Aldrich claims that a series of gradual changes in the political institutions caused the current dysfunction. He discusses five different periods of time beginning with the “Founding”, Aldrich describes the creation of a government founded on separation of powers as one of the first requirements of the gridlock that characterizes modern politics. The second requirement of gridlock is the two-party system which emerged early in the United State’s existence. While these two characteristics, worked for a small, agrarian, and homogenous society that existed in the 1800s, today the two party system coupled with the separation of powers causes legislative gridlock as parties become more polarized and more competitive. Continuing to “Antebellum”, Aldrich points to the increase in voting rights and the rise of more ambitious political actors.…
Incoming graduates of political science are aware of the restriction that the structure of the government imbeds, including the branches of the government generating unfair control of power in the executive branch, and partisan polarization. America’s basic construction of government, the three branches in parallel with the checks and balance system, creates problems such as a single executive leader inducing unfair policy making, and two main political party advancing partisan polarization. Partisan polarization is the ideology that an individual’s stance on political controversies are limiting of their party identification: republican, democrat. For example, controversies today revealing partisan polarizations are: equal reproductive rights,…
Bartram and Freneau were inspired by God’s creations of ineffable beauty in nature. They devoted their lives to the appreciation of even the minutest details of God’s work at hand.…
Divided We Govern was written by David R. Mayhew addresses the American government and the topic of united and divided party control. Throughout the essay, the author tried to talk about unified and divided control of the government from both views with five questions. The first view is that a united government allows the decisions of the country to be more effective in enacting laws, being held accountable, good government administration, better foreign policy decisions, and more benefits for the “non-rich” citizens of the United States (188). As Randall B. Ripley said, “To have a productive majority in the American system of government the President and a majority of both houses must be from the same party” (181). The second view is that a divided party control is just as effective as a unified party control of the government. Analysts John E. Chubb and Paul E. Peterson said, “When governments of quite different political combinations all fail to perform effectively, it is worth considering whether the problem is the government itself and not the people or parties that run it”…
By human nature, we’re driven to pursue our own selfish interests, but our legislators, charged with representing the interests of the entire nation, should not be making decisions controlled by their own whims. That’s an important value Coolidge addresses in his first speech as president of the Massachusetts State Senate. In it, he discusses the importance of being selfless—of doing what’s best for the nation and doing whatever is necessary even if it won’t lead to reelection or popularity, a value perhaps even more relevant and important today. A main theme in Coolidge’s speech is for legislators to do whatever is necessary—that they shouldn’t be afraid of being given an unsavory label; that they need to create the laws the nation needs in a deliberate manner; that to accomplish their goals, they need to work together and be united in a way that doesn’t pull down the strong in order to build up the weak.…
Partisanism impacts the legislative process by making it unable to agree on one main issue or idea. It creates a division between the two parties and leads into uncooperation. A partisan is when a person or group highly agrees with one opinion, and only makes agreement to what their political party decides is right. This helps explain what happened in our class, we all were very opinionated, and stuck to one strong opinion. It lead to us trying to convince others to agree with us as well. Now I can see why, and how no work is being done in American history, with all of us not complying with each other nothing will ever get done. When we voted on the bill, we all voted the same. Since the issue was so broad we all came to the agreement of yay,…
As George Washington retired from his presidential position in 1796, he left a grim reminder to the people of the newly independent United States of America: the independence of states, peace at home and abroad, safety, prosperity, and liberty are all dependent upon the unity between states. To promote the national strength, he urges the people to place their identity as Americans above those of their state, region, and interests. In fear of the impeding sectionalism, Washington included a fair warning to the people of the United States, the dangers of political parties to the government and the country as a whole. The idea of political parties, although warned thoroughly by our very first president, continuously solidified itself into the core of American government until it has become two standing pillars of modern politics: the Democratic Mules and its counterpart, the Republican Elephants. In 21st century politics, these two reigning parties, both having changed and altered their focus over time, have maintained a core value system, ideas beliefs, and key constituencies, which are made apparent throughout political campaigns; no better evidence than the 2012 political party platforms articulates the political position which each party represents.…
Regardless of Washington’s warning over 200 years ago we will likely remain in the two party system well into the foreseeable future and will likely encounter many more issues of partisanship and gridlock. We can only hope that someday we will look back at our first President’s words and think about them and take action. Until that day we are stuck in the divisive two party…
The origins of partisan politics can be traced back to the 1790’s during George Washington’s presidency. It stemmed from a widening gap in in the ideological framework of the government and the vision for the future United State of America. Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, felt it was necessary to create a strong central government. A government that favored the wealthy at the expense of farmers and average citizens. This group who showed loyalty to the national government, called themselves the Federalists. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison held a different view of the future of the republic, one that empowered the states more than the national government. The main concern was that a national government that held too…
In the world of politics, a politician’s actions are not taken very lightly. For example, politicians would have to be cautious of how they communicate to the community. They also have to be aware of the way they convey their expressions through oral speeches and through the written language. In the Senate, senators communicate through speeches and debates. When senators speak or debate, there will be some senators that would occasionally agree and disagree with other senators. When one who does not accept the idea of another, may begin what is called a filibuster.…
Unlike descriptive representation, agency representation is solely based on accountability instead of similarity. In this type of representation, constituents hold representatives accountable due to the constituents’ role in reelection. The ability to hold representatives accountable for their actions in congress gives the representatives a strong incentive, which overrides the fact that representatives do not share the same values as constituents. However, this accountability has a backlash in the congress. Due to the large amount of agency representation prevalent in the United States Congress, gridlock is occurring based on the increasing polarity in constituents. Since agents are forced to represent the polarized views of constituents, there is a high amount of disagreement on policy. This exact issue caused former Speaker of the House, John Boehner, to resign. In the New York Times article, “John Boehner, Strong Abortion Foe, Is Imperiled by the Like-Minded,” John Boehner is facing pressure from severely right-wing conservatives that is pushing Boehner to oppose Obama’s plan to give federal funding to Planned Parenthood (NYT, 9/18, A1). The increasing push of conservatives towards the right wing caused greater opposition to Boehner and his positions on funding for Planned Parenthood and other plans, such as the debt ceiling (NYT, 9/18, A1). Unfortunately, the increasing divide in partisanship eventually caused Boehner to resign as Speaker of the House. In the New York Times article, “John Boehner, House Speaker, Will Resign From Congress”, Boehner says that his resignation is due to his belief that remaining as speaker of the house is directly “do irreparable harm to the institution” (NYT, 9/26,…
In American history, we fought long and hard to get there but there has always been a clear line in regards to our politics. We have two sides that have straightforward ideologies, and two sides that are separated for all the good of the people that are involved. In history, we had the Federalist and the Anti-federalist who stood out with different ideologies on how our country’s government should run and the rule of law should be executed. The Federalist wanted a stronger national government, and the Anti-federalist who opposed a stronger federal government.…
The political party compromise in Congress is considered part of the democratic process but often takes suggested legislation and laws, which are needed and helpful for the public, and makes the original legislation or law impotent or useless. The merits of the original legislation or law is watered down by the creation, presentation, and ratification process due to amendments or additions based on party lines. A non-compromising ratification process can only be accomplished if the creation, presentation and voting processes are changed making Congressional party line votes and alliances impossible. There should be no compromise in Congress and the only consideration when voting on these far reaching legislative actions is what is best for…
My fellow Americans, I have come to speak to you about the partisanship that we see in our government. We as Americans are witnessing a time where our government corporate with one another in the worst way possible. A time where bipartisanship has torn our government up greatly. A time were the gridlock in Congress ceases our ability to boost the economy and create jobs. A time where our government officials are more concentrated on the needs of their individual party then the needs of the American people. The fact the some in Congress may much rather see their opponents lose than to see America win, is extremely disappointing. People we have many options in this great country we live in. But what is not in option is for us to allow Washington…
The purpose of this paper is intended to summarize my views on what has influenced my understanding of politics and government prior to taking this class, and how my understanding is now since completing this course.…