Final Blog

Overall I thought the Blogging in this class was alright. I didn't like that they were due at the end of a Sunday night, but beyond that the blog wasn't too bad. When I actually did it. I'm not sure why I, and for that matter many of my fellow classmates, didn't keep up with it. I do think it was better than writing a term paper, although it was probably the same amount of work, just spaced out over several months. As for a grade, I think I would give myself a C-. I did some of the blogs, but I could have done better. They were a good idea, and I think they should continue to be part of this class and other classes.

Sorting

Political sorting is a defined as voters selecting a candidate or a party based on which party or candidate more closely agrees with their own ideology. This for example, could help explain why southern voters, who historically voted democratic, began to vote republican when that party began to become more in tune with conservative ideals and values. This could also help explain the emergence of independent or moderate voters. Voters who dont blindly follow a certain party, rather they select a candidate by determining how many of their issues (such as gun rights, gay marriage) their candidate supports.

1990's Republican Congress

During the 1990’s, a democratic president was in power, however, (starting in 1994) the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. (until 2006) President Clinton became a polarizing figure due to his scandal involving a white house intern, leading to his impeachment. Several other scandals of the Clinton administration caused a split in America, such as the Waco siege. However the 1990’s produced one of the most lucrative and fastest growing economies in American history. The economic prosperity of the 1990s allowed for Clinton to be easily re-elected in 1996. Despite the political successes of the Clinton Administration, the republican controlled congress impeached him for lying under oath during an investigation centering on his affair with an intern that worked at the White House. Although he was impeached, the republican controlled Senate did not convict him, thus he was not removed from office. This was the only the second time a president of the United States was impeached. In today's political climate, both the president and congress have very low approval ratings.

Two Party system

America's two party system may not be perfect, but it is essential to our democracy. Having a two party system, and to some extent a three party system, allows for people to clearly identify with one political belief or another. on the other hand, in recent years there has been a growing movement towards independents or moderates, instead of being a "red state" republican or "blue state" democrat. It seems in recent years that the parties have devolved into either Pro or Anti-Bush, and moreover, pro or anti-war.

Role of Minority Parties in a Democracy

The minority party is a necessity in a democracy. A minority prevents the dominance that would be assured with a one party system. The government's system of checks and balances ensures that even if a party has dominance in both houses of congress, there are tools, such as filibustering, that members can use to maintain that system. Additionally, even if a party has control of both the House of Representatives, the Senate and has the Presidency, the minority party can still prevent a bill from passing. Also, the minority party can often help sway moderates or independents to vote a certain way on a particular issue. Also, the minority party contributes to the democratic process as it allows for dissenting opinions on issues.

Primary Elections

Primary elections can both benefit and damage political parties and individual candidates. Elections can benefit parties by allowing the public to gauge where the individual candidate stands. Additionally, parties can essentially weed out the weak candidates and put forth who their strongest candidate for a particular elections. Also, when the weaker candidates drop out of the race, they will put their support behind the strongest one and tell their supporters to do the same. On the other hand, primaries can have a bad effect on parties and candidates. During primary campaigns, candidates will often use mudslinging in order to make their oppinets look bad even though they are in the same party. Doing this can weaken the candidate in the general election, as their own party members have pointed out their weaknesses on certain issues. Primary elections are an important part of the politcal process, but they can also have negative effects.

Let me try this again.

Ok, I didn't exactly do last weeks blog correctly, but hopefully I can turn it around this week. Tonight I want to talk about Allan Greenspan's new book coming out tomorrow and what he has to say about the Bush administration and its handling of everything from the Iraq war to Bush's fiscal policies. Greenspan served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve for nearly twenty years. Essentially, he was the chief economist of the United States.^ In his new book, Greenspan, a republican, slams the Bush administration's handling of the economy, and more specifically, the housing market collapse. There are those however, that feel Greenspan is partly to blame for the sub-prime market failures, as he lowered interests rates to a point that people who would not ordinarily be able to afford homes were able to purchase them. In his new book Greenspan also criticizes the war in Iraq, was "...largely about oil."* Bush's fiscal policies were also a target for Greenspan, who was critical of the President's refusal to make budget cuts and his "out of control spending."* My reaction to this story is one of surprise but also some of what Greenspan said is to be expected. On one hand, Greenspan is calling out a fellow republican President's excuses for starting the war, which seems to have no end in sight. On the other hand, it does not surprise me that a conservative has harsh criticisms of Bush's handling of the economy. A true conservative wants to contract the size of government, and limit spending. Bush has not only run up a large deficit, he has expanded the size and influence of the Federal Government in the name of fighting terrorism here and abroad. My only question is how far the Bush Administration will try to distance themselves from Greenspan once his book is in stores tomorrow.