However, there is also reason to suggest that this is not the case, and that pluralism determined the outcome of the 2008 election. A significant percentage of America’s population voted in the 2004 election, with even more predicted to vote in the 2008 election which was the case. People were and still are politically aware and therefore made up their own mind. This may have been due to e.g. voting for change and rationally by voting Democratic instead of Republican, or because they believed in Obama.
By 1982 it had fallen to 36.4% and 43.4%, however since then it has risen dramatically to 72.8% and 59.8% in 2012. In the 1980s there we had examples of left wing republicans such as Lowell Weicker and right wing democrats such as Ed Zorinsky, and thus significant ideological overlap between the parties. However this has clearly reduced. What has been described as the ‘rise of hyper-partisanship’ has seen each party become more united in opposition to one another. We have seen the rise of the ‘Hastert rule’ among republicans, which dictates that the speaker shouldn’t allow the vote unless the majority of republicans support it.
Equal political voice and the opportunity to participate in democracy are certainly valued ideals, as generations of Americans, from the colonists of late eighteenth century to women of the early twentieth century, have fought for their place in this country. Every vote is crucial to the development and maintenance of America, representing the voice of the citizens for politicians to act upon. Unfortunately, the American people are heard unequally and unjustly. The gap between who is and is not able to partake in United States politics is steadily increasing. The privileged and well organized wealthy upper class of this country dominate the polls, the majority of the U.S. is not represented in election, further slowing the progress of political reform.
In the Obama vs. McCain election of 2012, Obama’s victory was strengthened by the fact that there was a much higher turnout of the young voters and voters that are parts of minority groups. Whereas, a great amount of Republican voters abstained for different reasons. This is a practical example of Differential Abstention and how it can affect general elections. To conclude, it can be shown that differential abstention can play a large part in who will win in any election, as shown by Obama in 2008. There are many reasons as to why people abstain from voting, starting from it being too cold outside and ranging to people not bothering to go out and
Pressure groups differ from political parties in the fact that a pressure group can’t run in an election in an attempt to gain power. They can be classed as either insider or outsider depending if the government wishes to acknowledge their aim and listen to what they have to say. Also some pressure groups could be around for a short time as if they are caused by a single issue when it has been resolved they either dissolve it or keep a much smaller profile. Due to much larger memberships nationwide, with some pressure groups having in excess of a million members compared to parties these days which at most only have around 200,000 members this from the start means that due to severe lack of numbers in comparison to some pressure groups means that they are at an immediate disadvantage. As a result of this the voice of a pressure group can be very loud as even if half of its members turn out to a protest or march they would have more than the total of political parties.
Conviction politicians truly speak out their minds regardless of what the consequences would be. One example of a conviction politician would be George Galloway who used be a member of Labour party. In the parliament you would see that there are more Party Delegates than Conviction Politicians. There are many reasons for why there are more party delegates than conviction politicians in the Parliament some of the reasons might be: Fear of being sacked and losing their job, money, fame, ego and status and many more. Some MPS choose to be party delegates rather than conviction politicians because they fear of being sacked and losing their job, by not listening to the leader and following orders, instead speaking up against the leader’s views which could put them in a position where they could lose their job.
My generation, the millennium generation, has shown to vote much less along party lines than previous generations, and more along policy lines. As such, 3rd parties are going to become more and more popular. If one thinks about it, there are countless combinations of opinions one could have on political issues. As such, if all people were to be able to vote solely on their views on issues, there would need to be many parties and candidates to satisfy the multiplicity of voter opinions. As such, 3rd parties are going to become increasingly important as time goes on, as the major parties lose
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act joins this exclusive list” (Leahy). “In many ways the likelihood of a bill’s passage is proportional to the support it has when it enters the legislative queue and in many ways a bill’s prospects for passage have to do with both its initial popularity and the strength of its opposition” (McKnight). Even with proof that the VAWA Act actually saved the government money, more than $14.8 billion in the first 6 years, by reducing recidivism, Republicans in the House are having issues with this new reauthorization. (NACADV). “Just because a piece of legislation is morally right, has wide public support, and is high on the agenda of powerful members of Congress does not mean that it cannot be blocked or compromised by powerful interest groups with ‘deep pockets’ and the power to circumvent legislative mandates through manipulation of the regulatory process”
The Good, the Bad, and the Immigrants In recent media, immigration has become the talk of the year and whether the discussion is regarding Obama’s new immigration plan, if immigration is good or bad, or where most immigrants seem to be headed, the conversations are heating up more than ever before. But what seem to be the most involved arguments of all is the fact that some people tend to believe that immigration is taking a negative toll on their country without actually looking into the effects that come with them. Although some may argue that immigrants are taking up job opportunities, overpopulating the country, and increasing crime, I believe that immigrants are bringing more cultural diversity, shaping how the world seems to view America,
Francisco Ibarra Govt II December 1, 2009 Americans and Elections As we know, presidential elections tend to have a certain amount of attraction even if you don’t really care for politics. The media always tries to put their own spin on it so it makes it look more enticing for people to see it and in turn they get ratings. The 2000 election was one of the closest elections seen, where George W. Bush beat Al Gore by a margin of less than one percent in the electoral votes. Many people believe that it was a mistake, Al Gore should have won. Four years down the road, its time to elect another president or re-elect the current one if he was a good choice before.