In Chapter 2 of Our Undemocratic Constitution, Sanford Levinson analyzes the Constitution, focusing on the legislative branch of government and the ways in which it enforces ideas and powers presented in Article I. Strong bicameralism is a system within the United States government that allows for two legislative chambers (the House of Representatives & the Senate) to come to a compromise upon proposed legislation. These groups are granted separate but equal powers and in the United States are unusually strong, in that they have appointed members meant to serve in the favor of the national majority which do not, according to Levinson, “prevail against the opposition of one another” (Levinson, p. 30). Bicameralism, in general, causes the number…
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,…
For instance, it is easier for Democrats to work with other Democrats because they have similar political views. Partisan politics allow different legislatures from different places to cooperate with each other. Furthermore, partisan politics places a bit of restraint on politicians with large ambitions. Political parties create structures for politicians so that they are not acting on their own self-interests. Also, a party provides different leadership possibilities and some sense of discipline, which keeps ambitious politicians with similar political views from competing against each other. In conclusion, partisan politics has a positive impact on America for the reasons that they lead to the facilitation of collective action and policy-making and places a bit of restraint on ambitious…
In the 1787 constitutional convention, there were many ideas discussed on the election of the president. This, to the demise of some, this is where the idea of the electoral college was formed. The original idea was that the most intelligent and high off people should be the ones to elect the president because the framers feared that the public majority was too uneducated to make decisions regarding the president and their opinion would shadow out the opinion of the minority opinion. Unfortunately, these ideas are still used in the presidential election process.…
Anti Federalist- small farmers frontiersmen who believed that government should be close to the people and that the concentration of power in the elites is dangerous. This relates to the topic of are unit because people were trying to figure out a way to govern our country and the Anti- federalists thought a certain way. This concept is important to American politics because the Anti federalists were a party who had a certain belief and they are just like the republican or democratic party today.…
According to David Mayhew, author of Congress: The Electoral Connection, Congress has many different functions that it performs including: “ . . .legislating, overseeing the executive, expressing public opinion, and servicing constituents” (Mayhew 2004, 8). While all these are important to the role Congress plays, the most important ability is the authority to create laws. Congress derives its power to perform its functions and to create laws, from Article I of the Constitution. Although Article I may be oft overlooked, the authority given to Congress from it is critically important to understanding legislative politics. Without structures and rules, Congress would be unable to make laws, would have little authority and could not function properly as a check to the other branches of government.…
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.…
As the Americans sorted through what kind of country they were going to be various opposite sided viewpoints would help shape our nation in how we interpret the constitution, how we vote, and how we dealt with foreign affairs. The federalists and the democratic-republicans became the origin of a two-party political system in the United States. The two parties varied drastically not just in their policies but also in who were being represented in these groups. On the federalist end we have merchants, bankers, the mostly educated classes of people contrastingly on the republican side we have the artisans, the farmers, and mostly ill-educated folk. The two sides disagreed on most matters mainly regarding the interpretation of the constitution,…
Politicians have used polarization to create a divide and extreme dislike among both political parties. Political polarization occurs when government representatives begin to incorporate personal ideologies in an extreme manner during their political career. For example, a Republican politician begins to speak about their capitalistic and religious beliefs to their Republican audience. They are…
o Explain why the U.S. political structure encourages major political parties and the effect this has on your issue.…
The term I chose was gridlocking. Gridlocking is when Congress has trouble passing bills due to an evenly split vote in Congress. This happens very frequently and that is why it is hard to pass a bill. The article I chose was very interesting. It talked about how a bill actually gets gridlocked and how it affects not only Congress, but American citizens too. A famous example of gridlocking is when President Clinton got impeached. Gridlocking relates to "How Congress Works" because people of Congress as the "do nothing congress", but in reality a bill is most likely gridlocked. Sometimes the house may agree on the bill and then the senate may totally disagree. The article says that in 2013 only 23 bills got passed to become laws. This was the…
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…
Although Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives now, that could change depending on if the pollings margins between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump grow (in favor of Clinton). The Democrats (Clinton’s Party) have to gain at least 30 more seats in the House in order to be the majority party. Organizations taking polls haven’t seen a large democratic wave as you would expect to happen although candidates have gotten away from the norm, such as Trump. Trump hasn’t changed how most voters view traditional Republicans. Hillary Clinton as a larger chance of winning against Donald Trump. Democratic voters are more likely to vote straight democratic on their whole ticket, which will boost the chances of Democrats gaining the majority…
Power is a big thing in the world today and has been for many years. Having power can make you control people or even intimidate people very easily. Congress and The Quest For Power is going to talk about what and why the congress are wanting to have power. Congress will be able to have power with states etc. with the actions that they make.…
This a 18 page paper including references. The paper is about the legislative process of law making from the grassroots of the formulation of a bill to the intricate forms of getting the bill formed into legislation in the United States governement.…