Even though the representatives are elected to promote the will of the people, sometimes is seems as if they are working towards their own agenda. Politicians get paid to represent others’ wishes; however, they are voted as a representative but not obligated to fulfill those wishes. The Electoral College, the actual votes that count for the presidential election, is not directly affected by the popular vote. In the 2000 election, Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the electoral vote. There was much controversy over
Lack of democracy In many ways the US Constitution is an undemocratic document. Many of the founders were scared of democracy because they believed in bad human nature: people are both virtue and self-interest, so simple democracy can’t work (Federalist #55). In general, the constitution was created to protect the minority from the majority. In order to prevent over use of power, faction (#10) and tyranny a separation of power complex structure (also known as “checks and balances” #51) was built (based upon the philosophy of Montesquieu), under which the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government are kept distinct. Philosophers, such as John Locke, supported the principle in their writings, whereas others, such as
Through this, our nation’s trust and confidence in our government has severely declined. How can ordinary people like us trust two very different parties with completely different viewpoints to agree and run our country smoothly? It is a hard concept to wrap your finger around. This is why trust in our government has declined. The increased cost of campaigns has also contributed to this
Among its many weaknesses were the single branch of government, unicameral, and the inability of congress to tax or declare war. During the 1780s, the United States witnessed several acquisitive, individual states expand their borders. According to a map of western lands ceded by the states, each state claimed new lands on their own, but with little regard to boundaries of other states. During the unicameral government provided by the Articles of Confederation, there was simply Congress, the legislative branch which had very limited powers were clearly insufficient to control a nation. This controversy resulted in massive disputes over boundaries between states, and these arguments were not easily resolved at all, due to the lack of a judicial or an executive branch in the Articles of Confederation.
Gridlock occurs when the branches of government scrutinise each other’s action to such a point where neither can pass any form of legislation, and the government therefore becomes less able to perform its duties, therefore leading to a less effective government. For example during Obamas presidency he had struggled with the majority of republican opposition in congress, and therefore had trouble to pass any major legislation such as immigration reform, jobs bill, gun control initiatives and etc. On the other hand, others may argue that the government is not ineffective because of the constitution as the checks and balances system do in fact work, as a way to prevent an overly centralised and powerful form of government, which may not stay accountable to the people as much as it does to large corporations who fund them for re-elections and etc.
They’ll have less time in office to develop money ties to lobbyists and other special interest groups, thereby weakening the threat of lobbyists being able to influence legislation. The current system in Congress tends to lead to a system of seniority, meaning those who have spent the most time in office have the most power (in committees, procedures, etc. ); so, politicians focus on staying in office. Districts & states don't receive equal power in Congress, and fresh new elected officials have limited ability to make changes. If Congress has term limits in place, their power will also be limited.
The two main political parties in the United States, the Democratic and Republican parties, have opposing social, economic, and political views. Because of the opposition, it is possible for different views to be enacted into governmental matters. It is impossible for all people to agree in a democratic nation, and because of this the institutionalization of political parties allows for different views to be heard and for change to occur in order to satisfy the people. If one party’s views were the only opinions heard in the government, the government would in turn only have one source of power and therefore be despotic. The institutionalization of political parties avoids despotism.
The initial difficulty is the Electoral College, which makes it possible for the president to be selected without being the choice of a popular majority. Levinson believes that the composition of the electoral college gives unfair advantaged to states with small populations Article II also makes it much too hard for the public to remove a sitting president from
Also, when Congress passes a piece of legislation, the do not technically have the authority to enforce this legislation. That remains in the hands of the Judicial and Executive branches. And when dealing with the Legislative branch, you are surrounded by Senators and Representatives whose motives are often not pure, but are tainted by the financial backing of others, and each of their individual constituents. They are not always in these positions to benefit the whole of American society. The Judicial branch is made for the people, all of the people of the United States.
They feel that the executive branch holds too much power, and having too much power could in fact be very bad and a threat. Anti-federalist were not as organized as the federalist, and didn’t take into consideration that checks and balances and such stop one branch from becoming too powerful. I learned more about he Bill of Rights. These are the first ten amendments of the constitution that were made limit the power of the United States Federal Government. This was mainly maid to protect citizens.