Camryn Thompson's AP Gov Blog

1.The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides, inter alia , that “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” This legal standard means what it says. Certainly, Rob Porter and others who have been accused of sexual abuse or harassment are not being deprived of their life or their liberty as a result of the allegations made against them. 2. In short, there is a process — of charges, proof, and judicial decision when a legal action is brought. But when a business, a government entity, or a voter must decide whether someone is fit for his position, the decision process is of necessity much less formal, quicker, and truncated. A judgment call must be made, and it often must be made quickly. 3.It has two prongs: 1) The government cannot charge you with a crime or take other action against you without notifying you of the charges or proposed action. And 2) you must be given the opportunity to present your side of th...

1. One reason that the results are especially scary for Republicans — Democrat Conor Lamb is the apparent winner1 in a district that President Trump won by 20 percentage points — is because it came on reasonably high turnout, the sort of turnout one might expect in this year’s midterms. 2. Democratic swing is the difference between the special election result and the district’s partisan lean. 3.By contrast, the 16- or 17-point5 average Democratic overperformance in special elections so far suggests a Democratic mega-tsunami. 4.they trail Democrats by “only” 8 or 9 percentage points on the generic congressional ballot, which suggests a close race for control of the House this year that only narrowly favors Democrats. 5.Democrats also appear to have an enthusiasm advantage — 60 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Clinton voters say they have a high degree of interest in the 2018 midterms. Fifty-four percent of Republicans and 37 percent of independents say the same. Young...