Word: figureheads
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Connecticut, of course, is Democratic turf. In 2006, the Democrats won a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature, relegating the reelected Republican Governor, M. Jodi Rell, to the role of official figurehead. Republican incumbents Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons lost their hard-earned Congressional seats to Democratic newbies Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney. After their massive victory, starry-eyed Democrats fantasized about what they might do with such power...
...inaugural address, Kennedy sought to lead “a new generation of Americans” to face the challenges of the Cold War. Obama wants to be a modern incarnation of that figurehead; throughout American history, he proclaimed, “a new generation has risen up and done what’s needed to be done. Today we are called once more—and it is time for our generation to answer that call...
...give or take away grant money. And the weak turnout seen in countless UC representative elections clearly demonstrates that this tiny community of people has seized the mantle of authority over the direction of student life at Harvard without any real mandate. Still more galling, it has made a figurehead of itself, making it seem that the voice of the students is active in the process...
What’s more, the Council doesn’t seem to be particularly good at being a figurehead. True, legislation is like sausage making: both are worthwhile, but you don’t want to see either process. In the case of the UC, however, not only is the product fairly useless, but the factory has been deeply dysfunctional for years. In fact, other than asking for money that will be handed out unpredictably, the most interaction most of us have with the UC is the occasional cynical joke we might make...
...powerful Kremlin faction wants the Boss to stay, insisting that the country needs him. Their real motivation, however, is the fear that anyone they appoint as a figurehead will inevitably claim the powers of the throne for real - just as Putin did. Although Putin delivered on the presumed promise of never touching the Yeltsin family, many a Yeltsin flunky lost his assets. The Kremlin power brokers want to prevent a repeat...