The United States is experiencing very low levels of trust in the government and in Washington. To the average American, Washington, D.C. seems like a bubble filled with well-off, over-educated citizens who are out of touch with the daily lives of Americans elsewhere in the country. This thesis explores this trend, the severity of it, how often it has occurred thus far in American history, the causes, and potential solutions to bridging the gap between the political elite and the average American. This paper is broken up into three topics which explain a portion of the cause for the disconnect. The first chapter focuses on the history of Washington, D.C. as a city and how its development has contributed to political disconnect. The second chapter looks at the history and transitions of a congressional career. Lastly, the third chapter explores the history of public perception of government, in order to put today’s low levels of trust into better context. I ultimately find that the city of Washington used to be a small, quaint city on a hill that was open to all. Now, it is a fortress of power, but much of this was inevitable. In order to compensate for the increasing complexity of governmental tasks, the government added more people and more buildings to take on this problem solving. This inevitably led to a bubble of well-educated and well-off citizens. Similarly, a representative today has many more tasks than the representative a century ago. He also must have many more resources to even get elected. As Washington developed and become a more attractive city as it accumulated power, it drew a new type of citizen. A type that does not look, act, or think like the average American. While these developments led to the disconnect, they were in many ways inevitable. Based on the chapter on public perception of government, I find that Americans are distrustful of those in office and of the ways that these people use the government, but they still have faith in the political institutions themselves. This shows that there is potential for reform to help Americans feel better represented, and to help the government be more responsive to the average Americans’ most pressing problems. While there are many aspects of Congress that could be modified, the conclusion chapter looks specifically at reforms that are inspired by the input of Americans. This includes reform to political debate and discourse, lobbying, congressional voting, and more.

This thesis analyzes a gradual political transformation in Texas during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It specifically analyzes the political climate following the 2014 Midterm Elections by using the valuable context of past Texas political history. In spite of the massive setbacks of the 2014 election cycle, the Democratic Party may actually have a bright future in the state of Texas. Demographic and economic trends provide the party with an opportunity to make steady gains. But such progress will not happen automatically: Democrats have to run candidates and take positions that appeal to the emerging Texas electorate.

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After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush authorized the detention of certain non-citizens suspected of terrorism at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Beginning in 2004, the Supreme Court considered whether these non-citizens were entitled to rights under the Constitution. In deciding that question, the Court compared the facts in the War on Terror cases with World War II cases that dealt with the rights of captured Nazis. Though the cases from World War II denied all protections to nonresident enemies, the Court in 2004 and 2008 determined that detentions in Guantanamo were unique. As such, the Court held that non-citizens detained at Guantanamo had certain constitutional privileges. I analyze two cases from World War II, Johnson v. Eisentrager and Ex Parte Quirin, and two cases from the War on Terror, Rasul v. Bush and Boumediene v. Bush, to illustrate the evolution in the Court’s understanding of non-citizen enemies’ rights. Ultimately, I find that the Court has done its part to protect detainees’ basic rights, but that Congress should do more to enact legislation that embodies our nation’s commitment to fairness, justice, and other constitutional values.

The purpose of this dissertation is to establish the meaning and definition of postfeminism along with an assessment of whether it accurately represents the current era of thinking. It is an historical, descriptive, qualitative analysis of the feminist movement from its inception with the central focus on the newest strand of feminist thought, postfeminism. The progression toward these conclusions entails an outlining of the waves of feminism and the strands of thought within these eras as well as a discussion of third wave feminism, modern feminism and generational differences between the waves. The focus on postfeminism begins with an exploration of the meaning of “post” as well as a look at postfeminism’s strong ties to popular culture and the theoretical underpinnings of this concept. The postfeminist issues of victimhood, work, femininity, sexuality, marriage, men, family and generational collaboration are reviewed in order to determine the definition of postfeminism, assess whether the current era is postfeminist, consider if postfeminism is anti-feminism and measure postfeminism as it relates to the third wave. Finally, the implications of postfeminism and a review of its politics conclude the project.

One of the most compelling areas of research when considering the modern presidency is the role of the White House chief of staff (COS) and the direct impact it has on the presidency. The office of the president’s chief of staff is often referred to as the power behind the throne. Chiefs of staff exercise great authority and control within the White House Office (WHO) functioning as a filter or gatekeeper strictly controlling the access of information and people reaching the president. The COS is also one of the president’s closest advisers. James Baker, former chief of staff for Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush has stated the White House chief of staff is the second most powerful job in government. However, the position has commanded relatively little attention from presidential scholars. Nevertheless, understanding this component of the modern White House is important if we are to better explain why some presidencies are more effective than others. This study focuses on the chief of staff and how the office functions within the organizational and managerial structure of the White House as a key to understanding the effective operation of the modern presidency. Specifically the study considers Howard H. Baker, Jr. and his tenure during the Ronald Reagan presidency. Relatively little research has been conducted exploring Baker’s tenure as COS, yet the Reagan presidency experienced a major transformation during this period – going from an administration in serious trouble to a stable presidency with high approval ratings. A closer study of the transformation process may provide a better understanding of the impact the COS has on the presidency. The study finds strong support for the thesis that the White House chief of staff is a critically important component within the modern presidency and has a direct impact on the president and the potential effectiveness of his administration. Howard Baker’s tenure as COS clearly demonstrates the dramatic changes chiefs of staff can produce within a presidency. In Baker’s case the impact was both substantial and positive in the rescue and rehabilitation of the Reagan presidency.