Lame Duck Members in the Lame Duck Session
December 20, 2012
There are 78 members of Congress who qualify as lame ducks. These are members who were not reelected to the 113th Congress and are no longer accountable to any electorate. Some of these (13) ran for another office and were elected or defeated. Another group was defeated in the primary (13) or were defeated in the general election (27). A summary of the lame ducks by reason and party is shown below.
| Reason for Leaving | D | R | Total |
| Elected to Other Office | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Defeated for Other Office | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Defeated in Primary | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Defeated in General Election | 8 | 19 | 27 |
| Retired | 14 | 11 | 25 |
| Total | 35 | 43 | 78 |
The chart below shows that most lame duck members have not spoken in the lame duck House session or have spoken just one time. More Republicans than Democrats have spoken just one time. There are three members who have spoken a lot. Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) has spoken eleven times. Rep. Dold (R-IL) and Rep. Altmire (D-PA) have spoken eight times each.
So, most lame duckers are remaining silent or like Rep. Ben Quayle speaking once in a farewell address.
Robert Bork, 1927-2012
December 19, 2012
Robert Bork, professor, federal judge, solicitor general, Supreme Court nominee, has died. He has sixty-five appearances in the C-SPAN Video Library. Robert Bork’s confirmation hearings to the U.S. Supreme Court were the first events included in the Video Library. They remain a fascinating legal seminar as he answered every question put to him. No other nominee subsequently had such a lengthy or detailed hearing. His opening statement at his Supreme Court nomination hearing can be viewed here.
You will find many speeches and book interviews where he discussed his judicial philosophy and his ideas on the state of jurisprudence. See this speech to the Heritage Foundation in 2009. In this oral history interview, he describes his role in the Nixon administration. He spoke at the National Press Club about judicial nominations. See also his first speech following his failed nomination.
He also sat down for an interview about his life and career. and for a Booknotes interview. The earliest pre-nomination interview can be viewed here.
Robert Bork was an important figure in the C-SPAN Video Library through his comments on the judiciary and legal issues. Not everyone will agree with his views, but they were a significant viewpoint in the public policy debate.
Deceased Senators Honored with Flowers
December 18, 2012
A tradition in the Senate is to place flowers and a black cloth on the desk of deceased senators. Below are the tributes to eight senators captured in the C-SPAN Video Library.
 Daniel Inouye, D-HI December 20, 2012 |
 Daniel Inouye, D-HI December 18, 2012 |
 Robert C. Byrd, D-WV June 28, 2010 |
 Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA September 8, 2009 |
Craig Thomas, R-WY June 5, 2007 |
Paul Wellstone, D-MN, October 28, 2002 |
Paul Coverdell, R-GA July 19, 2000 |
John Chafee, D-RI October 25, 1999 |
Spark Matsunaga, D-HI April 19, 1990 |
Guest Chaplains in the House
This study using the C-SPAN Video Library looks at the denominations of guest chaplains in the House. Andrew Malcolm of Investor’s Business Daily commented on this study in his publication.
Further research shows the differences in sponsorship by party. A large number of guest chaplains are not sponsored by members so we broke out the denominations by those who were sponsored.
This study demonstrates the research value of the C-SPAN Video Library.
Senator Daniel Inouye, 1924-2012
December 17, 2012
Senator Daniel Inouye died at age 88. He has over 500 appearances in the C-SPAN Video Library. In this 1985 call-in he talks about how the Senate has changed. In 1989, he gave a commencement address at George Washington University. Also available is this oral history interview about his life. His last appearance was very recently at Senator Warren Rudman’s memorial service. Use the Video Library to explore the other appearances of Senator Daniel Inouye.