4% telling pollsters it was their top issue in another (YouGov/The Economist, Oct. 2021).

 5—Voters see considerable nuance when it comes to abortion policy. 61% believe abortion should be legal during the first trimester, 34% in the second trimester and, 19% in the third trimester. 87% want to preserve legal abortions if the women’s health is in danger, 84% in cases of incest or rape, and 74% if the child is likely to be born with serious life-threatening illnesses (AP/NORC,June 2021 with similar findings by Gallup, June 2018). 

These numbers should provide a warning for the two parties following last week's oral arguments and the ongoing efforts by Mississippi politicians to force the court's hand. While the American voters have not yet decided that abortion policy constitutes a core "voting issue" that drives their decision-making at the polls, the public does not embrace an all-or-nothing mindset. Republicans who are likely to go "all in" on running against all legal abortion and the overturn of Roe as well as the Democrats who seem willing to back abortion without restrictions could likely rouse the electorate's ire next November.