Political Science

Wk 4 discussion & discussion response

Writing Requirements

· Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)

· Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an outside source)

· APA format for in-text citations and list of references

List the ways in which contemporary presidential campaigns have used social media as a campaign tool. Do you consider social media as a successful tool? Explain your answer. Do you see social media as an unsuccessful tool? Explain your answer and provide examples.

One of the defining features of American politics is that we have a very strong system of federalism.  Specifically, we have a central national government (the U.S. government) and 50 individual regional governments (the state governments).  Our Constitution is very specific that the powers not granted to the federal government according to the Constitution are left to the individual states.  As a result, the vast majority of laws that affect our lives most directly are made at the state and local levels (Robertson, 2017).

A major reason why we have the system of divided government we have today originated from the arguments forwarded by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in Federalist 51 (1788).  Writing under the pseudonym “Publius”, these framers of the Constitution argued famously that “if men were angels then no government would be necessary”, yet men were not angels so they needed government.  At the same time, “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

In short, we need some form of government to ensure we have a productive and safe society where people follow the rules … because we are not angels.  However, government is made up of people just like us – so we need some sort of system to make sure government keeps itself honest.  Federalist 51 argues that dividing power between state governments and a federal government was the best way to ensure “ambition counteracts ambition” and helps keep governments’ powers in check.

In addition to answering the initial discussion post question, consider the following for discussion:

Given that the United States is a federal republic of 50 individual states, how much should our system of federalism matter when choosing the head of the federal government?  Should the citizens in each individual state have a say as Missourians, Kansans, and New Yorkers (etc) when it comes to who will run the federal government?  If not, does this make individual states (and our system of federalism) less effective in fragmenting power?

Include a separate response in APA style with references and citations too :

Hello Professor and Class,

The Electoral College started in the Constitutional Convention when our forefathers could not come to an agreement on how the president should be elected.  So, it was left for the framers to decide since they did not think the citizens were smart enough to elect a president.  We are now in the 21st century and boy how things have changed.  As stated during the lesson as well as in our textbook, of the three branches of government the framers made only a part of one of them subject to election by direct vote of the people.  The House of Representatives being that part.  They left the election of the president to an Electoral College, whose members were selected by state legislatures and NOT by a direct vote of the people. (Greenberg, Page31, 2018) First I had to fully understand the way the Electoral College really worked. How the electoral college works is the people of the United States elect a president every four years, but not directly. In November of a presidential election year, each state holds an election for president in which all eligible citizens may vote. Citizens vote for a "ticket" of candidates that includes a candidate for president and a candidate for vice president. The outcome of the vote in each state determines a slate of electors who then, in turn, make the actual choice of president and vice president. Each state has as many electors as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives, for a total of 538. (The District of Columbia gets three electors even though it has no representation in Congress.) In December, the electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots for president and vice president. States may or may not require their electors to vote with the popular majority, and they may or may not give all of their electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote. These ballots are opened, counted, and certified by a joint session of Congress in January where it is then revealed on a true winner. (Walbert, n.d.)

I believe that the Electoral College should be abolished.  As previously stated, the states may or may not require their electors to vote with popular majority. When the Electoral College was established, America was in a time of limited communication.  “The electoral structure was premised on a theory that citizens would have a better chance of knowing about electors from their home states than about presidential candidates from out-of-state. Electors were supposed to be people of good judgment who were trusted with picking a qualified President and Vice President on behalf of the people. They held the responsibility of choosing a President because it was believed that the general public could not be properly informed of the candidates and the values each held.” (Cohen et al., 2020)   The advancement of mass media and the internet has made the information about presidential candidates easily available to Americans across the country. The American people no longer need the Electoral College to be well-informed when deciding who will be president. “In our country, “We the People,” are supposed to determine who represents us in elective office. Yet, we use an anachronistic process for choosing who will hold the highest offices in the land.” (Cohen et al., 2020)   The US Constitution has been amended so many times to ensure all citizens had the right to vote (The 15th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of race. The 19th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of gender. The 26th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens 18 years of age and older to vote. The 17th Amendment empowers citizens to directly elect U.S. Senators.)  It is only fitting that we amend the constitution to allow the PEOPLE to directly elect the President and the Vice President.

“In 2016, for the second time in recent memory, and for the fifth time in our history, the national popular vote winner did not become President because of the Electoral College. This has happened twice to candidates from Tennessee: Al Gore and Andrew Jackson. The reason is because the Electoral College, established to prevent an uninformed citizenry from directly electing our nation’s President, no longer fits our nation’s needs.” For years, a majority of Americans have opposed the Electoral College. For example, in 1967, 58 percent favored its abolition, while in 1981, 75 percent of Americans did so. More recent polling, however, has highlighted a dangerous development in public opinion. Americans by and large still want to do away with the Electoral College, but there now is a partisan divide in views, with Republicans favoring it while Democrats oppose it. (Cohen et al., 2020)   Just like much of our constitution and many of the antiquated laws and even amendments, its time that the Electoral College go and make way for a true election based on the majority of the American people.

Given that we have a system of government where state powers are evenly balanced with federal power, would a parliamentary system be less effective in the United States – even if it works well in other systems of government?

Both systems demonstrate varying strengths and weaknesses. Parliamentarism may be more appropriate in some contexts, and presidentialism in others.  Its tough to say as performance of the executive is contingent upon cultural, socioeconomic, and historical factors that vary from country to country and from period to period.  A parliament is a legislative body of government that has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries.  Today we live in an age of constitutional reform and it is facilitating the change in America that is much needed. The federal and state powers work well together its just the people that do not seem to be getting along all the time. It is just time for everyone to get on the same page and cut through all the mud so to speak and get down to the things that really matter.    

 

References

Greenberg, E., & Page, B. (2018). Revel for The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates Edition -- Access Card (12th ed.). Pearson.

Cohen, S., Pye, J., Eichon, A., Wallner, J., West, D. M., & Spalding, M. (2020). The Pros and the Electoral. Congressional Digest, 18–29.  https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=730f3504-8174-4049-9762-58efcc7cf393%40pdc-v-sessmgr02 (Links to an external site.)

Walbert, D. (n.d.). learnnc.org. Http://Www.Learnnc.Org/Lp/Media/Lessons/Davidwalbert7232004-02/Electoralcollege.Html. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/lessons/davidwalbert7232004-02/electoralcollege.html