Quiz Chapter 7

1.  Hard money is money that is sent directly to a canidate for their political advertisements.  Soft money is money that is sent to the political party so it can be used where ever it can be most used.

2.  Electoral process is the process of getting canidates elected to political office.  I don't agree with everything that goes on in it, especially the way money is spent on all the elections.

3.  In an open primary, anyone can vote on the canadates.  In a closed primary, only the people from their political party can.

4.  Absentee voting is sending in votes before the actual election date.  The positives of this are that people don't HAVE to vote on the actual election day, in theory, maximizing the results of the voting.  The downside to absentee voting is that in theory, people could manage to vote twice affecting the overall process.


5.  I don't see many changes coming about.  Maybe electronic voting but even that will be fought by those who feel it isn't practical or safe.

6.  Simply put, I feel that as of now, canidates are spending WAY more than they ever should for elections.  That money could and should be going to other things that actually help this country.

7.  http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/07/haiti-waits-election-results-amid-fraud-chaos/
This article talks about how Haiti tried to have an election and nothing but fraud and scandal happened.  I feel this could happen to our country if things don't change, especially after what has happened in previous years.

Chapter 6 Test

1.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:
- Extending suffrage was one important issue that section 1 described in the book.  The section talked about how we, as a country, took time to re-think and re-organize the way we allow people to vote.  First we took away religious tests, which is a good thing because not all people who are capable of voting believe in God.  Then we started allowing Blacks to vote, in theory.  After that, came the 19th amendment which gave the right to vote to women and from there we have changed the voting age from 21 to 18.  As you can see, steps have been taken and are still being taken to insure that all people of the appropriate age can vote in this country.

2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:
- Section two hits on the topic of, "should we allow illegal aliens to vote or not?"  In it, it states that by order of the constitution, there is nothing stated that would deny those who are not American citizens the right to vote.  That being said, states are given the right to choose who can or cannot vote when it comes to being in this country a said amount of time.  Minnesota and Pennsylvania are the only states that take full advantage of that right but all states have the opportunity to make these laws.

3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:
- In section three, it talks exclusively about civil rights acts that helped black people get out and vote.  Because they were being harassed by many whites, blacks didn't use there given right to vote.  This changed in the 60's when civil rights acts were passed outlining harsher laws against discrimination in the voting places or anywhere else.  Once these laws were passed, blacks could vote easier and whites were subjected to harsh punishment if caught infringing on the rights of others.

4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:
- In section four, the word "idiot" is used.  Its funny to see it in a government book but what is stated is entirely true.  People who don't use their voice and vote could in fact, be called "idiots".  Especially if they then complain about things not going the way they would like to see them go.  The section talks about ways that people could then go about actually voting and they would maybe start to see improvements in what is happening in this country.


5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:
- Voter apathy is when people are given the right to vote, but for whatever reason, they just choose not to.  This is a serious problem because if no-one votes, nothing changes.  And if nothing changes, the government can seize more power and can create all the havoc it wants because citizens don't do anything to stop it.  This problem could be fixed by making voting easier, or less time consuming for people who just can't get out to vote in November.  That's why absentee ballots were introduced and also why online voting is becoming a more feasible idea.  Maybe something will change overall.


6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote:

-Must be 18+ years of age

-Must live in the presinct you are voting in.

-In all states except ND, you must be registered to vote.

-Cannot be mentally incompetent

The History of the Democratic and Republican Parties.

Originally, the Republican party was formed by Anti-slavery Whigs and more conservative Democrats.  They were going for the idea of "free men, free soil, and free labor."  They really wanted to have people start working more towards the idea of free men who didn't rely on the government for help, they relied on themselves.  As time progressed, Lincoln became the poster boy for the political party during the civil war.  After the war ended and reconstruction began, the republicans had control and gained power by helping ex-slaves.  Over time, They kept gaining power and eventually got to the point where they are now.


One thing I didn't know that the Democratic party is the oldest party in the history of the United States, and probably in the world.  Democrats dominated American politics until the Lincoln Era and after the civil war.  Originally, the Democratic party was founded from factions of the Democratic-Republicans once the party fell apart in 1824.  Democrats were very conservative at the beginning of their exhistance.  The party was founded from grassroots farmers who just wanted to better their country.  After losing to republicans again and again from 1860-1920's, The party started to go liberal in their views.  Franklin Roosevelt cemented the party's ideas by creating many government run programs during the great depression.  From there, Democrats have become more and more liberal.

I have always supported Republicans for their conservative ideals.  Lately, Republicans have become more and more moderate in their views and I am not happy with the party as a whole.  Because of this, I think I will be a Tea Party supporter more than anything.  They are basically conservative Republicans who are also fed up with how the Republicans are acting in congress. 

Thoughts on Election Results

I thought the local elections went very well for South Dakota.  With Republicans having an almost clean sweep of all the elections, hopefully things should be getting done better in the state congress and national congress.  I was really glad to see that Kristi Noem won over Stephanie Herseth because I do not think that she was a good voice for South Dakota at all.  It was also a good thing that Dugaard won over his opponent because he knows how to be a good governor.

In the national scheme of things, Republicans also had a great election.  They took over the house, and got enough people in the senate to where the Democrats can't fillibuster.  What they are going to do is basically create gridlock if the Democrats won't work with them.  If Democrats chose to work with Republicans, then good things will actually get accomplished for this country.  Hopefully things work out well for the next two years, then we can get a new president and start fresh.

Federalism Roundup

What is Federalism?  By definition, federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis between a central or national government and several regional governments, usually called states.  With this division of powers, the littler states have the power to govern themselves, yet they have to answer to the national government which has the ultimate control. 

The National government has most of the power in regards to the country.  That being said, it is a government of delegate powers.  It gets these powers from the constitution, which overrules what other lawmakers want to say.  Some people feel that the constitution should be overruled in some instances but, since our country was founded off the ideals stated in it, I don't think we should.

What some people don't realize is how much help the national government is obligated to give states.  The constituion states that "guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican Form of Government."  I think this is a good thing because, it doesn't matter where you go in the US, you will be able to live in a republic.  This is alot better than traveling around and living in a dictatorship in one place, and a democracy in another.

One thing the constitution talks about is how the national government has to grant state's rights in controling their own amount of territory or land.  What that means is that, even though Florida may want more land, they can't just take it from the surrounding states.  Also, they can't go to the government to try to have them take it away from a different state.  This protects all the interests of each and every state, which is a very good thing.

No States can make alliences with each other, as stated in the constituion.  This law was made so that another civil war doesn't happen.  I think this is kind of wrong because, if the national government is doing things/passing laws that are not in favor of the states, I think they should be able to rise up against the government.

The Privilege and Immunity clause seems very nice for citizens.  It grants all US citizens all the same rights in all states.  This is nice because then I can travel from state to state without having to go through checkpoints like they have to do in Europe. 

Assignment #2

1.  What does Federalism mean by definition and what does Federalism mean to you?

-Federalism is a political concept that means all the members are bound together by some sort of agreement.  To me, the idea of Federalism is that as a country, we should all band together and agree to be great..  Which isn't exactly happening in this country..

2.  List and describe the three powers of the National Government.

 -The legislative branch has the powers to,
*Coin Money
*Establish Post Offices and Roads
*Issue Patents
*Declare War
*Raise and Support Armies

-The Executive Branch has the powers to,
*Chief Diplomats in Forgien afairs
*Military Commander in Chief
*Deal with Congress

-Judicial Branch has the power to,
*Create New laws
*Strike Bills down as unconstitutional

3. The division of powers was created so that this country would never fall victim to an unruly government such as the one's in 16th Century England, or that of Nazi Germany.  In it, there are three branches to the national government.  Each serves a specific purpose.  The Legislative branch deals with passing laws and regulations, The Executive oversees Legislative but can be denied by Legislative, and the judicial branch deals with the Legality of Bills and declaring things unconstitutional or not.  There are set checks and balances built into this form of government making it hard for any one branch to gain too much power.

4. What is the Supremacy Clause and what is its function?

-The Supremacy Clause in an article that gives the constitution supreme authority over all of America.  It functions to run the country in the way set by the fore fathers.

5. http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.html
-This site talks more about how federalism works and what it is like in America.  It is very nice to see the easy step by step laid out in the website.

Assignment #1

What are your views on the latest political ads on TV?  What candidate(s) do you like or dislike and why?

-I feel that some of the latest political ads are pretty dang pointless.  All they do is bash the other canidates while not saying anything about themselves, or putting their records out there for others to see.  I like Kristi Noem because she actually has some pretty funny, and family oriented ads.  Unlike Herseth, who only bashes Noem, Kristi puts her family into her ads and actually talks about what she wants to accomplish in Washington.

What role do you feel that you will play in politics and government in the future?  What ways are you participating currently?


-Someday I hope to be a senator or work in government in some way shape or form.  I feel that the government needs to be redone and I want to participate in that in the near future.  I'm participating right now by reading up on what is going on, and I will also vote in the coming elections.