Voter Turnout

America has a very low voter turnout in comparison to other countries. There are many factors that affect voter turnout, one of them being age. The older you are, the more likely you are to vote. Part of this, of course, is due to the fact that you cannot register to vote until you are eighteen; However, even passed the age of eighteen, voters yield wide differences by age. As people grow older, they tend to grow firmer in their political ideology and political knowledge, and their developed opinions give them greater incentive to vote. In addition to age, education is a huge factor in voter turnout. A study done in 2000 showed that 72% of college graduates voted as opposed to 42% of those who only received a high school diploma. Higher educated people are more capable of discerning major differences between candidates. They also have training that proves useful when clearing hurdles imposed by registration requirements.
Voter registration laws are, in part, to blame for why Americans are less likely to go to the polls. They require individuals to first place their name on an electoral role in order to be able to vote. Registration procedures differ from state to state, some allowing registration on procedure day, and others requiring earlier action. The 1993 Motor Voter Act makes registration easier for allowing eligible voters to register by checking a box on their license application or renewal form, but the turnout has still been very disappointing.
A variety of linkage institutions are required to connect citizens to government due to low voter turnout. One of these institutions is the media. With media so readily available with modern technology, people can stay updated on issues in the White House, presidential campaigns, interest groups, polls, and more just by turning on the TV or checking the internet. Many people can get involved with politics online as well, making participation easier.

Interest Group Tactics

Different interest groups will choose different techniques to achieve their objectives based on their resources, characteristics, and goals.
One strategy an interest group often uses is litigation, the process of resolving legal disputes through the court system. Interest groups can use it to put pressure on officials in order to achieve their goals by promoting their cause through the media and affecting public opinion.
Another strategy is lobbying. Lobbyists try to influence policymakers in a number of different ways but using tactics such as endorsements, media coverage, working on campaigns, and financial contributions. They offer arguments, evidence, and research on their cause to officials who often don't have time to find the information themselves. Grassroots lobbying, in particular, is the process of influencing the public in order to influence legislation in the decision-making process. This process often involves mass mobilization, in which committed members of the group will often make phone calls, write letters, contact policymakers, and demonstrate.
Campaign contributions are also effective for interest groups. By making contributions to campaigns, interest groups can candidates to support their causes if they win the election.
The National Rifle Association primarily use the lobbying tactic to gain support for their cause. By attempting to influence public opinion on an issue as controversial and important as guns, they may have an affect on legislation. Presidential candidates seek to meet the public's demands, and if public opinion is influenced to support the N.R.A., they may eventually be successful.

Ron Wyden

Senator Ron Wyden was born in Wechita, Kansas on the third of May, 1949. He attended the public schools of Palo Alo, California and later earned his associates and bachelor degrees at Stanford University. He then moved on to Law School at the University of Oregon an obtained his juris doctor degree in 1974. Wyden became the director of Oregon Legal Services for the Elderly from 1977-1979 as well as a member of the Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators. In 1981, Wyden was elected as a democrat to the Nintey-seventh and to the seven succeeding Congresses, where he served for sixteen years before being elected to the Senate. He was elected in a special election on January 30, 1996, to fill a vacated spot left by Robert W. Packwood, and began service on Febuary 5, 1996. He was then reelected in 1998, 2004 and again in 2010.


Ron Wyden sits on the following committees:

Chairman, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Energy
Ex Officio, Subcommittee on National Parks
Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Water and Power
Senate Committee on Finance
Chairman, Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Member, Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Member, Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
Joint Committee on Taxation
Senate Committee on the Budget
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Senate Special Committee on Aging


Some of Wyden’s sponsored bills include:
ENFORCE Act »
Follow the Money Act »
GPS Act »

Independence at Home »
Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act »
Medicare "Better Health Rewards" Program »
O&C Act of 2013 »
OPEN Act »

Palliative Care & Hospice Education & Training Act (PCHETA) »
Student Right To Know Before You Go Act »
Wyden-Coats Tax Plan »

"The “Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2011” – being offered by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind.) – would simplify the tax system, hold down rates for individuals and families, provide tax relief to the middle class and create incentives for businesses to grow and invest in the United States. Wyden-Coats updates the tax reform that Reagan signed into law 25 years ago by streamlining the hundreds of exemptions, deductions, credits, and other preferences that clutter the nearly 10,000 section U.S. tax code to create a simpler and fairer system for American workers and businesses." (Wyden Website)
Basically, Wyden feels Americans spend too much time worrying about taxes and not enough time about growing our businesses, which creates a cycle, and came up with a plan to simplify the process. More than 6.3 million new jobs were created in just the two years that followed the 1986 tax reform.

"U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Marco Rubio and Mark Warner have sponsored bipartisan legislation to give students and families the information they need to make informed decisions about their higher education.

The Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2013 would streamline existing institutional reporting requirements to enable students, families, institutions, and policymakers to assess schools and programs based on a wide range of key data including graduation rates for non-traditional students, transfer rates, frequency with which graduates go on to pursue higher levels of education, student debt and post-graduation earnings and employment outcomes." (Wyden Website)

As a student, I think this is awesome. College is so expensive and their are a ton of hidden costs and statistics that his plan allows students to access.

Questions for Wyden:

1. How did the government shut-down affect you?
2. How did you deal with the campaign process and all the work that goes in to getting elected?
3. How long does it take on average to pass a bill?

The Phillipines

More than 10,000 people have been estimated dead since the devastating blow of Typhoon Haiyan. Being the strongest Typhoon ever recorded, Haiyan left major parts of the Philippines in ruins and millions of people displaced, without home or shelter.

The United States and Britain are two of many countries rallying military troops to deliver goods and support to the suffering victims. What could we do in the Bend community to help this cause? My first thought would be to instruct all teachers and all managers of companies and businesses to have a mandatory meeting in which the devastating effects of the Typhoon are displayed for students and employees to see. Awareness is key to a successful response. In these meetings people would see the great need for potable water, food, and money to be used for any need once there. We could set up a community-wide charity in which people could donate the mentioned items to a named organization called something like "Typhoon Haiyan Life Preservation Charity". There would be a big warehouse rented out for people to drop their stuff at. Each individual could register their name and email along with their donation to receive updates and shipping order status to feel more personal in their assistance and reassured that their donation makes it to the designated cause. Of course, a portion of the money donated would have to go towards transportation and practical causes to actually deliver the goods. A charity is very beneficial because it stimulates positive feelings in the giver, a sense of pleasure that one is doing good. Not only that, but charities can issue out tax receipts to donors ad also receive favorable income tax treatment. One very successful charity is called Water Missions International. They provide safe clean water to developing countries and disaster sites. Here are their cost statistics: Income Statement (FYE 09/2012) REVENUE Contributions Contributions, Gifts & Grants $7,367,272 Federated Campaigns $0 Membership Dues $0 Fundraising Events $204,897 Related Organizations $0 Government Grants $0 Total Contributions $7,572,169 Program Service Revenue $0 Total Primary Revenue $7,572,169 Other Revenue $-8,729 TOTAL REVENUE $7,563,440 EXPENSES Program Expenses $5,444,127 Administrative Expenses $422,706 Fundraising Expenses $669,248 TOTAL FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES $6,536,081 Payments to Affiliates $0 Excess (or Deficit) for the year $1,027,359 Net Assets $6,458,514 A neat invention for future disasters would be a shuttle car that scans huge amounts of destructed land and buildings at once and pinpoints the exact location of any human survivors. We could save lives that might not be saved otherwise.

Sam Evrin 1972-74 (Unfinished) Sam Ervin was the former Senator of North Carolina before he was assigned as chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, when he became a household name. He was known for his southern lawyer charm and expertise on the Constitution, and played a pivotal role in the events that led up to the resignation of President Nixon. Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the 1970s in the United States. It resulted from the break-in of the Democratic National committee headquarters in Washington DC. This scandal led to the resignation of the then American president Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974. As chair of the committee, Ervin investigated a number of issues regarding Watergate including surveillance camera footage and wiretapping. He requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either disprove or confirm suspicions that the press had knowledge of and approved efforts to cover up the break in. Nixon refused to comply with his request, citing executive privilege of separation of powers at his defense. However, Ervin rebutted with the statement, “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the press to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee” Another statement Ervin made in regards to the suspicions of Watergate was,“If the many allegations made to this date are true, then the burglars who broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate were in effect breaking into the home of every citizen of the United States. And if these allegations prove to be true, what they were seeking to steal was not the jewels, money or other precious property of American citizens, but something much more valuable -- their most precious heritage: the right to vote in a free election.” Ervin played a very influential role in exposing the truth of what happened at the Watergate and his likeability was key in helping him to this success. Sources: http://www.ask.com/question/what-was-the-watergate-scandal The Washington Post Encyclopedia Britannica www.history.com

Federalism and the Power Struggle

Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land of people. It is a system of shared power between units of government. Categorical grants are the main source of federal aid to state and local governments. They can only be used for specific purposes and have increased federal power in regards to the state because they come with strings attached. Federal mandates direct states or local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant. States suddenly have to budget more funds for the project just to receive federal money, increasing federal government power. On the contrary, other types of grants help to increase state power relative to the federal government. Block grants are federal grants given more or less automatically to the states or communities to support broad programs in areas like community and social services. The Tenth Amendment also increases the power of the states in that it declares all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, not prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or the people.

Changes to the Constitution

The Constitution is most commonly amended by the formal process of Congress proposing the amendment with a 2/3 vote in each house, and then state legislatures ratify the amendment by a vote of 3/4 of the states. Another formal process, in which has only been used once for the Tewnty-first Amendment, is by a 2/3 majority proposal in Congress, but rather than the state legislatures ratifying it, a state convention ratifies it by a vote of 3/4 of the states. There are two other formal methods that have never been used. The Constitution can also be informally changed without touching the document. An informal method in which the Constitution can be amended is through Judicial Interpretation. It can profoundly affect how the Constitution is understood because the Constitution usually means what the Supreme Court says it means. For example, in 1896 the Supreme Court decided the Constitution allowed racial discrimination,and several years later overrode it claiming it unconstitutional. Technology is also a means of informal Constitutional change because it has spurred the development of mass media that can rapidly reach huge audiences. The bureaucracy has gained importance with computers that help serve the public. Electronic communications and the development of atomic weapons have increased the significance of the president's role as commander in chief, thus increasing his power in the constitutional system. An example of informal change by technology includes proceedings of both the House and Senate are both now on TV, which influences the political agenda. Informal methods are most often used over formal because it takes less time and doesn't require actual altering of the document.

FRQ #1

The part of the government that was originally most closely tied to citizens was the House of Representatives. The House was the only element of government that was within direct control of the votes of the majority. On the contrary, state legislatures elected senators and special electors selected the president, meaning government officials would be selected by a small minority rather than the people, limiting majority rule. A separation of powers and system of checks and balances developed in the Madisonian Model also prevent one branch of the government from having too much power. In order to make the Constitution more democratic, amendments in the 20th century allowed more consent of the governed. For example, the 19th amendment allowed woman to vote, which allowed their opinions to matter. Also, the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18, allowing even more public input rather than mainly older, wealthy, white landowning men determining most of the decisions. Presidential Primaries also shifted the United States to a more democratic system by allowing the people to vote for candidates or delegates pledged to that candidate. Before primaries existed, delegates were selected to go to the national convention only by means of caucuses, in which state party leader controlled who went rather than the people. Other than voting, citizens can participate in politics by protesting and civil disobedience. The benefits of protesting include raising awareness and the availability for anyone to participate, unlike voting which pertains restrictions. Likewise, civil disobedience (breaking the law purposefully and receiving the consequence) clearly communicates a message. Sometimes instances of protesting can instigate violence, such as the Kent State Massacre in 1970. Students stood outside the school protesting the war in Vietnam and the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the campus, killing four and wounding nine. The violence grabbed the attention of America. Though policy did not change in that instance, sometimes violence pressure the government into reconsidering their actions.

The New American Center

The other day I took a quiz on the NBC News website that asked a series of questions to determine my place on the political ideology spectrum. The questions ranged in content anywhere from my moral and ethical views to how I think about politics, and in the end I was labeled as one of the Righteous Right. The Righteous Right is made up of a group of more conservative-type people and those who base their views often off of their beliefs. I think that this was a fairly accurate match up, though I’m not completely sure on how the government should regulate things and need a lot more political knowledge before I can make solid decisions. The article that goes along with the quiz explains The New American Center, a large group of people who are in the middle when it comes to being blue or red (liberal or conservative). Many of these people don’t consider themselves in the middle, but when they took the quiz it revealed otherwise. The center is made up of a majority of white people. They aren’t especially pleased with how the government is running and are overall pessimistic about the next few years. The center trusts democrats and people other than politicians more than republicans and do not like to bring religion into politics. They don’t believe in the government should only spend money on those who really need help and generally would prefer if the government would stay out of their personal lives. The center also believes that America should stop interfering with other nation’s problems and instead focus on our own. 46 percent of them strongly oppose ending the death penalty and somewhat agree with taxing the rich a little more. Overall, the center is up for grabs and demonstrated that America is not solely divided into two sides. I agree with the findings of this study, because I personally know many people who have central views and mixed opinions. I myself have some mixed opinions, but I do rely strongly on my beliefs and moral basis to make decisions, which is why I was classified as one of the Righteous Right and not part of the new American center.

**Are public opinion polls a benefit or a curse to American politics?  What influence do they have on campaigns?  On governing?  What do critics point to as the key weaknesses of public opinion polls? Do you agree?  Explain?

 

Public opinion polls are a benefit to American politics because policymakers can keep in touch with the people's changing opinions on issues and make corresponding corrections the the government's course; however, they are also a curse in that politicians in that politicians may become more concerned with following than leading and can distort the election process, thus weakening democracy. Political leaders often "track public opinion not to make policy but rather to determine how to craft their  public presentations" to win support. Polls can also create a "bandwagon effect" in that people vote according to how others are voting.  The key weakness of public opinion polls is that by altering the wording of a question, pollsters can usually get the results they want, distorting the real public opinion.

Young vs. Middle vs. Old on Politics

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuMDjH5M_x7ddDFtS1FHZE1CUTRjZUc4MmtJVVcxc3c&usp=sharing

My name is Emily Shunk and my favorite part of this summer was the mission trip I participated in on Skid Row in Los Angeles. While there, my team and I humbled ourselves and served the homeless.