Response Paper 9 In the essay The New Era of Congressional Policy Making by author Walter J. Oleszek addressed different factors that he predicted, in 1996, that will affect the legislative branch. The factors that stood out the most to me were demographics, economics, and the money chase. In the reading, the author states that the “aging of the population and the changing structure of the American family” is the way that demographics will affect Congress (401). An “aging of the population” means that there is a decrease in young voter. On the National Public Radio’s “How Engaged Are Young Voters in the 2016 Presidential Election”, Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg’s interview disproved the author’s hypothesis. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg said that the youth voter turnout was “second highest in the last 20 years at 11.2%” in Iowa. Kawashima-Ginsberg says “young people really are looking for different faces and different kinds of policy that bring more radical change than maybe mainstream candidates.” Therefore, it is apparent that the young voters are currently involved in …show more content…
Walter J. Olszek’s argument is supported by Los Angeles Times’s article “Political ad Spending Estimated at $6 Billion in 2016” written by Meg James. Meg James wrote that the 2016 election is “expected to set new records in political advertising spending” and that the projected sending will be a 16% increase compared to the presidential campaign in 2012. It is obvious that campaigning will always require the spending of large amounts of money and that is why it is obvious that Congress will have to continue to make space and change in their agenda to attempt to limit the money contribution to campaigns, if that is what the public is wanting to get
What motivates members of Congress to act the way they do? Mayhew would argue in Congress: The Electoral Connection that members of Congress are ‘’single-minded re-election seekers’’ and that re-election is their one and only goal. Whilst the assumption that all members of Congress are ‘‘single-minded re-election seekers’’ does go some distance in analysing the motives behind members of Congress, the reading fails to take into account the other key goals of members of Congress. Other goals include good policy and future career positions. It is important to remember that the achievement of both re-election and other goals are not exclusive, members of Congress often are motivated by more than one goal.
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In “If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?” author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about there congressmen. Although congress is often criticized, its fine tuned functioning is essential in checking the power of congress without hindering the making of legislation.
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
Such result is inevitable when there are both external and internal factors wrestling and, at the same time, supporting each other in every political match happening in Congress. External factors created the necessary condition in which internal changes could be and were discussed in the House and Senate. However, internal changes, in turn, have shaped and amplified the impacts that external factors created. Together, these intertwined factors have brought about their own changes to how Congress makes law.
The Constitution gives powers to Congress in order to execute its many responsibilities. These responsibilities are necessary and proper for carrying out its policies such as, imposing taxes and regulating interstate commerce. The constitution has 435 members in the House and 100 more in Senate. Congress faces issues with action problems and the solution to correcting these collective problems are at the expense of the incentive members. The Cabinet, President, state and federal courts, political groups, media, etc. all have input when determining a political decision in the United States. Open arrangement is an objective arranged strategy that the legislature follows in managing an issue or issue in the nation. Open approaches are focused around law; however numerous individuals other than officials set them. People, gatherings, and even government organizations that don 't follow strategies can be punished. This confounded procedure has been concluded with an anticipated arrangement of steps.
Political Dysfunction in Congress is a major aspect of American political and social culture and has been studied a lot and will continue to be studied because of the ever changing nature of polarization and the issues faced that are in gridlock. There is a chance that the dysfunction could possibly decline at some point, though right now it doesn’t appear like it will happen any time soon. But when that happens, there will be a whole new aspect of dysfunction that we can study since it hasn’t happened that often in the past.
Congress has helped develop the Presidency as we know it today. This is because Congress argues over proposals and legislation proposed by the President. They are a major determent in whether bills turn into laws. But it’s not easy. One reason for this is because there are many powerful groups out there who argue about what should be discussed such as air pollution with the EPA or jobs.
Presidential Influence in Congress." American Journal of Political Science 29.2 (1985): 183-96. JSTOR. Web. 19 May 2014.
Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase. It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007, the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter turnout in the United States is lower than that of every democracy in the world other than Switzerland and Poland” (33.3)....
This past summer, when I lived and worked in Washington, DC—first as a U.S. Senate Page and then as a Congressional Intern—I gained invaluable experience and insight to the American political system. It is amazing how much one can learn from simply overhearing the conversations of Members of Congress on a daily basis. Working on the floor of the Senate and then in the back rooms of a Congressional office were two entirely different experiences, each teaching me in a distinctive way about how our political system functions. While I most definitely became aware of how bureaucratic and slow our democratic system can be, I also discovered that with a commitment to unity and prosperity for the common good, great feats are attainable through government.
Policy in my perspective illustrates as a decision making, planning and or action taken to achieve a certain specific goal within our society. According to Longest B. (2010), his definition stated in his text book states that a policy is defined as ” authoritative decisions made in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of government that are intended to direct or influence the actions, behaviors, or decisions of others.” In developing a policy, certain steps need to be taken in act to implement the policy. The crucial steps in implementing a policy are: recognizing the problem, agenda setting, formulating the policy, and finally implementing the policy (N.A., 2015).
The issue of campaign financing has been discussed for a long time. Running for office especially a higher office is not a cheap event. Candidates must spend much for hiring staff, renting office space, buying ads etc. Where does the money come from? It cannot officially come from corporations or national banks because that has been forbidden since 1907 by Congress. So if the candidate is not extremely rich himself the funding must come from donations from individuals, party committees, and PACs. PACs are political action committees, which raise funds from different sources and can be set up by corporations, labor unions or other organizations. In 1974, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) requires full disclosure of any federal campaign contributions and expenditures and limits contributions to all federal candidates and political committees influencing federal elections. In 1976 the case Buckley v. Valeo upheld the contribution limits as a measure against bribery. But the Court did not rule against limits on independent expenditures, support which is not coordinated with the candidate. In the newest development, the McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission ruling from April 2014 the supreme court struck down the aggregate limits on the amount an individual may contribute during a two-year period to all federal candidates, parties and political action committees combined. Striking down the restrictions on campaign funding creates a shift in influence and power in politics and therefore endangers democracy. Unlimited campaign funding increases the influence of few rich people on election and politics. On the other side it diminishes the influence of the majority, ordinary (poor) people, the people.
expanded in various historical surges to include nearly all adults and to apply to most major offices. Turnout is lower than it was in the late nineteenth century in the US and lower than in other democratic countries, it has continued to decrease not including the recent presidential elections (Greenberg, and Page, 2009).
The first support Kamenetz argues is, the 2008 presidential campaign brought in the most voters under the age of 29 in history. If the voting age would be decreased, there would be more voters under the young adult category. There would be an increase of voters, including those under the age of eighteen.