Join American Public Square at Jewell for Cocktails and Politics as we host a public conversation on the Electoral College, the process by which the United States has elected its Presidents and Vice Presidents for some 230 years. While facilitating the election of 45 Presidents, the Electoral College has been the subject of intense criticism and reform, but it has survived – at least until now. Before turning to audience questions, our distinguished guest Thomas Neale will provide us with his understanding of the Founding Fathers’ original intent and the problematic elections and changes that have been made over the years. As we face one of the most contested Presidential elections in history, he will point to the strengths and criticisms of the electoral system that remain and lead us in a discussion of recent calls for reform, including the call for a national popular vote.
Cocktails and Politics: Electoral College
Cocktails and Politics: Electoral College
This event will be moderated by Bryan Le Beau. Bryan Le Beau, who holds a Ph.D. from New York University, has retired as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs from the University of Saint Mary, and is currently an adjunct professor of history at the University of Missouri – Kansas City and Georgetown University. He has authored several books on various topics in American history, been a speaker on programs such as CSPAN-TV, and for seven years hosted a national public radio program called “Talking History.”
Panelist
Thomas H. Neale is a native of Auburn, New York. He attended the public schools of Solvay, New York, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Washington DC. He pursued additional studies at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, and the Université de Dijon, Dijon, France.
His external writings include contributions to Wilson Quarterly, the State Department’s E-journal USA, The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, and The Encyclopedia of the United States in the 19th Century. He has lectured on the U.S. election process at Meridian International, the Academy for Educational Development, the Organization of American States, and the House of Representatives’ Parliamentary Development Task Force and its House Democracy Partnership. He has also served as a panelist for C-Span. For the U.S. State Department, he has lectured at the Foreign Press Center in Washington; the U.S. Embassy in Austria and the Universities of Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, and Salzburg, in Austria; and the Egyptian Parliament and the American University in Cairo. He also served as a panelist for the State Department’s WorldNet television and Voice of America radio international service broadcasts.
Presently, Mr. Neale works in the legislative branch of the U.S. government, focusing on American constitutional theory and history; American political history; U.S. elections, with concentration on the presidency and the Electoral College; and presidential and vice presidential qualifications for office, terms, tenure, succession, and disability. He has contributed to Library of Congress publications, such as Library of Congress Information Bulletin, Library of Congress Gazette, CRS Report, LCPA Insights, and CRS at 100: A Centennial History of the Congressional Research Service. Mr. Neale has testified before committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate on various issues.
Cocktails and Politics’ featured Cocktail #2 ‘This Americano Votes’
‘This Americano Votes’ is a patriotic spin on the classic cocktail ’The Americano’, Customize by substituting the Kombucha for fruit flavored soda. This cocktail was crafted by Kansas City Food and Beverage Consultant, Ian Walla, to be enjoyed while watching American Public Square at Jewell’s Cocktails and Politics.