...It is very apparent that over the years, the American Political system has become biased. Offending one’s political party is like offending their character it seems. Where does this polarization come from? There are agreements from credible sources stating that American politics are very biased, and other agreements are made claiming polarized minds are caused from biological influences. But when it comes to who is guilty for creating this separation, there are many disagreements. American people have come to the general consensus that political parties are very biased. This causes an extreme sense of partisanship in daily arguments and other political conversations because people tend to take their stances so seriously, even if they do...
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...doing things like that.” (Why Political Polarization Might Be Good for America.) A certain degree of polarization is healthy in a democracy. It clarifies the choices people have in elections, and it helps voters to hold the parties accountable for their performance. Without the responsibility of parties, candidates say in the presidential election could bs for their whole campaign, and then when they are voted in, they could completely switch gears and change all of their opinions and take back all the promises they made for reform. Parties force candidates to have standards, whatever they may...
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...After this year’s midterm elections Republicans won big, taking full control of the Senate and the House. There are many factors that led to these results and clearly shows the country’s disapproval of the Obama administration. Polarization, demographics, and strong opposition towards the president definitely contributed to the Republican victory over both houses of Congress and will surely result in gridlock; stalling the country from progressing successfully. Demographics may have contributed to the enormity of democratic loss in this past election. The populous, liberal, diverse cities that would increase the Democratic vote had one of the lowest voter turnouts, whereas southern states that would vote Republican came out with the highest voter turnout. A vast majority of these southern voters are old, white Republicans. The young students, the post- generational college students, the minorities – these are the ones that share the same political ideologies as the democratic party, but yet they’re the ones that didn’t vote. Voter turnout for the 2014 Midterm elections was the lowest in 70 years – only 36.4% of voting-eligible Americans went out and voted on November 4th; of those voters, 75% were white (Alter, 2014). Liberal states like New York and California had a decrease in voter turnout while Southern states saw an increase, “Democrats were hindered by their inability to persuade members of the coalition that delivered the White House to Mr. Obama — young voters, women...
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...The New York Times March 1, 2013 Deep Philosophical Divide Underlies the Impasse By JOHN HARWOOD WASHINGTON — Let’s play truth or consequences with the budget sequestration that took effect on Friday. That can be difficult through the fog of political war that has hung over this town. But a step back illuminates roots deeper than the prevailing notion that Washington politicians are simply fools acting for electoral advantage or partisan spite. Republicans don’t seek to grind government to a halt. But they do aim to shrink its size by an amount currently beyond their institutional power in Washington, or popular support in the country, to achieve. Democrats don’t seek to cripple the nation with debt. But they do aim to preserve existing government programs without the ability, so far, to set levels of taxation commensurate with their cost. At bottom, it is the oldest philosophic battle of the American party system — pitting Democrats’ desire to use government to cushion market outcomes and equalize opportunity against Republicans’ desire to limit government and maximize individual liberty. And they are fighting it within a 21st-century political infrastructure that impedes compromise. Those government initiatives include Social Security from F.D.R.’s New Deal, Medicare and Medicaid from L.B.J.’s Great Society, and the 2010 national health care law. President Obama wants to keep them in roughly their current forms — even as the wave of baby boom retirements makes...
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...This feign of politics being a battle fought between those on either side, with the moderate middle becoming a no-man’s-land, is known by many to be political polarization. This polarization of politics creates countless inhibitions upon Americans seeking to be apart of the democratic process by inciting feelings of isolation if they hold a belief that does not cater to either extreme side of politics; in lieu of continuing to defend their beliefs not held by either side, individuals are more likely to denounce politics as a whole on account of feeling marginalized. This phenomenon betrays the cultural aspect of politics created by philosophers to empower the common man, by making him choose to subscribe to a set of ideals he may not entirely believe in. To mitigate someone’s voice into a contribution to a voting bloc is to dilute their humanity to the result on a ballot, further muddying political waters and causing...
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...‘The broken branch’, to what extent is this a fair assessment of Congress? (45 Marks) Within the constitution, the power of Congress first appears in Article 1, Section 1, ‘all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States’. This suggests that congress has huge amounts of power Congress in creating legislature, scrutinizing the executive and playing a huge role when it comes to the checks and balances of the three branches of government. However, in recent times, many people argue that congress is ‘broken’. One of the biggest examples of this is the increasingly poor legislative record. Although there is going to be a big bias within congress, especially with the Republicans now controlling both chambers, this essay will look at both sides of the argument and help me decide on whether Congress is, in fact, broken. Time magazine recently stated that congress is now less popular than the Internal Revenue Service and, even more startlingly, Donald Trump! In 2013, congress only had a 6% polling, the lowest it had ever been, and the only other group of people to have a lower approval rating was the Kardashian family, quite disgraceful. Congress is supposed to be the most important branch of Government. It creates legislation, scrutinizes the executive and sets out the budget along doing many other important things. The fact that the approval rating now stands at 13% is very shocking. Mark Twain once said ‘Suppose you were a member of congress...
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...Booker T. Washington Booker T. Washington was a great influence for the black community. The efforts he made to become such a wonderful leader were incredible. Booker T. Washington was a man that started up from scratch. He grew up as a Black slave, who did not have many choices in life. He was born on April 5, 1856 in Virginia and he had a white father and a black mother. When he was still a child he went to work in a coal mine after the Emancipation Proclamation. When Booker was seventeen he went to Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute to work as a janitor. He would then use this job to help pay for tuition and attend the school. After all of the struggles and hard work that Booker T Washington went through in his life he ended up becoming a very influential speaker and great leader for the black community. Booker T. Washington had several different qualities that made him a great leader. The first quality is that he was very charismatic. People from all over would follow Booker and listen to what he had to say. He gained a lot of attention at his Atlanta Address of 1895 where he tried to get southern whites and black slaves to work together. The black slaves would listen to the political white views and in exchange get to work weekly and get a basic education. After this is when he became a main leader for African Americans and their movement while also drawing the attention of politicians and philanthropist. Pragmatism was another quality that Booker possessed. He always...
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...Abstract: This dissertation examines the intersection of Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric with racialized nationalism and the role of media in shaping public attitudes toward immigration in the United States. This research seeks to answer the following question: How does the immigration discourse articulated by Trump through racial and nationalist lenses become magnified in media representations, and what does this have to do with political polarization and public opinion? Based on the comprehensive review of prior literature, this research explores how Trump's rhetoric on immigration has perpetuated a racialized, exclusionary political discourse that shapes both public attitudes and partisan alignments. By means of selective exposure...
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...on George Washington’s “Farewell Address”. To many, George Washington was a comforting figure in a time of great distress. Washington’s efforts to unify the country remain as the fundamental theme within the chapter. Ellis describes multiple steps that Washington took to in order to strain importance on a unified country. Ellis notes that George Washington was never one to look for power. Washington rather, did not ask to be placed in power at all, and used his judgement to step down from it any time he felt it was too much. During the Revolutionary War, Washington also sought military unity before anything else, and due to that strategy, he was able to outlast the British. Finally, Washington ensured isolationism within the country, in which the United States remained secluded in its policies, thus bringing forth extended unity. 5. The collaborators: Ellis’ fifth chapter, details the conflict that began between two longtime friends, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, in 1796. This chapter revolves almost entirely upon the theme of friendship, and in this case, Ellis describes the relationship between Jefferson and Adams. The two men collaborated together during the Revolution, however as the Federalist and Republican party began to split, so did their relationship with one another. Jefferson and Adams were forced to give up a strong friendship for the sake of politics. This severed relationship marks the polarization of American principles. 6. The Friendship: Ellis’ final chapter...
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...The need for reform of the immigration system in the United States Introduction The lack of results from the Obama administration on the overall reform of the immigration system of the United States is due to the inability of the immigration system to regulate increasing legal admissions and growth of irregular immigration of a regional provenance. The political viability of the reform depends on the consent of the elected Republican opposition. This has contributes to organize structural blockage for reform for over fifteen years, evidencing the high degree of polarization of the immigration topic issue in American society. Given the circumstances, the likelihood of a reform in the next years is very uncertain. This paper aims to explain the lack of results from the Obama administration on the reform of the immigration system. It will analyze first, the main motivation for reform of the immigration system: it has become unable to properly regulate a rapidly growing immigration. It will then offer, a series of explanatory reasons for failure: the low priority given to the immigration issue, errors, but especially the structurally cleaving nature of the reform. Why is the reform of the immigration system a necessity? The Characteristics of the US Immigration System To understand the need for reform of the US immigration system, it is necessary to go back to first principles ensuring its operation. The United States regulates the admission of foreigners on their territory...
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...Abstract This thesis examines the intersection of Donald Trump?s anti-immigrant rhetoric, racialized nationalism, and the role of media in shaping public attitudes toward immigration in the United States. The research addresses the question: How has Trump?s immigration discourse, framed through racial and nationalist lenses, been amplified by media representations, and what are the implications for political polarization and public opinion? Drawing on a comprehensive review of existing literature, the study investigates how Trump?s rhetoric on immigration has contributed to a racialized, exclusionary political discourse that impacts both public attitudes and partisan alignments. Through analyzing media framing, including selective exposure...
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...provided proof of the verbal attack and has little bias.) where a Moroccan Uber driver was harassed with vulgar words. “On Thursday, a Moroccan Uber driver in Queens, New York, filmed a man in a white SUV harass him and call him a “terrorist” in a profanity-laced tirade…. “Trump is president, a*****e, so you can kiss your f****n’ visa goodbye, scumbag,” the man in the SUV yells. “We’ll deport you soon, don’t worry, you f****n’ terrorist.”” Things like this have not just happened to Muslims, It has happened to Jews as well. For example, according to the Washington Post, “During the month of January, 48 bomb threats were called into Jewish community centers across the country. Also last month, a neo-Nazi made national news by promising to hold a march in Whitefish, Mont., to intimidate the town’s small Jewish population.” The more things like this happen, the more group polarization happens. According to psych central, group polarization is: “A phenomenon wherein the decisions and opinions of people in a group setting become more extreme than their actual, privately held beliefs. Example: After a discussion about racism, members of the group who are racist will defend their attitudes far more strongly than they would have beforehand.” This alone causes more Trump supporters to act out in violent ways. None of this helps the American people learn and to get over prejudice, it seems to influence the younger generation too which doesn't help the growth of America. However, a small survey...
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...government developed a cohesive procedure for naturalization. Immigrants at that time were granted citizenship after living in the U.S. for at least 2 years without criminal records. Every President since Dwight D. Eisenhower has taken executive action at some point regarding to immigration reform. With the last immigration reform act passed in 1986, the time to fix a broken immigration system is long overdue. Since the United States has been highly populated with diverse population including documented or undocumented immigrants, the government could have considered adopting the immigration reform specifically and permanently. Apparently, there are some reasons that take many years to process an immigration reform in Congress such as polarization in Congress, Federalism, courts’ decision, media impaction, and interest groups. It is hard to believe that why the government is not fully paying enough attention to immigration reform bill that is one of the most important not only for country itself but also for its economy. Now, we have estimated 11 million people living in shadows including men, women, and kids. There are many felons among these undocumented immigrants but ignoring this immigration reform will not solve any but it will gradually make people believe that the democracy even originated from here is weaker or the government is even more polarized than it is supposed to be for certain matter that will benefit the country...
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...The city use as an example in the article, SeaTac, is nestled in Washington State which already has the highest minimum wage in the country; as she notes "SeaTac, home to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went a big step further, raising its minimum wage to an unprecedented $15." However, as the name of the town points out, SeaTac's main industry is the International Airport. While the business community in this town may not be truly representative of the national business climate, the same monotonous arguments against a living wage are present. Consequently, the tired remarks from those against a living wage are listed and argued against by the author. They include the age-old claims of business owners, more specifically from those claiming to represent the small business owners. While the loudest voices speak of the...
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...investigation team physical evidence of her blue dress with an incriminating stain containing the president’s DNA. On August 17, 1998, Clinton testified before a grand jury and admits to “inappropriate intimate physical contact” with Lewinsky. However, the president defended his actions with the fact that his relationship didn’t meet the definition of sexual relations used by Jones’ attorneys, which meant he hadn’t perjured himself (Waxman, "Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky Scandal-Timeline of Key Moments”). That night, he appeared on national TV and apologized for his behavior and stated he had not asked anyone involved to lie, hide, destroy evidence, or take any other unlawful action ("BILL CLINTON ‘This has Hurt Too Many Innocent People’ (Washington, 17 August 1998)"). Finally, on December 19, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton on two of four articles of impeachment pertaining to the obstruction of justice and perjury. On February 12, 1999, following a Senate trial, Clinton was...
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