” C-Span and the Republican National Convention chairman are in Akron today for the sixth quadrennial State of the Parties conference. The 2008 presidential election was extraordinary in many aspects including voter turnout and campaign spending. The State of the Parties: 2008 and beyond conference, hosted by the University of Akron Ray C.”
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C-Span and the Republican National Convention chairman are in Akron today for the sixth quadrennial State of the Parties conference.

The 2008 presidential election was extraordinary in many aspects including voter turnout and campaign spending.

The State of the Parties: 2008 and beyond conference, hosted by the University of Akron Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, will discuss the political topics and aspects of last year’s election. This year’s conference will be at the Sheraton Suites in Akron/Cuyahoga Falls.

Every conference is different because every presidential election is different. This year’s conference reflects the special things that happened in 2008, John C. Green, director of the Bliss Institute said.

At each conference there is a keynote speaker chosen based on topics of importance of the past election. The conference strives for a partisan balance of speakers.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Convention, will be the keynote speaker at the conference tonight.

He will address the future of the GOP at 7:30 p.m. Some keynote speakers at past conferences have been E.J. Dionne, Gwen Iliff and Donald Fowler.

C-Span will be recording tonight’s events. This will be the first time C-Span will be at the State of the Parties conference. Tonight’s proceedings will be broadcast at another time on C-Span.

Leading political scientists from across the country will be presenting papers discussing the 2008 elections during today and tomorrow’s conference.

The papers will discuss many things dealing with the elections from Do Parties Matter? Legislative Productivity in the States, to The Racial and Cultural Divide in the 2008 Democratic Primaries.

Top political scientists from around the country apply to present a paper at the conference. The best and most topical papers are chosen.

We have to turn down a lot of great paper by really good people, Green said.

The papers will be published in a book called The State of the Parties. It will be the sixth edition of the book.

Students, researchers and political practitioners attend the State of the Parties conference.

Rather than being in a lecture form, the conference is made up of panel discussions with a lot of audience participation.

The State of the Parties conference was started in 1993 by John C. Green. It began as an effort to encourage cutting edge research and discussion about the two-party system. Each conference takes place every four years, in the year following the election.

The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, host of the event, is a bipartisan research and academic institute at the University of Akron. Students can pursue a Master, Juris Doctor, or a Certificate in Applied Politics at the Institute.

The Bliss Institute offers a nationally recognized internship program and sponsors public programs, and conferences like the State of the Parties conference.

The Institute provides research on topics such as campaign finance, campaign advertising and political organizations.

For more information on the State of the Parties, contact the Bliss Institute at 330-972-5182 or visit www.winningpolitics.com.

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