Referenda allow for a more responsive government. It forces them to listen to public opinion between elections. The public can express their opinions on a particular issue which is hard to achieve from elections, especially if parties have similar policies. It stops the government from becoming almost a dictatorship where they decided everything. It allows people to have their say which could affect them personally, for example the referendum which will determine whether Scotland become an independent state next year.
Whereas if the representatives were to vote on their behalf it may be based on their views and interest, having referendums prevents the government from making unpopular decisions. This will improve the UK’s democratic system as the views of the citizens are clearer and representative of citizens who are affected by the decision being made. However others argue that the general public is not educated enough to make these big decisions therefore it would lead to the wrong decisions being made which
However, there are inevitably some questions arising about the electoral college and whether it still works best for the US today. Some say it should be completely scrapped, with a more democratic direct election taking it's place; others day that it can be mended by reforming it, and the final argument is to defend it, and leave it as it is. One reason to end the electoral college system is because it is not democratic enough. The winner of the nationwide vote could in fact lose the election because of the way the electoral college works. Popular vote winners have been denied the presidency in 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000.
Its functions consist of nominating candidates to office that the people would vote for and attaching their party name to the candidate to influence voter choice, organize and run elections, and organize the legislature. A political party can unite people of different ethnic or religious groups who may come together because of a position that they have taken with the party. The parties try to accomplish their goals by appealing to what positions the voters want so that they might gain the majority of the seats within Congress and have influencing power within the government. The downfalls of the parties are that they may create a platform and then once in office not fulfill that obligation. Once the party is in control they have influence over all levels of government.
In fact, many people believe that new media will one day replace traditional mainstream media outlets. However in this essay I will attempt to prove that New Media will not completely replace old media but rather change it, while transferring the power from governments and corporations, to the people. To do so I will start off by studying the users of new media and its audiences. I will then analyze the way it’s used. And finally explain how it has impacted mainstream traditional media, journalism and society as a
Edelman’s Influence Edelman argues that the public is manipulated by the political spectacle to fulfill the ambitions of politicians and political groups. This analysis uses the concepts Murray Edelman develops in the Political Spectacle to analyze President Obama’s most recent State of the Union Address. The general goal of the analysis is to answer the question how does the President use the elements of Edelman’s political spectacle to support his political arguments in the State of the Union Address. Using Edelman’s concepts as the basis of discussion, the analysis identifies how the author constructs problems and solutions, leaders and enemies, and ideologies to support his claims. The paper is organized into three sections; the first section analyzes the construction of enemies and leaders; the second section analyzes the definitions of problems and solutions; and the third section identifies the underlying ideologies that shape the discussion.
This gives them opportunities to participate in a democracy as it encourages interest in the parties running for power. It allows them to see the different parties, for those who vote for the same party every election. Parties also help people participate by party political broadcasts, canvassing, conferences and policy forums. These allow the public to understand more about the parties individually and could potentially encourage them to vote for the party that best represents them. Having conferences gives them the opportunity to participate in democracy because from listening to speeches by leaders, voters are more likely to be informed of what policies are going to be implemented by that party if they gain power which would encourage them to vote in the general election.
Former Court Justice John Paul Stevens who served on the Supreme Court argues regarding amending the Constitution to promote democracy and rights (Posner, Slate.com). However, enacting new amendments to the Constitution is highly impossible today due to the rules established under Article V. Article V calls for an amendment to be proposed by two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and in the House or through a convention called in by the Congress after a request from the two-thirds votes by the states (Posner, Slate.com). This serves to be the first part of the amendment process if an amendment succeeds in the first stage it moves on to the second stage. Which requires three-quarters of votes from the 50 states in order to be enacted as an official amendment (Posner, Slate.com). The framers decided on the strict enforcement of Article V, as they believed in the ideology of stability, which would allow the government to function properly.
In some cases, the pressure groups even undermine their internal democracy as the minority (the leaders) voices are heard rather than the majority (the members). Pressure groups could be said to promote democracy by educating the electorate. They do this by making them more educated and more informed through political discussions and debates. Pressure groups widen the information available to the public. Without the media and pressure groups, the public would have to rely on information given from a narrow range of sources with limited viewpoints; mostly from the major political parties e.g.
Outline Although the founding of the Constitution was a revolutionary, positive turning-point in American history, the US Constitution has a few unconstitutional and democratic shortcomings. Introduction In order to understand the shortcomings of democracy of the US Constitution, is it is important to know the background of its’ founding and how each article serves our country. Federalist No. 10, written by James Madison, asserts the importance of having the image of a democracy without its real substance. There seems to have been a very strong opposition towards democracy at the Constitutional Convention, although the framers were in the midst of creating democratic principles to appeal to the majority of the country.