Blog 4.2

1. How has Trump impacted the timeline for Republicans to get a repeal and replace bill for Obamacare passed?

2. What did Trump and Ryan do to attempt to place the blame on Democratic congressmen?

3. How do Trump and Ryan predict voters will see the failures of Obamacare, if the program gets worse?

4. Why was it so easy for Republicans to criticize Obamacare under Obama's presidency?

5. What are the results of Republicans deciding to never compromise any policy principals under Obama's presidency?

6. How is Trump using Twitter as the "bully pulpit"?

7. What message is he trying to get across to his followers that he won't say publicly?

8. Why would it be important for the Trump administration that the media blame Republican allies?

9. If Trump voters blame Republican allies, how does that help Trump gain more control in the party?

10. Why would Trump adviser Steve Bannon (the former Breitbart editor) want to put blame on Paul Ryan?

Answers

1. He largely extended it; due to his actions, it will be a much longer amount of time before their dream is achieved, if at all.

2. They are pointing to the fact that not a single Democrat voted for the bill, despite the fact that no direct appeals were made to them in the first place.

3. They feel that the public will blame solely Democrats for the failure of Obamacare, if it is to progress and get worse.

4. "Republicans have spent eight years fooling themselves about Obamacare. They have built a news bubble that relentlessly circulates exaggerated or made-up news of the law’s shortcomings and systematically ignores its successes.”

5. Democrats do not wish to compromise in any way now.

6. He is using it as a platform to send his message to a large audience, an audience made up of his Twitter followers.

7. It seems as though he is blaming Paul Ryan for the failure of the AHCA.

8. It's being done to remove blame from Trump.

9. More faith would be placed in Trump if the trust of Republican allies was lessened.

10. It would show loyalty to Trump and further Trump's power in the Republican party.

Blog 4.1

1. What does the Legal Services Corporation do?

2. How is this different than the role played by public defenders?

3. Which types of states end up getting the most help from this agency? 

4. What types of cases are they typically involved in?

5. How do these services help save communities money?

6. Why can't the lawyers who work for the program advocate for the program?

7. Why is this more prominent in rural areas than urban areas?

8. Explain how this agency can be seen as an extension of 6th Amendment civil liberties.

9. Explain how this agency can be seen as an unnecessary government expenditure.   

Answer

1. "Established by Congress in 1974 as a public nonprofit corporation, [the Legal Services Corporation] funds more than a hundred civil legal-aid programs throughout the country... In many ways, legal-aid organizations fill the same role in civil proceedings that public defenders perform in the criminal-justice system: providing legal representation for those unable to afford it themselves."

2. "The Sixth Amendment requires the existence of public-defender systems, which often have their own budgetary woes, but civil legal-aid programs have no such constitutional mandate. Instead, they rely on support from both parties and funding from federal and state governments, private foundations, and other nonprofit groups to exist."

3. Poorer states generally gain the most benefits from the LSC.

4. They primarily assist in civil cases. "Their assistance can range from educational programs to direct legal representation in state, federal, and tribal courts."

5. By preventing future expenses through the work that they do, e.g. stopping a foreclosure to ensure that property values do not fall, the LSC save communities save money.

6. "Legal-aid lawyers who work for federally funded organizations avoided speaking directly with me about the Trump administration’s budget proposal, citing federal rules that bar their organizations from lobbying either for or against legislation. "

7. “In the cities, you're more likely to have some other organizations, for example, that are doing domestic-violence protection work [or other civil protections]... In [rural areas], [the LSC is] basically pretty much the only lawyers who are representing poor people in domestic-violence and other family cases.”

8. This makes it easier for one to have the ability to obtain legal council.

9. They are not public defenders assigned by the court; therefore, they are not a necessity.