Amendment Proposals

I enjoyed listening to everyone's amendment proposals in class today. I thought there were a lot of good ideas. There were even some proposals that I didn't think I would want to vote for, but everyone made really good arguments. Class today made me realize how diverse the citizens of this country really are. Everyone had different ideas that were important to them and even those that had similar amendments had different arguments for their proposals. It's interesting listening to other people's points of views because it lets me look at issues in a totally different way. I think that too many people in this country only see things one way and that is why it is hard to get this accomplished. For example, I know people that will only vote for democrats or only vote for republicans no matter what the position is for or what views that person has. I think that if people were a little more open-minded then we wouldn't have as much negative politics.

Media Influence on Voters

Our class discussion regarding political participation, including voting, really got me to think about how the media plays a role in the decisions of Americans. The issue of whether exit polls deter people from voting was an issue that was discussed. I didn't really think about it at the time, but if I lived on the West Coast and saw the candidate I wanted to vote for falling behind in the polls, that would encourage me to go vote - not deter me. As Professor Gelbman's blog pointed out, a study has shown that exit poll reporting does not drive down voter turnout. However, this is just one form of media. What about all of the campaigning hype, the early primaries, the Internet, etc? Do these types of reporting influence whether or not people will vote? Someone in class mentioned that some people are so tired of "politics" and campaigning that by the time elections come around they would rather just stay home. With all of the dirty-campaigning, candidate bashing, and inventive "reporting" on the Internet, it does get to be a little much. I think that the media plays a big role in voter turnout - sometimes for the worst. We've had plenty of discussions about voting for the "lesser of two evils," and that is what it turns out to be after witnessing all of the negative campaigning going on for almost 2 years before an election.

Not-So "Political" Participation

As we got off subject in class today, someone made a comparison of the CIA and terrorism. I find it disappointing that some Americans could think that, but I guess everyone sees the world in a different light. All I know about the CIA is that they gather intelligence and take action to help protect this nation and its citizens. The CIA does what it needs to do to stop threats against the U.S. from becoming a reality - and as long as they aren't killing thousands of innocent people, I honestly do not need to know how they go about protecting this country. I would hate to see our country without agencies such as this, because there would be no United States. Freedom does not come free! We didn't get to where we are today by sitting around and hoping that everyone in the world just left us alone - we had to fight and make sacrifices to live in such a great nation.

Terrorism, in the sense that it is today, can almost not even be defined as a type of political act. Flying planes into buildings and killing innocent citizens for which you know nothing about (races, religions, political views, etc.) has no rationale or political stance whatsoever. These men rape the women in their countries, bomb schools killing hundreds of children, break into homes and kill men because they don't have the same beliefs as them, and blow themselves up just so they can kill hundreds of innocent people. Hating people no matter what race or religion because they have freedom of any kind is not a political fight. There is NO rationale behind this type of behavior or thought. Comparing this type of behavior to types of political participation in the U.S. is ridiculous. I realize that bad decisions have been made in the U.S. and unclear reasons were given for actions to be taken, but listening to soldiers coming home and being proud of helping to give power to those that were treated unjustly makes me look at the issue in a totally different way. If someone can compare this type of action to terrorism, then I honestly don't know what to say. It makes me wonder if the people that think the U.S. should stay out of other country's problems today would have been the same people who would have wanted to stay out of Germany when Hitler killed 6 million Jews and 5 million other minorities because "it wasn't our place to get involved."

But "it's all relative!"- Right?.....

Media Bias

I think that it is easy for those who pay attention to the news to see the bias in the media, especially when it comes to politics. With that said, I feel that people who do not frequently watch the news do not have a full understanding that "facts" may not mean what it used to. That is where the problem arises of whether or not the media is helpful or hurtful, especially when reporting on campaign issues. I think that with the new media of the Internet things get blown way out of proportion and can definitely be misinterpreted by those that think the reports are real. On one hand it is a good thing that people have a means of expressing their opinions, but on the other hand it can be taken too far and there are almost no restrictions on what can be posted. However, it could be that the people that are getting the "news" from places such as YouTube may not care about the actual issues as much as they care about entertainment. It's hard to say how much that type of bias actually affects how people vote, but with our generation relying on the Internet for almost everything it seems that it may be an issue. However, I also think that even on major news networks everything needs to be "taken with a grain of salt" and personal opinions are very relevant during reports. I think that it will have to come down to the American people understanding that if they really want to know what the candidates are about and what they stand for, they will have to watch the speeches and listen to the debates and figure it out for themselves.

National Health Care?

The idea behind a National Health Care plan seems like a great idea, but it is definitely an issue that is easier said than done. The main problem being where to find the money to be able to implement this type of plan. And one of the only ways to get that much money is to increase taxes. I understand that other countries have implemented a national health care plan by raising taxes, and some people praise the idea. However, nobody ever sees the entire picture, and there are several problems (other than money) that arise after these plans are implemented. I have family and friends that live in Europe and I know someone that had to wait months in order to get an MRI. It seems that it is easy for people to walk into a doctor's office for a check-up, but when it comes down to the serious health issues, the doctors and the equipment are never readily available. And I know that people view are health care system as inadequate, but I think that the example that I mentioned is absolutely ridiculous and it appears that it is causing more health problems when people have to wait for treatment. In a perfect world this idea would be great; however, in the real world we have people that abuse "the system" all the time (i.e. welfare and unemployment) and it ends up costing the citizens more money. However, as far as national health care for children goes, I think that is something this country needs to work on. I know that we have made huge steps in this direction and I do think that it is important to take care of children who have no means of providing for themselves.

Line Item Veto

The amendment I proposed for my paper was to give the President line item veto power over appropriations of money. I know there are weaknesses in that argument (the Supreme Court ruling a line item veto as unconstitutional). However, I do feel strongly about it, and with the economy the way it is I think that it is very important to have another form of checks and balances over the budget (whether it be a state or the national budget). As Representative Brady stated today, the State Assembly passed a budget that allocated more spending than the state had funds for. I definitely think the first step needs to be taken before the budget hits the governor or president's desk. However, when situations such as that happen, the President should have the power to veto items that he sees appropriate in order to decrease the budget. As I mention in my paper, 43 governors have some form of line item veto power and the President should have that same power.

I did not have such a strong feeling about this subject before I took this class. However, I have learned about how much frivolous spending goes on in this country and something needs to be done about it. I know that every representative wants to have the funds for projects in his or her district (or state), but if the money isn't there then the project needs to be cut from the budget. I really liked Representative Brady's statement that it isn't brain surgery - cuts need to be made and/or revenues need to be increased (and cuts should be made first).

Voting

I think that it is ridiculous that only about 50% of Americans vote in Presidential elections. It is amazing to me that so few Americans vote, considering we live in a country where citizens have a say in who the public officials will be. I have always been told that voting is important, not only for having a say in the process, but because of what women went through in order to give me the right to vote today. However, I do not think that there should be incentives (such as money) for people to vote, because citizens of the U.S. have the right to vote or to not vote. I agree with my classmates in the sense that if a person does not vote, then that person should not complain about the people who were elected. I believe that voting is one of the greatest freedoms given to the people of this country, and if people choose not to exercise that right then that is a personal decision. It may come down to only 25% (50% of the 50% that vote) who elect the President, and I actually do not see this as a major problem. If a person finds it unimportant to vote, then they probably do not care too much about the issues being voted on. Therefore, the people electing the government officials probably care about the issues and about what is going on the country. As I mentioned, I do think that it is crazy to have such few voters in a democratic country, but the government or politicians should not spend more money than they already do in order to get voters out on election day.