Create a political party.
panhn1028
TheBeagleParty.docxLisa Randoll
4/22/2019
American Government
Professor Randoll
Aroooooo! The Beagle Party
What’s that I smell? Why, the newest and greatest political party around – the Beagle Party! With humble beginnings in my master Charlie Brown’s yard, I, Snoopy, have decided that my kind have a lot to contribute in this great country of ours, and I and my fellow beagle buddies (tri-colored, lemon, copper rose, and pocket all included) have decided that the time to get involved in our country’s future is now.
Platform
There are a plethora of issues that my canine comrades view as immeasurably important. These include environmental protection, a higher emphasis on education, the right to be respected – no matter how different you appear, and the importance of innovation in the workplace.
The Environment
Beagles are natural hunters, so we spend most of our free time outside, following our nose (and let’s be real – oftentimes, getting in trouble). Unfortunately, however, the ‘wilderness’ that we beagles used to chase rabbits in is slowly disappearing. It’s being replaced by apartment complexes and supermarkets. The fields that used to hold thousands of tasty rabbits are now full of questionably dressed Walmart shoppers. And what’s more – the wilderness that IS left is being allowed to be tainted by toxins destroyed by developers. The Beagle Party believes that nature is beautiful and beneficial. Being out in the wild enables beagles (and people) to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and decompress, and we believe that people (and pooches) need that. We will fight against laws that allow pollution to ruin our rivers and will advocate legislation that will ensure that our hunting grounds and yours will be around for your children and theirs too.
Education
Beagles are a stubborn bunch. REALLY stubborn, and to break us of that requires hardcore education. In a similar vein, humans are expected to seek careers as adults and most of those require some type of education – most jobs require college-level degrees or something similar. Despite this fact, college tuition costs continue to rise while the median wage across the country stays the same. Students’ eligibility for financial aid is (in large part) dependent on their parents’ ability to help (whether they actually intend to or not is irrelevant according to the IRS). Students often pursue degrees but then find it hard to secure a job right out of college. All of these problems result in a huge population of unemployed, educated people buried under a pile of debt.
The Beagle Party wants to ensure that college degrees (or certifications) are affordable. We will push Congress to enact tax breaks for businesses who agree to pay for students to go to school to achieve this goal. We also believe that it’s time to encourage students to pursue degrees where there’s a high demand for employees (like nursing, education, and the like). We believe that students should be told, up front, what fields are currently looking for people and which fields students will find that securing a job might be more difficult. Choosing to go to school and what to study is a big decision, and students should have as much information as possible when they make those choices.
While all of these things would help current and prospective students, we also need to help out those who have graduated but are buried in debt. I believe that, as a society that knows that a higher education degree (in most cases) is required to get a career-type job, we need to stop treating college as a privilege when it’s very nearly a requirement. For this reason, I propose that the federal income tax levels for all taxpayers making more than $500,000 a year would increase in order to pay for tuition for all public institutions. The reason our proposal affects taxpayers and the national level and not the state level is that many states are smaller and poorer and thus, by themselves, would financially be unable to provide the level of education that the more affluent and populated states would be capable of. Education is an investment in our future. It helps encourage future entrepreneurs, train future teachers, arm military officers and so on. We owe it to ourselves to build a generation of young people that can cope and master the challenges of the future.
Equality and Respect
We are all so different, and it is those differences that make this country what it is – a vegetable soup of people, cultures, and perspectives. Unfortunately, far too many people are judged based on their race, ethnicity, who they love, where they come from, or what they can offer society. The Beagle Party believes that it is our differences that make us valuable. Your culture is part of your story and, therefore part of ours. Everyone should be respected and treated equally. We would support equal opportunity legislation for LGBT members, we believe anyone should be able to serve in the military, and we believe that all races and religions have a place and a positive impact on our communities and we would fight to protect your right to be who you are and say what you think. American democracy is not an ala carte deal. We believe that everyone should have rights – period.
Innovation in the Workplace
We beagles are a curious bunch. We’ve always got our nose into something, and we believe that your average American should be the same. Curiosity encourages creativity, and an open mind and the freedom to use it oftentimes leads to some of the world’s greatest discoveries. We should encourage young people to think outside the box. Students going into STEM subjects, who seek to make advancements in education, or who develop a new, less expensive method of dealing with an expensive current problem. We would provide colleges with extra funding to offer these students stipends and scholarships to pursue these goals, for it is our young people who will shape the future if we are courageous enough to let them and encourage them in that endeavor.
Demographics
Our party would be supported by a wide range of people. This party’s platform puts a lot of emphasis on the value of young people, so we assume that individuals between 18 and 25 would support us. They would fight alongside us to ensure that our future would be more secure and much simpler.
Outdoor enthusiasts and environmentally aware individuals also would stand with us. Since one of our key messages is to protect the environment, it only makes sense that advocates of that issue would be on board with the beagles.
Minority groups, the underprivileged, and the forgotten would find a home in our party. The people who feel like no one is listening would have our ears (our very long, droopy ears), and we would fight to protect their right to be seen and heard (and trust me, you can’t miss a beagle’s howl).
Finally, I believe that members of business community would stand with us. Businesses are always fighting to create the next new thing, and our party platform encourages that type of innovation. CEOs and mom and pop shops across the country would be bandwagoning with the beagles.
Interest Groups and Media Outlets
The Beagle Party is garnering a lot of attention both by advocacy groups and by the media. The Humane Society – an animal rights group – ardently supports me and my four legged friends in our goals to make America better. The Humane Society, aside from being an advocate for animal adoption and rescue, also takes in wild animals in more remote areas. They have, in a small way, ensured the continued existence of several threatened species.
Another interest group that would support us would be the PTO (parent teacher organization). As an organization found in schools across the country, this group not only fights for an expanded access to quality education but also works to ensure that the students of today have the tools to create the better world of tomorrow. They’re better than my favorite treats!
The media has begun to watch our ascension, and a couple networks have given us significant airtime. Animal Planet has been the most supportive and was quick to show how ambitious and yet how driven The Beagle Party is. CNN and MSNBC have also lent us airtime to discuss our plans. As liberal networks, it only makes sense that our liberal-ish ideology would appeal to their viewers.
Mainstream Because…
The Beagle Party is a moderate one ideologically speaking. Some of our positions fall on the conservative end of things, but others lend themselves to more liberal thought. For this reason, we believe that we would be a mainstream party. We believe that our platform appeals to a wide range of people with varying political persuasions, and we hope to continue to do so in the future.
Mascot
The Beagle Party’s mascot is a collar with a name tag that reads ‘America’ on the front. The back reads, “Oh, shit. I’m lost. Call this number because my mom is ugly crying right now. 1-800-Beagles2020.” The phone number is a real, dialable number that connects the interested person with a member of their respective state party office should anyone be interested in volunteering on our behalf.
Slogan
Our campaign slogan is, “We follow our nose wherever it goes.” It means that we aren’t afraid of new things, of challenging paths, or the unknown. Nothing is certain in life except that you will get nowhere new if you don’t ever start. We, the followers of scent trails, aren’t afraid to start long journeys and we persist until we find what we are searching for. So we promise you.
Presidential Candidate
