Congratulations!

Diana Chudacoff Levin Award
Kam Kuwata Award for Political Involvement
André Pineda Political Leadership Award
2012 Recipients: 


Aaron Taxy
Adriana Aristeiguieta
Alexis Driggs
Amy Gebert
Ariana Stobaugh
Barr Benyamin
Brad Barbagallo
Cat Shieh
Christian Patterson
Daniel Rothberg
David Hernandez
Hannah Madans
James Freymuth
Jessica Bellamy
Joseph Park
Katherine Grabar
Kaya Masler
Kevin Rutkowski
Kyle Hall
Lizzy Breiter
Marissa Roy
Ryan Shaw
Sarah Cueva
Tito Thomas
Vanessa Cuarenta
Yesenia Cuarenta
Zoe Steinberg

 

Good luck with your internships and fight on!

 

Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics Video

<h3>Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics Video</h3>
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USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll project is a series of statewide public opinion polls in California, designed to survey voter attitudes on a wide range of political, policy, social and cultural issues.

Conducted at regular intervals throughout the year, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is one of the largest polls of registered voters in the state and has been widely cited, helping to inform the public and to encourage discourse on key political and policy issues.

 

 

 

 

 

For more information, please click here.

 

For the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner analysis, please click here.

 

For the Los Angeles Times story on Californians supporting Mitt Romney for the 2012 Presidential election, please click here.

 

For the Los Angeles Times story on Californians supporting Jerry Brown's tax-hike initiative, please click here.

 

For the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Press Release on the tax increase proposals, please click here.

 

For the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Press Release on support for President Obama despite rising gasoline prices, please click here.

 

For the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Press Release on technology companies invading voter privacy, please click here.

 

For the Los Angeles Times story on California's voter concerns with tech firms' data gathering, please click here.


Tributes

 

 

For more information about the Joe Cerrell, Kam Kuwata, and André Pineda Tribute Awards, click here.

 

To contribute to any one of these funds, please click here.




 

Director's Corner

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Times: New Fight Takes Shape Over Term Limits

 

Prop. 28 would allow legislators to serve 12 years in one house, rather than 14 between the Assembly and Senate. Backers say the move would give lawmakers more experience.

 

To continue reading, click here.

 

 

Sacramento Bee: Prop. 28 Enhances Reform, Allows Leaders to Gain Experience

 

When the original ballot initiative to impose term limits was put before California voters in 1990, I enthusiastically campaigned for its passage.

 

To continue reading, click here. 

 

 

The New York Times: It's Time to Win Over Women

 

Tuesday was the first day of the rest of Mitt Romney's life. Whether he can take advantage of the opportunity that he's been given is an open question.

 

To continue reading, click here. 

 


The New York Times: The President, Gas Prices and the Pipeline

 

The real Mitt must stand up
Jimmy Carter was able to explain to people that being a peanut farmer wasn’t a bad thing.
Ronald Reagan demonstrated that working as a movie actor shouldn’t keep voters from considering his candidacy.
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both convinced us that their personal problems weren’t disqualifiers.
So why is Mitt Romney having so much trouble persuading voters that being a successful businessman isn’t a problem?
From the beginning, one essential element of the Republican primary fight has remained absolutely unchanged: It has been a contest between two candidates. One, of course, has been Romney. Let’s call the other one Un-Romney.
For over a year now, Romney has struggled to convince conservative activists that he can be trusted with their party’s nomination. And for over a year, those activists have conducted an ongoing series of auditions for the role of Un-Romney, at various times pondering the acceptability of Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, then Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. And most recently, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
But Romney’s most significant challenge is not ideological, but biographical. As Republicans increasingly become the party of white working class voters, Romney’s privileged upbringing and success in business have become an overwhelming obstacle to his ability to attract support from this critical slice of the electorate.
The traditional suburban and upper-income base of the Republican party has been with Romney from the beginning and stuck with him fairly consistently throughout the roller-coaster ride of the past several months. But exit polls from last Tuesday’s Michigan primary demonstrate the extent of his difficulties with blue collar and religious voters, as Santorum beat him soundly among these demographic groups.
Romney’s fine with the soccer moms, in other words. But what can he do to win over the NASCAR dads?
This problem grows even more troublesome in a general election, should Romney ultimately become the nominee. Working class voters with less intense religious convictions remain a critical swing group in general election campaigns, and President Obama’s strong backing from organized labor, as well as his rediscovered populist economic pitch, make these voters a challenge for any Republican candidate.
So for both the short run and the long haul, Romney needs to figure out a way to emotionally connect with voters with whom he has little personal, cultural or economic affinity.
Romney himself seems painfully aware of the roadblock that seems to separate him from these voters. His discomfort when he tries to engage with them is palpable and has led to a series of awkward statements (“Corporations are people”; my wife “has a couple of Cadillacs,” etc.) that have made a bad situation even worse.
Romney’s challenge is not a unique one. John Kerry enjoyed windsurfing, John McCain could not recall how many houses his family owned, Bill Clinton went to Oxford and both George Bushes attended Yale. Even Obama struggled with these voters during primaries in Rust Belt states against Hillary Clinton four years ago, famously telling a San Francisco audience that small-town voters “get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”
But Romney’s problem is exacerbated by the challenging economic landscape, which ought to create a built-in advantage for a challenger looking to unseat an incumbent who has held office during such a tumultuous time period. Clearly, Romney must find a way to engage working class voters more effectively than he has to date.
One radical approach to consider: be himself. Rather than going to NASCAR races and joking about his own unemployment status, Romney could embrace the obvious and explain to voters that his economic successes not only qualify him to be President but have also made it more likely that he will occasionally make clumsy statements about the struggles of others. In other words, something like this:
“I was taught not to brag and boast and think I’m better than other people because of the successes I’ve had, so occasionally I’m going to say things that sound awkward. It’s because I’d rather talk about what it takes to get America back to work.”
The key to making this work is for Romney to be upfront about the other key piece of his personal biography: his religious faith. Because of suspicions toward the Mormon religion among both evangelical Christians and secular liberals, Romney’s campaign has avoided the topic whenever possible.
But despite the numerous differences between Mormonism and other mainstream religions, his faith requires a significant amount of time and attention toward the less fortunate from its members. Realizing that voters for whom his religion is a disqualifier are going to be aware of the fact that he is a Mormon whether he talks about it or not, Romney has little to lose by explaining to voters why his faith has helped him understand the plight of the economically disadvantaged in a way that provides a leavening complement to his business background.
Romney has taken the first tentative steps in this direction in the days since the Michigan primary, telling an Ohio audience this week that his duties as a lay pastor “took about 20, 30, 40 hours a week in some week. So besides my regular job, I was pastoring people in my congregation — and people of different backgrounds, different nationalities and different circumstances of life.”
In Joe Klein’s excellent book: “Politics Lost: How American Politics Was Trivialized By People Who Think You’re Stupid,” he recounts a conversation he had with several of Al Gore’s top advisors from the 2000 presidential campaign. Klein pointed to the energy and passion that Gore displayed in talking about global warming and climate change issues in his post-political career and wondered why Gore had devoted so little time and attention to them when running for President.
Gore’s advisors explained that they had convinced their candidate to avoid this type of discussion, given the potential political damage that a strident environmental message could cause in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, leaving Klein and the reader to ponder whether a candidate who withheld such a critical part of himself from the voters could ever hope to emotionally connect with them.

A valid question to consider, especially for a candidate who has been unable to hide his most formative biographical traits from an electorate that is still unwilling to form an attachment to any of the men who might be the next President.

The economic impact of rising energy prices in itself is considerable, but the psychological toll on voters is just as significant, as tens of millions of motorists are reminded by large signs on almost every street corner of the financial pain of filling their gas tanks. Obama and his political lieutenants are acutely aware that this growing frustration has the potential to complicate an election year that otherwise seems to be shifting in the incumbent’s favor.

The economic impact of rising energy prices in itself is considerable, but the psychological toll on voters is just as significant, as tens of millions of motorists are reminded by large signs on almost every street corner of the financial pain of filling their gas tanks. Obama and his political lieutenants are acutely aware that this growing frustration has the potential to complicate an election year that otherwise seems to be shifting in the incumbent's favor. 

 

To continue reading, please click here.  

 

 

New York Daily News: The real Mitt must stand up

The real Mitt must stand up
Jimmy Carter was able to explain to people that being a peanut farmer wasn’t a bad thing.
Ronald Reagan demonstrated that working as a movie actor shouldn’t keep voters from considering his candidacy.
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both convinced us that their personal problems weren’t disqualifiers.
So why is Mitt Romney having so much trouble persuading voters that being a successful businessman isn’t a problem?
From the beginning, one essential element of the Republican primary fight has remained absolutely unchanged: It has been a contest between two candidates. One, of course, has been Romney. Let’s call the other one Un-Romney.
For over a year now, Romney has struggled to convince conservative activists that he can be trusted with their party’s nomination. And for over a year, those activists have conducted an ongoing series of auditions for the role of Un-Romney, at various times pondering the acceptability of Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, then Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. And most recently, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
But Romney’s most significant challenge is not ideological, but biographical. As Republicans increasingly become the party of white working class voters, Romney’s privileged upbringing and success in business have become an overwhelming obstacle to his ability to attract support from this critical slice of the electorate.
The traditional suburban and upper-income base of the Republican party has been with Romney from the beginning and stuck with him fairly consistently throughout the roller-coaster ride of the past several months. But exit polls from last Tuesday’s Michigan primary demonstrate the extent of his difficulties with blue collar and religious voters, as Santorum beat him soundly among these demographic groups.
Romney’s fine with the soccer moms, in other words. But what can he do to win over the NASCAR dads?
This problem grows even more troublesome in a general election, should Romney ultimately become the nominee. Working class voters with less intense religious convictions remain a critical swing group in general election campaigns, and President Obama’s strong backing from organized labor, as well as his rediscovered populist economic pitch, make these voters a challenge for any Republican candidate.
So for both the short run and the long haul, Romney needs to figure out a way to emotionally connect with voters with whom he has little personal, cultural or economic affinity.
Romney himself seems painfully aware of the roadblock that seems to separate him from these voters. His discomfort when he tries to engage with them is palpable and has led to a series of awkward statements (“Corporations are people”; my wife “has a couple of Cadillacs,” etc.) that have made a bad situation even worse.
Romney’s challenge is not a unique one. John Kerry enjoyed windsurfing, John McCain could not recall how many houses his family owned, Bill Clinton went to Oxford and both George Bushes attended Yale. Even Obama struggled with these voters during primaries in Rust Belt states against Hillary Clinton four years ago, famously telling a San Francisco audience that small-town voters “get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”
But Romney’s problem is exacerbated by the challenging economic landscape, which ought to create a built-in advantage for a challenger looking to unseat an incumbent who has held office during such a tumultuous time period. Clearly, Romney must find a way to engage working class voters more effectively than he has to date.
One radical approach to consider: be himself. Rather than going to NASCAR races and joking about his own unemployment status, Romney could embrace the obvious and explain to voters that his economic successes not only qualify him to be President but have also made it more likely that he will occasionally make clumsy statements about the struggles of others. In other words, something like this:
“I was taught not to brag and boast and think I’m better than other people because of the successes I’ve had, so occasionally I’m going to say things that sound awkward. It’s because I’d rather talk about what it takes to get America back to work.”
The key to making this work is for Romney to be upfront about the other key piece of his personal biography: his religious faith. Because of suspicions toward the Mormon religion among both evangelical Christians and secular liberals, Romney’s campaign has avoided the topic whenever possible.
But despite the numerous differences between Mormonism and other mainstream religions, his faith requires a significant amount of time and attention toward the less fortunate from its members. Realizing that voters for whom his religion is a disqualifier are going to be aware of the fact that he is a Mormon whether he talks about it or not, Romney has little to lose by explaining to voters why his faith has helped him understand the plight of the economically disadvantaged in a way that provides a leavening complement to his business background.
Romney has taken the first tentative steps in this direction in the days since the Michigan primary, telling an Ohio audience this week that his duties as a lay pastor “took about 20, 30, 40 hours a week in some week. So besides my regular job, I was pastoring people in my congregation — and people of different backgrounds, different nationalities and different circumstances of life.”
In Joe Klein’s excellent book: “Politics Lost: How American Politics Was Trivialized By People Who Think You’re Stupid,” he recounts a conversation he had with several of Al Gore’s top advisors from the 2000 presidential campaign. Klein pointed to the energy and passion that Gore displayed in talking about global warming and climate change issues in his post-political career and wondered why Gore had devoted so little time and attention to them when running for President.
Gore’s advisors explained that they had convinced their candidate to avoid this type of discussion, given the potential political damage that a strident environmental message could cause in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, leaving Klein and the reader to ponder whether a candidate who withheld such a critical part of himself from the voters could ever hope to emotionally connect with them.
A valid question to consider, especially for a candidate who has been unable to hide his most formative biographical traits from an electorate that is still unwilling to form an attachment to any of the men who might be the next President.

 

Jimmy Carter was able to explain to people that being a peanut farmer wasn’t a bad thing.

 

Ronald Reagan demonstrated that working as a movie actor shouldn’t keep voters from considering his candidacy.

 

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both convinced us that their personal problems weren’t disqualifiers.

 

So why is Mitt Romney having so much trouble persuading voters that being a successful businessman isn’t a problem?

 

From the beginning, one essential element of the Republican primary fight has remained absolutely unchanged: It has been a contest between two candidates. One, of course, has been Romney. Let’s call the other one Un-Romney.

To continue reading, please click here.

 

 

New York Times: Campaign Stops: Speaking of Money, I Have a Lot of It

 

Why is someone who is so good at making money so bad at talking about it?

 

Mitt Romney is not the first presidential candidate who's had trouble communicating with working class voters: John Kerry famously enjoyed wind-surfing, and George Bush blamed a poor showing in a straw poll on the fact that many of his supporters were "at their daughter's coming out party".

 

But his penchant for awkward references to his own wealth has underscored the suspicion that many voters have about his ability to understand their economic problems. His opponents in both parties are gleefully highlighting these moments as a way to drive a wedge between Romney and the working class voters who have become an increasingly important part of the Republican Party base.

To continue reading, please click here. 

 

 

New York Times: Campaign Stops: Mitt Romney, the Jacksonville Jaguar 


I wrote yesterday that last night was the most important night of Mitt Romney’s political life. Another underwhelming debate performance like the ones he delivered in South Carolina would open the door for a Newt Gingrich victory in the Florida primary. Losing Florida could begin the type of downward spiral for Romney that would lead to even less pleasant consequences.

 

To continue reading, please click here.

 

 

USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll Briefing Event

 

Los Angeles elected officials and their staffs joined the Unruh Institute of Politics Director Dan Schnur for a private briefing and review of 2011 USC Dornsife/LA Times poll results. The USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll project is a series of statewide public opinion polls in California, designed to survey voter attitudes on a wide range of political, policy, social and cultural issues. Conducted at regular intervals throughout the year, the USC  Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is one of the largest polls of registered voters in the state and has been widely cited, helping to inform the public and to encourage discourse on key political and policy issues. 

 

For images of the event, please click here.

 

To read more Director's Corner articles, click here.