Many people are confused by the electoral college, many people say they hate the electoral college, and some people don't even know it exists. I, personally like the electoral college. I think that it gets rid of bias and the popularity vote (in a way) and makes the election process easier than people think. This process allows for the selection of the best-qualified candidate.
Many people think that the popular vote doesn't count, but in reality it does. What happens is citizens go out and cast their vote for who they want to be the new President. This vote goes towards a block vote for the electors. Each state has the number of electors equal to the number of congressional representation they have. For example, if California has 20 Congressional Representatives, they receive 20 electors to vote. Once the popular vote is done, the electors then vote for whoever won the majority of their state. For example, if the state has 10 elector votes and the Republican Party candidate wins the majority of their popular vote, then the 10 elector votes will go towards the Republican candidate.
The only states that fit the exception to the "winner take all" vote ideal is Nebraska and Maine. They use the Congressional District Method. Each state divides themselves into a number of district. Each district then is allocated one elector vote. The candidate that wins the popular vote of that district then receives the elector vote for that district. The last two elector votes are then given to the state-wide winner of the previous elector votes. Neither state has split their electoral votes yet, each winner has consistently swept the districts (so this is the same results as the other states).
Once every state has had their electors cast their votes, those votes will be totaled up. There is a total of 538 elector votes in all and a candidate must have over 270 votes to win. If no candidate wins by majority then the decision of President goes to the House of Representatives. Each state receives one vote and an absolute majority is needed to win. The decision of Vice President goes to Senate. Once the winners are decided they will take the oath of office on January 20th of the coming new year.
Here are two political cartoons that mock the electoral college and I find them pretty funny.
Let's do a little quiz to see where you guys are at and if this blog has taught you anything!
When I first issued this survey 38% of participants didn't know what the Bill of Rights was - one even stated that it was the Preamble to the Constitution. 32% of participants had no idea when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and I received answers anywhere from 50-280 years off. 51% didn't know how long the senator's term lasted and 14% couldn't even name one presidential candidate. So I am hoping that these posts help educate those percentages who are lacking general political knowledge.
Ready, Set, GO! (No cheating!)
QUESTIONS
1. What are the symbols of the political parties?
2. Can you name any of the presidential candidates and what party they affiliate with?
3. Who is the vice president?
4. Who is the second in the line of succession of the President?
5. What are the 3 branches of government?
6. What is the Bill of Rights?
7. How often are senator re-elected?
8. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
Hopefully, that wasn't too tough and you should have at least gotten 5 out of 8 (I hope), if not more.
ANSWERS
1. Republicans: elephants - Democrats: donkey
2. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Barack Obama, Michelle Bachmann etc...
3. Joe Biden
4. Speaker of the House (currently John Boehner)
5. Judicial, Executive, Legislative
6. The first 10 amendments
7. Every 6 years
8. July 4, 1776
Even if you didn't get those questions all correct, REMEMBER THE ANSWERS! Now you are slightly more educated with these facts. A fun fact about these facts are they are very very similar to questions that are on the United States Citizenship Test. So think about it - are you worthy to be a US citizen?
Right now we are in the midst of the beginning of the new presidential election. This will be our 57th presidential election in the United States... Woah baby that's a lot presidents! The voting isn't until November 6th, 2012, so if you aren't sure of who you intend to vote for - don't stress out you've got basically a whole year. A whole year of craziness that is!
The craziness has already began, because even though the Democratic Party has declared Barack Obama as their candidate. However, the Republican Party is having trouble deciding who is going to represent their party. They have no clear front-runner through all the debates. There are many of them to choose from, but in my opinion (and I am more conservative than liberal) I think that all of the candidates are very far right, too far that it is driving people away from them.
The formally declared candidates for the Republican Party are as follows -
Michelle Bachmann - U.S Representative from Minnesota (and even though I am from Minnesota, I am not proud to say she is part of my state)
Mitt Romney - former Governor from Massachusetts
Rick Santorum - former Senator from Pennsylvania
Rick Perry - Governor from Texas
Ron Paul - U.S Representative from Texas
Jon Huntsman Jr - former Governor of Utah
Newt Gingrich - former U.S Speaker of the House of Representatives from Georgia
Herman Cain - businessman from Georgia and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza
So hopefully with this wide selection of candidates the Republican Party can decide who they think is best to represent their party and potentially the country as a whole. It is so back and forth with who is in the lead with this group of people. Many times someone will be in the lead and then they can goof up like Rick Perry did at one of the Republican Presidential Debate. Here is the video for some comic relief.
Well, I will try to keep you updated on what is happening with the GOP candidates, but right now it isn't looking too hopeful.
There are six of them! Can anyone name all of them and say what each of them does? Most people can't, so no big deal.
Let's start with the Declaration of Independence! This is one of the absolute most important documents in all history of the United States. This document says that the 13 colonies are no longer owned by England. The first part of the Declaration gives reasons for the break and the notice given to England about the break. The second part is a list of complaints about George III - the English ruler they were breaking free from. The document was written by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams. The document was in debate for 2 days and then was adopted on July 4th, 1776. However, the actual signing took place on August 2nd and 56 people signed this document. Because of the Declaration of Independence, we are our own country! YAYYY!!
The Articles of Confederation
After the thirteen colonies needed to have some form of a governmental system after winning their independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. This document is the first constitutional agreement made between the thirteen states. After debate that started July 12, 1776, this document was adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777. This document basically gave all state governments power, but they still had a central government.
The Constitution This document is the backbone to all of American government. It not only states the rights of the American people, but includes the structure of the government. Everyone must follow the Constitution and no law can be passed if it contradicts it. It is commonly referred to as the "Supreme Law of the Land." The Constitution has three parts - Preamble, Articles, and Amendments. This document can be amended, so it is considered a "living document"; however, it has only been amended 27 times since it was finished on September 12, 1787. Each state was given six months to vote and ratify the Constitution. The order of ratification is as follows starting with Delaware on December 7, 1787, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island finishing on May 29, 1790.
The Bill of Rights
This document is the first ten amendments of the Constitution. They were added to the Constitution because many people didn't think the Constitution protected certain freedoms of citizens. The amendments were made to protect the basic freedoms of citizens. Examples of the freedoms this document guarantees are freedom of speech, religion, press, right to assemble, right to bear arms, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment. These amendments were added on December 15, 1791 and this document is important because these rights allow you to say what you want and believe what you want without being punished.
On January 1, 1863 this document became effective and was instituted by Abraham Lincoln. This document states that all slave states must become free states and the Union military will enforce this freedom. The Confederate states did not acknowledge the Emancipation Proclamation and did not free their slaves, so President Lincoln declared war to fight for freedom and preserving the Union. This document also allowed black men to serve in the Union military. This was one of the first steps the United States made towards equality of citizens.
On November 19, 1863 Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. In his speech he said that the United States will continue to fight so that the World, and not just the United States can enjoy freedom and equality for citizens. This speech is more recognized by the opening lines "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
So without these six documents the United States would not be where they are today! These documents have withstood the test of time and still continue to be an important aspect of our daily lives!
This can be a very complicated process, depending on if the potential bill gets vetoed or dies in committee. Here is the basic steps to a bill becoming a law though!
1. Bill is Written/Proposed
- All laws start as ideas - from representatives or citizens. Once an idea is formulated the citizen contacts their Representative, or the Representative themselves, write the idea into a bill.
- Every bill needs a sponsor, so the Representative finds other Representatives who are in support of this bill. Once it has support it is ready to be brought to the House of Representatives.
2. Bill Introduction/Committees
- Once a bill is introduced, the clerk will read the bill to the Representatives and the Speaker of the House will send it to the correct committee*.
- Once in committee, the Representatives research, revised, and review the bill before voting on it. When they vote on it they are deciding whether or not it should go back to the House or if they should just ditch it.
- If the bill is approved to go back to the House for debate it is reported.
3. Bill is Debated/Voted
- The bill is then brought to the House and the Representatives discuss the bill and can make changes to the bill. Once debate is over and all amendments are made, the bill is ready to be voted upon.
- For the bill to pass to the next step (being reviewed and debated in Senate) it must receive a majority vote.
4. Bill at Senate
- If the bill reaches Senate it goes through committees and being discussed on the Senate floor.
- Senators vote by voice and if the majority wins, the bill then heads to the President.
5. Bill with the President - The President has three choices on what to do with the bill. He can sign it and the bill becomes a law!! Yayyy! He can "veto" the bill. The bill will then be sent back to the House of Representatives, if the House and Senate still want the bill to become a law they can vote again and if the bill receives a 2/3's majority vote the President has to sign the bill and it becomes a law. He can also "pocket veto" the bill (which is basically doing nothing) and if Congress is not in session it doesn't become a law or if they are in session, after 10 days the bill will become a law automatically.
6. Bill = Law
- So hopefully the bill you wanted passed through all of these steps and was signed by the President (willingly or unwillingly) and your bill is now a law that will be enforced! YAYYYY!
However, there may be differences in the way state's have bills become a state law. For example, in Minnesota, the bill can be introduced in either Senate or House, and then goes to the other one after its first review. It doesn't need to start in House. But the process is the same, the steps just can go in a different order.
*Committee Breakdown
The U.S House of Representatives has 26 different committees. Each committee has a different topic and in each committee the members research their topics and the bill pertains to their specific group.
For example, some major committees are: Agriculture, Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Homeland Security, Education and the Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veteran's Affairs.
Also here is a video of a catchy-tune and an easy breakdown of how a bill becomes a law. Who doesn't love Schoolhouse Rock.
The three branches of the government include - Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. These are the areas of government where the power is separated and designated differently to each branch. This is to make sure that no one branch is more powerfully than another. This system is called checks and balances. This allows each branch to allow and restrict one another.
The Judicial branch is the Supreme Court. They are the branch interprets laws, exercises judicial review by reviewing constitutionality of laws determines how Congress meant laws to apply to disputes, reviews laws, decides cases involving states' rights, determines which laws Congress intended to apply to each case, and all federal judges serve for life.
The Executive branch is the President. The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He also executes the instructions of Congress. He may veto bills passed by Congress but they can override the veto by a 2/3 majority vote of both houses. He declares states of emergencies and executive orders. He makes executive agreements and signs treaties. He also has the power to grant pardons for offenses against the United States. He also deals with international powers and directs national defense and foreign policy.
And finally, my favorite branch, the Legislative branch which is Congress. Congress is the House of Representatives and Senate. They pass bills and make laws, ratify treaties signed by the President, have the power of impeachment, have power to declare war, and have what is called the power of the purse because they control the budget and have the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States.
Because all of the branches are designated different jobs and authorities in situations this allows for not one branch to become more powerful than another (like what checks and balances was trying to accomplish). Each branch plays an important role in our government and without one another the system would not work.
#OWS has been recently trending in Twitter and many people may ask - what is #ows? Well, it is Occupy Wall Street's hashtag obviously. The Occupy Wall Street protests started September 17th, 2011 in Zuccotti Park. The protesters are protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and business corruption over the government. The protesters' slogan is "We're the 99%". This is to show the wealth gap between the wealthiest 1% of Americans and the other 99%, because the wealthiest 1% control over 40% of the money. The protesters chose Wall Street because they believe it is a representation of the financial inequality and corporate greed within the United States.
Since the first #OWS protest, there have been over 900 cities in the world creating their own "occupy" protests. Many of the complaints of the corruption of our government are about capitalism. Personally, I don't think the issue is capitalism, it is more of crony capitalism that is the problem. With crony capitalism everything is based on the close relationships with other businesses and people and this determines the success.
For example, if I start a company and it is going well and then it fails - that is my own fault, but capitalism allows for me to do something like that. However, if my business starts to fail and then I have a really rich friend and they bail me out that is crony capitalism. It keeps the rich rich because even though my company failed I am still rich because my friend bailed me out. There is more to capitalism and crony capitalism but that is the basic run down.
To bring some entertainment to this post - there are some plays on Occupy Wall Street. One of my favorites is Occupy Occupy Wall Street. Their slogan is "The 1% fights back" and they are pretending to be the bankers on Wall Street and they are protesting the protest because they want to keep their money. The videos are pretty funny and are a good spin on the situation. My other favorite is Occupy Sesame Street. This is another silly play on what is happening on Wall Street and putting it in a context that makes it seem ridiculous.
I hope this post wasn't too confusing because it is a big topic and I tried to simplify it, but here are some more #occupysesamestreet pictures!
After completing an 11-page rough draft on ways to encourage political awareness and knowledge within students, I am beat. I think it is time to relax and watch some political satire (not really, but let's pretend). In one of the articles I read, "Getting Political Science in on the Joke", shows that programs like the Daily Show and the Colbert Report encourage students political engagements, increase critical thinking skills, and enhance introductory politics courses. Who wouldn't agree that watching television is one of the best types of homework? No one, because it is the best. Then all the students need to do is come to class ready to discuss.
Colbert on the O'Reilly Factor - comical because Colbert's show is mocking the O'Reilly factor. However, in the article "One "nation" Under Stephen? The Effects of the Colbert Report on American Youth," shows that Colbert can help inform students, but tend to confuse them on what his real political beliefs are.
Colbert and Ron Paul talking about the economy. Should we use gold for our currency?
Enjoy the videos! I hope they stimulate your political thinking!!!
In the United States, the two-party system dominants the political system. This being said those two parties are the Republican and Democratic party. There are other parties, however, they do not have as much of a following or large stance in politics. There are three major third parties and those are Libertarian, Green, and Constitution.
Republican Party
- founded 1854
- conservative (usually Christian point of view)
- right-winged
- symbol: elephant
- color: red
- also referred to as GOP - Grand Old Party
- laissez-faire economics (hands-off) - limited government
- each person is responsible for themselves in society
- pro-life
- favor tax-breaks
- support border control for illegal immigrants
- anti-abortion
- no gay/lesbian marriage
Democratic Party
- founded 1824
- liberal
- left-winged
- symbol: donkey
- color: blue
- more government
- pro-choice
- responsibility of the government to take care of individuals
- favor higher taxes
- support affirmative action
- support open borders for illegal immigrants
- support abortion
- support gay/lesbian marriage
Do you know who the Vice President of the United States is? Do you know who is in the line of succession for the President? Do you know how long a senator's term is? Do you know when the Declaration of Independence was adopted?
If you answered "no" to any of the previous questions - then this blog is for you. It will consist of fast facts about important American politics and governmental information - historical and current. Informative posts with updates on the Presidential election that is coming up and other various Washington news will also be included.
The reason for creating this blog is to not just educate people on things they should know so they can be wonderful contributing citizens but also my English 225 we were told to create a multimedia project to compliment our paper about an issue that is relevant to students. I choose to write about how politically unaware students are. So this blog will help combat that problem.
And in case you were wondering, the Vice President is Joe Biden. The line of succession starts with the Vice President, then the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tempore of the Senate, then the Secretary of State, and then the Secretary of the Treasury. It continues from there because the line of succession is 18 people long. A senator's term is 6 years long. The Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4th, 1776.
Many people think that the popular vote doesn't count, but in reality it does. What happens is citizens go out and cast their vote for who they want to be the new President. This vote goes towards a block vote for the electors. Each state has the number of electors equal to the number of congressional representation they have. For example, if California has 20 Congressional Representatives, they receive 20 electors to vote. Once the popular vote is done, the electors then vote for whoever won the majority of their state. For example, if the state has 10 elector votes and the Republican Party candidate wins the majority of their popular vote, then the 10 elector votes will go towards the Republican candidate.
