Help me prove my college professor wrong!

Do your damn homework and you wont have this problem!!!!

I'm sure if you Google Tom DeLay, you'll find some supporting evidence.

Congressmen bribe all the time (not as sure about blackmail, though). Probably should've just read your textbook on this one. I wouldn't argue with the prof. But you can do whatever.

Also, I'm a little confused by the question. What do you mean "to maintain party discipline?"

So after not studying for your test, you don't check and study even now, but instead ask middle skoolers on letsrun?

ummm leaders aren't generally going to bribe or blackmail members of their own party. It's not exactly the best way to make friends to help you out in the future.

So yeah, you are wrong...

Now if it was members of the other party, you could make the case you were right.

pork barrel politics is a kind of bribery:

\"I\'ll vote for this bill, but only if we give $2 million to the state of Pennsylvania to build a highway they want to build, for some reason that is irrelevant to this discussion.\"

Then the road becomes the famous \"unfinished road to nowhere\" that suddenly stops with a dead end sign and a cul-de-sac. True story.

Search pork-barrel politics and you\'ll probably find some site dedicated to keeping track of the millions if not billions of dollars spent each year on completely unnecessary, useless shit that just piggy-backs bills that are for some reason extremely important to one side or the other.

You have a case for bribery- and you can prove it. The amount of behind the back dealing that goes on, even just in one unnamed department of one unnamed university is disturbing. And I\'m sure its not limited to universities. Blackmailing surely happens too, but thats inherently more difficult to find evidence about.

Cheers to stickin\' it to the man

I find it hard to reason why in the world you thought that it was vital to include that this was "at a top 10 college."

Note: I'm sure this goes on within party lines as well- bribery certainly isn't used only against the other side. If you want something, and your friend doesn't want to give it to you, you make a deal. Thats how it works in lunch when he's got the lunchables with the bite size snickers bar and you got the organic fruit tarts and baby carrots.

Its not much different in politics.

except they might have two snickers bars

fat bastards

ok I'm done

You admit that you didn't do the reading and that you left off some of the "textbook" answers. I think the best you can argue for is partial- or half-credit. If I were grading you and assuming the question was worth 10 points for the sake of easy example, I'd give you 0 points for clearly not doing the reading, then throw you a couple points for at least attempting to think outside the box. You get 4 points and are damned lucky to get that much.

renaissance girl wrote:

I find it hard to reason why in the world you thought that it was vital to include that this was "at a top 10 college."

It was a trolling technique.

No, you shouldn't get any credit for your obnoxious punk answer. Do the homework next time instead of bullsh*tting and then being a pain in your professor's a$$.

(naively trying to help)

here's one recent instance where blackmail and bribery were combined (allegedly) to ensure passage of a bill. you can certainly find more about this incident on the internets.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/08/politics/main587236.shtml

"Who are 3 people who have never been in my kitchen?"

Cliff Clavin tried the true-but-irrelevant technique on Jeopardy. Didn't work for him either.

Or how about Congressman Jefferson, LA (D)?

He liked to keep cold hard cash in the freezer.

Your answer should still be a failing answer if you make the claim with no evidence to back it up.

- from a student at a top 3 university (in the world)

Stackhouse wrote:

ummm leaders aren't generally going to bribe or blackmail members of their own party. It's not exactly the best way to make friends to help you out in the future.

So yeah, you are wrong...

Take a look at what Republican leaders had to do to some of their collegues in order to get the Medicare bill passed. YES, they did lots of arm twisting.

weatherman wrote:

My question to you Letrun is this: Was I ridiculous in putting blackmail and bribery as a response? There's no way that doesn't go on all the time in congress. What should I do? Confront the professor...are they any verified moments in history where congressional leaders blatantly blackmailed other congress members for votes?

I still think I was logical and justified in this response.

Did you provide examples of congressional leaders using "blackmail and bribery" to maintain party discipline? That is probably why your prof failed you... because you didn't support your position. If you are asking letsrun for "verified moments in history" where congressional leaders used blackmail for votes, then you probably did a pretty poor job convincing your professor your answer was worth anything but an "F."

I went to visit my old political science prof, and much to my surprise, he was using the same exams that I had taken 20 years ago. When I asked him about students cheating, his reply was "Well, of course we change the answers every year." So, to answer your question, it depends on what year you are taking the exam.