The victorious party in the upcoming midterms will help to set the table for the media frenzy that leads up to the Presidential election in 2016. So far, no candidate has officially made their announcement (despite the incessant questioning by the media), but most analysts believe that Hillary Clinton will likely make a bid for the Democrats, with a possible appearance by Joe Biden (or maybe an unknown challenger, just as Obama burst onto the scene before the 2008 election). The Republican race for nomination is less clear without a definite frontrunner. Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush (with a possible Mitt Romney repeat run thrown in there) and a number of other Republican hopefuls are all names attached to the possibility of running in 2016.
Expect for these campaigns to really pick up steam starting in the spring of 2015. Nowadays, campaigns typically start at least 18 months before the election, but you could argue that Hilary Clinton is already 'unofficially' campaigning on her book tour.
For this post, I want you to read an article about the youthful enthusiasm of first time voters and their support for Hillary 'not-officially-a-campaign-yet' Clinton and an interview of Rand Paul about his foreign policy stance and a few other key issues from NPR. After you finish reading, answer all of the following questions and make any comments you deem interesting or important:
Clinton article
1. Identify three concepts we have learned about in class that this article talks about. Be specific and cite the text in your answer.
2. Are you excited to vote in your first Presidential election in 2016? Is "making history" a motivating factor in your participation or are you more concerned with a specific policy issue? Explain your answer.
3. Do you think that "making history" should be a factor that motivates people to participate in an election? Might this be a problem? Why or why not?
4. You are a part of 'Generation Z,' does this article characterize your enthusiasm for voting for the first time? Who would you vote for in 2016 and why?
Paul article
1. Do you agree with Rand Paul's analysis of America's current foreign policy situation? Is Obama overstepping the Constitutional limits of his office and position as commander-in-chief? Why or why not?
2. When concerning foreign policy action, should stability to protect our interests or ousting dictators and trying to spread democracy be the priority? Which will have short term benefits? Long term? Explain.
3. Is there anything in his interview that you particularly agree or disagree with? Identify the policy and explain why you agree or disagree.
8 comments:
Clinton article
1. We learned about political participation ("phonebanking... I cannot wait to campaign, and vote..."), political socialization ("views tend to come from the influences of their families and social context"), and the gender gap ("...American women, Hillary CLinton's favorable rating is 57 percent...").
2. I guess I'm excited, although with everything happening this year in terms of senior year and graduation, voting has not been in the forefront. To me, voting really means that it's time for me to figure it all out - what I believe, what I want to support.
3. The fear with people voting just to "Make history" is that people will vote just to say they did it, and not because they support the candidate or the candidate's issues. If Clinton runs, it will become a factor, in my mind that is inevitable. However, that may not be a good thing.
4. I am not as enthusiastic as the people in this article - I don't have any political bumper stickers and I haven't been campaigning. In 2016 I will probably end up voting for the Democratic candidate since my social views align more with the democratic party, however that is subject to change based on the candidates and their policies.
Paul article
1. I think that if Obama was to declare war on the Islamic State, then he would be overstepping, considering that job was given to Congress in the Constitution. I do think that he should be allowed to advocate for war on the Islamic State, though. There is nothing wrong with him using his free speech or making his thoughts known.
2. Protecting our interests is the short term goal whereas spreading democracy is a long term goal we have for intervening in the Middle East. Both of these goals in foreign policy have pros and cons. For instance, protecting our interests is great for us because it gets us oil, however oil will eventually run out and then we won't need the Middle East for that. Spreading democracy is great because it is seen as the more fair government, but a democratic government won't necessarily be pro-America.
3. I agree that "we do have to be more realistic in our approach worldwide." We tend to intervene with good intentions, but it never really ends up the way we expect. We have these idealistic ideas that if we intervene, these countries will accept democracy. Realistically, they may not.
Hillary: 1. NPR's Facebook callout was a part of mass media, Sali Yi shows her liberal political ideology as she previously campaigned for Barrack Obama and now supports Hillary, and this article portrays women as sharing their political culture(in this case a women should be president to decrease gender bias and promote equality).
2. I am excited to vote in 2016. However making history is not a huge factor for me. I'm very concerned about the economy as whoever gets elected next will have a big influence on the job market right before I head out into the work force.
3. Making history should be an influence though in people's choice to vote because it expresses cultural pride and heritage. I understand people who support Obama because they might be of the same race. Obama is a wonderful symbol of diversity and the African-American race overcoming persecution in American society. However, this is a problem because people should really vote for policies they favor.
4. This article does capture my enthusiasm because I am excited for my voice to be heard. I would support a libertarian candidate because I am for less government in my personal life and a free market.
Paul: 1. Obama has every right to carry out his foreign policies as commander and chief and is not overstepping the constitution. I agree with Paul though as he said that an American democracy can't be set up in most places in the Middle East.
2. Protecting our interest will have long term benefits because it will protect our international trade and keep us from being viewed as an enemy, and therefore decrease the likelihood of attack.
3. I support Paul in no government handouts to promote fairness. However I would like to see an increase, not a decrease in minimum wage. I think a low minimum wage would prohibit and not encourage people to work.
Clinton
1. We have learned about political socialization where you tend to side with the idealology that you are around the most (“the major formative impacts on people's political views tend to come from the influences of their families and social context), voter participation with the women female population (the possibility of breaking new ground by electing the first female president in United States history) and campaigning for the candidate that you want to win (Some voters may want to make history by rallying around a certain person, she says, but a much bigger driver of electoral support is the political party).
2. I am excited to vote in the 2016 election but I think it is a huge responsibility and I have a lot of homework to do on it before I feel that I am capable to vote. I think that the herstory campaign is a good idea to get people to get motivated but they need to focus on the policies.
3. Making history should not be part of the election because that is not the reason for voting. The reason is to make a change in the government with who they believe is fit for the job and voting for someone just because they are one thing; they will not be able to get the job done.
4. This article I think over exaggerates the election and it does not reflect my views. Yes I am excited for the election but for the reason that a female is running for office.
Paul
1. Obama has the right to carry out foreign affairs but he also needs to remember that congress also has a major say in a lot of the operations that will take place.
2. I think that we should focus on stability because we could oust the dictators all day if we wanted to but it would be no good if we can’t stabilize the democracy that was established and make sure that it is set and ready to function fully.
3. I completely disagree with the decrease of minimum wage. Many people need to have an increase in their wages to help support their family and themselves and with the decrease, there will only be more people earning little to nothing and more people living under the poverty level which in the long run will hurt America.
Clinton article:
1) We have learned about how most political views tend to come from the influences of their families. We also learned about political gender playing a role in how people voted.
2) I am excited to vote, but being a person that knows close to nothing about politics, I probably wouldn't vote. "Making history" isn't a motivating factor because you're one in a million.
3) I think this will be a problem because people will want to vote to say they did it, not because they know what's going on. This is scary because people may not even be informed and choose based on what other people or the majority is choosing.
4) My enthusiasm is not as much as the people in this article. I don't pay much attention to politics and they are very excited to "make history." I would probably vote against the democratic candidate since I pay attention to their news more.
Paul article
1) I think Obama is not overstepping his boundaries. I think he is trying to make sure that all Americans are safe.
2) Focusing on our stability is very important because that is the factor everything is leaning on how we work around our functions. We should worry more about protecting our interests and then worry about dictators.
3) I agree with the fact that we need to be more careful with immigration. We need to have set rules so that if we find people who are crossing illegally, we don't just forgive but we take the necessary cautions. Their needs to be better security measures.
Clinton
1. Voter participation is a concept expressed throughout this article. There are a combination of people who want to vote to be "a part of history" because they think Hillary will be the first woman as president. Daria Prasad says, "As a person of mixed race, I was delighted to have Obama as my president. I don't know for sure who the candidates will be in 2016, but I am looking forward to electing the first female president." Then some people are going to vote for her because of party affiliation. Another concept discussed in class was gender gap. People are going to vote for Hillary purely to make a statement, as Maggie Lingner says, "I would be overjoyed to vote for the possible first female president. That would be really, really cool. If she won, it would mean a lot to me and would be a big step for creating a more equal world as far as gender goes."
2. I'm excited to be voting in the next election, but I could care less if our next president is a woman or not. I think the more important thing Americans should be focusing on is which presidential candidate has a better plan to fix and create policies. I care more about the policy issues because even though we'd be making history with Hillary as president, if she can't fix or help the country then it is pointless to give her that position. Once you get the position you should be able to do something with it and "making history" should not be a first priority.
3. "Making history" should definitely not be a factor to motivate people to participate in an election. Ignorant people are going to vote for her just because she's a woman even though her ideas could be terrible. We need educated people who understand which each candidate stands for rather than knowing only their gender or race.
4. I truly am excited to be voting for the first. This article characterizes my enthusiasm for voting, but not for the same reasons. I don't care to vote for a woman just because she's a woman. If her ideas are great then she deserves to win, but she doesn't deserve to win because of her gender. I don't know enough about any of the candidates to say who I would be voting for, but I can say I'm not a fan of Hillary. I seem to lean towards republican ideologies and Hillary is a democrat.
Paul
1. I agree with Rand Paul's analysis of America's current foreign policy situation because we do need to follow the constitution. Obama is overstepping the Constitutional limits of his office and position as commander-in-chief because he did not ask congress for a declaration of war. He didn't go through the proper channels of going into war, he acted more as a dictator and chose this on his own. He said "this is how it's going to be done" and didn't allow it to be brought up for debate.
2. At this point in time we should be protecting our own interests. It is too hard to go into some of these countries with different cultures and set up a democracy. Our country is too far into debt and that takes a lot of our time and money to do that. We are exhausting our resources by trying to "help" these other places. Some of these countries were stronger and better off without America's help. Ousting dictators has short-term benefits because once one dictator is gone and we leave, what's stopping a new dictator from rising up. Then protecting our interests has long-term benefits because we can rebuild our economy and stability within our own country.
3. Rand Paul says that we're getting too involved with getting these dictators out and then causing things to be worse or to be replaced by chaos. I do agree with him because we're trying to change their way of life as they know it and it's too much for them to handle. He also says the government shouldn't get involved in policies related to income inequality, which I also agree with because the market will dictate who's successful and who's not.
Clinton Article
1. Mass media (callout on NPR's facebook page), political participation (phonebanking, voting, campaigning) and voter turn out (whether "making history" of electing the first female president will equal a higher voter turnout)
2. I'm not very excited for it at the moment. I assume once it gets closer to election day and I will be able to use by ability to vote for the first time, will be the time where I will be excited to vote. Not all the policies apply to me yet since I will still be dependent on my parents, but we shall see. But some social policy issues I do feel strongly about (gay rights, abortion, birth control) and will be more of a deciding factor of my vote rather than making history.
3. I do not think it should since that will lead people to vote for Hillary just for the fact that she is a woman and not because of her views on policies and issues. Even though I do not think it should, it's going to happen anyways since that is a good campaign strategy for Hillary.
4. I personally do not have as much enthusiasm for politics as they do, perhaps. I'm not sure who I would vote for since I do not know the candidate's policies yet.
Rand Paul article
1. I do agree on Paul's analysis of the current foreign policy situation because it does make sense. But it is easier to put the blame on someone for what is going on than to actually make change.
2.Stability to protect our interests should be the priority, because most people have no problem invading a country in order to protect our interests (ex: oil). The examples in the past years of dictators being ousted only to be replaced by extremist groups is obviously not working. Protecting our interests will have better long term benefits, and will have less backlash from the American people. But it also depends on the situation, because some catastrophes such as genocide are likely to gather attention and attraction in the U.S.A., and people will want something to happen.
3. I agree with his minimum wage policy (Raising the minimum wage will cause a loss of jobs). Since a higher minimum wage means that it would be more expensive to higher employee's, business' will cut jobs and more will be unemployed. And keeping minimum wage at a not so high level will encourage people to develop skills and education that will give them a higher paying job. I also agree with his immigration policy, in which he believes that immigration reform is more important than simply putting more security at the border to prevent people from crossing. Having a better immigration program will solve the many issues there are today with illegal immigration. What that policy should be, is harder to say.
1.) Concepts in this article that we have identified in class as well are: Political socialization ("influences of their families") the gender gap on how most women tend to lean towards the democratic side (all women in this article) and mass media playing a role in politics (mentions Facebook in article used politically.)
2.) I am very excited to vote in 2016, it is my first time voting and also I finally get to voice my opinion. People voting for Hillary solely based on the fact that she is a female is ridiculous. As Americans we have to be smarter voters than that and understand that the president has a great amount of power and to just hand that to someone based off their gender is stupid. I will be focused on the policies far more than making history.
3.) The fact that "making history" is a motivating factor for any voters shows American stupidity. I strongly discourage people to vote based odd of gender. I really hope that if you do vote for Hillary, you understand her ideology and policies; and are not making a rash decision to be able to say you voted for the first female president, if she does end up winning.
4.) As of now I feel far too ignorant on the potential candidates to make a decision I feel confident in but from the little knowledge I have I would vote for Rand Paul. The article we read on him in class I agree with his foreign policy and his idea about minimum wages. He seems to be a straight shooter and will not top toe the line for votes.
1.) I stand with rand Paul and believe that Obama is overstepping his power. The power to declare war is explicitly given to congress and the fact that we are dropping bombs and airstrikes on ISIS it qualifies for war in my book. I agree that ISIS should be targeted, but following constitutional protocol. I think maintaining stability should be America's main concern. In the case of ISIS we ousted a less radical dictator which then allowed the extremely radical ISIS group to gain power and control. Even though a dictator can be a tyrant at times, if stability is held it could be the lesser of the two evils. Spreading democracy is good theoretically but some countries just do not want to be forced into it where America sets up it's puppet government with a president that favors American trade policies. Long term if all countries adopted democracy that would be ideal, but realistically we have to try and maintain stability in the middle east that is full of turmoil.
3.) I particularly agree with Rand Paul's economic viewpoint about the minimum wage. Most people don't see the negative side of what raising minimum wage would do, all they see is that workers would make more money. But I like Rand's statement of "we need to look at the intentions of the policy and the outcomes." So the intentions is to help the lower class, but is creating less jobs for the lower class helping them? No.
1. We have learned about mass media ("NPR's Facebook call out another driving force..."), Youth being typically democrat ("... I was delighted to have Obama as my president".) the influence of family("...the major formative impacts on people's political views...")
2. I am excited for the upcoming presidential election 2016 because I want to see how the new presidency will affect me and I am curious to see what policies will change. I am not too concerned about whether our president will be a man or a woman, however I do think that "making history" will once again attract more voters. (as seen in the Obama election)
3. Making history should motivate people to look into politics and get involved in voting. People do need to be educated on what the candidates ideas and policies are rather than voting for the candidate because of their gender.
4. In some ways the article captures my enthusiasm for voting, but not necessarily just to "make history." I am not as enthusiastic as some of the college students, but I do realize how important a vote is. In saying that I do have to familiarize myself with the upcoming candidates.
1. I do agree with Rand Paul's analysis of America's current foreign policy system because he does make a good point especially when he says "...we have to be more realistic in our approach worldwide." With that being said it is easy to point fingers and blame someone for not doing something correctly rather than actually making a change.
2. Protecting our own interests should be our main priority because it will help in the long term. We are dependent on getting oil from other countries. Having the benefit of protected international trade will help us in the long run and keep us out of possible attacks.
3. I agree with Rand Paul's standpoint on minimum wage because if minimum wage is lowered to $6, companies are given the opportunity to higher more employees giving more people jobs. If the minimum wage is raised less people would have jobs causing even more unemployment rates.
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