Former Congressman Bob Barr to address teacher educators at UF
Former Congressman Bob Barr, who played a key role in the impeachment of President Clinton – and went on to become a vocal critic of the Bush Administration – is among the panel of speakers expected to appear at a conference for teacher educators to be held at the University of Florida College of Education June 5-10.
Barr will join attorney and Salon.com contributor Glenn Greenwald, University of Wisconsin-Madison history professor John Kaminski and civil liberties attorney Robert Peck as speakers at UF’s annual conference for professors who instruct future social studies teachers.
Titled “Constitutional Issues for Social Studies Methods Professors,” the conference aims to bring teacher educators up to speed on major, developing issues in American politics and policy. The ultimate goal is to pass that knowledge down to social studies teachers themselves, in order to improve the often-lamented status of civics education in the school system.
“Our hope is that this will have a ripple effect,” said Professor Elizabeth Yeager, organizer of the conference for the past four years. “Civics education is a vital element of a democratic society, and the public’s lack of knowledge about their government – just think about the polls you read about in the papers – is frightening.
“This conference is part of the solution,” Yeager continued, “But it’s just one small part.”
In past years, the conference has focused on emerging topics in public policy such as free speech issues and civil liberties in the age of terrorism. This year – with the White House and Congress in the hands of opposing political parties — the topic is the power of the presidency.
“With a number of people in Congress now questioning the president’s actions in a number of areas this seemed like a hot topic to address,” Yeager said.
Few people have as much up-close experience with presidential power struggles as Bob Barr. As a Republican congressman, Barr was manager of the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton in the House. In post-9-11 Washington, Barr emerged as a critic of the “new normal,” agreeing to vote for the Patriot Act only after crucial sunset clauses were added, and later saying he regretted even that vote. After he left office in 2002, Barr switched to the Libertarian Party, worked as a consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union and has written opinion pieces criticizing government surveillance of U.S. citizens.
“I don’t know if he would agree with this statement, but I see him as a conservative in the Barry Goldwater style: independent and interested in small government,” Yeager said.
Columnist Glenn Greenwald is a frequent contributor to Salon.com and author of the book How Would a Patriot Act, a critique of the Bush Administration’s uses of power. He is a former constitutional law and civil rights litigator.
Robert Peck is president of the Center for Constitutional Litigation, P.C., an independent law firm dedicated to litigating civil justice issues. He has argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Kaminski is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder of that college’s Center for the Study of the American Constitution. He is the author of more than a dozen books on early American history.
This year’s conference is funded by a $72,000 grant from the U.S Department of Education through the non-profit Center for Civic Education.
