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JULY 2, 2017 |
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Today's shows: |
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Hour 1 |
"The Pitfalls of
Democracy" |
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with Loren Spivack |
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Hour 2 |
"What's Really
Happening in Congress" |
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with Brad Fitch |
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hour 1:
The Pitfalls of
Democracy |
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Loren Spivack |
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Loren Spivack on Facebook |
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Loren Spivack “The
Free Market Warrior” was born and raised in Massachusetts and
spent most of his adult life in New York City. Before becoming
active in politics, Spivack worked for several non-profits and
as a management consultant for both profit and non-profit
companies.
Spivack founded “Free Market Warrior” in 2009 in an effort to
make a positive difference in American politics and economics.
His “Free Market
Warrior” store was expelled from Concord Mills Mall in North
Carolina in July of 2009 for selling material critical of the
Obama Administration. (Mall owners, Simon Property Group, are
major Democratic donors.) Since then Loren has devoted his time
to teaching conservative groups about free market economics. |
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Books by Loren Spivack
(click to buy) |
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Hour 2:
"What's Really
Happening in Congress"
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Brad Fitch |
sart of the mission of the
Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) is to explain how Congress
REALLY works, often dispelling myths that endlessly emerge in the
media. Recently I appeared on CSPAN's "Washington Journal" and had
the opportunity to tear down some of these myths. Below are some
excerpts and link the full interview.
LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?427540-5/washington-journal-bradford-fitch-discusses-health-benefits-members-congress
EXCERPTS
ON PERKS. “Most of the perks that Congress have gotten over the
decades have been whittled away by law and regulation and practice,
and there are only a few left. Most of the things you’ve heard are
not true." |
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ON HEALTH BENEFITS. “This is
the frustrating thing when I talk about the perks. This information
gets exaggerated and people want to portray them [Congress] getting
special subsidies. It’s just not that way. [Members of Congress and
staff] are treated just like regular employees working for a large
organization….The myth out that is that Members of Congress get all
these extra benefits. It is just not true.”
ON CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT WITH CONGRESS. “We have been studying citizen
engagement for the last 15 years, looking at what works and what
helps build better relationships between citizens and lawmakers. One
the myths out there that CMF hopes to dispel is that citizen voices
do not make a difference. We did a survey of congressional staff and
asked this question, “If your member of Congress has not arrived at
a firm decision on an issue, how much influence does the following
advocacy strategies have on his or her decision. The number one
answer, at 94%, was in-person visits from constituents. The one
thing our research shows that people getting engaged is a good thing
for our democracy.”
ON RESOURCES FOR CONGRESS. "People think Congress has all these
resources and staff. In fact Congress hasn’t increased its resources
since 1974, and the House of Representatives cut its budget by 20
percent since 2011 for each Member office." |
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