Jon Tester Case Study

The political theorists David R. Mayhew, Gary W. Cox, and Matthew D. McCubbins argue on how the US Congress functions. They focus on the members of Congress and their actions. The basis of disagreement between the theorists lies in what Congress members find of importance. Mayhew argues that members of Congress, primarily concern themselves with reelection, as such, any action taken only benefits that. Cox and McCubbins’, however, formulate that Congress functions on the basis of majority party control and unity. These arguments present different perspectives, however, they do have agreements amongst them. Overall, Mayhew presents an argument that is believable and shows the truth of members of the US Congress.

Party strength is a measure of the ability of a party to get people to vote for its candidates. The post-World War II shift in party strength was part of a massive shift in policy over time. Scholars saw Republican politicians increasingly excel at getting elected at the local level (Lublin 2006), to offices in the state (Hayes and McKee 2007), and federal governments (Black and Black 2002, 1992; Shafer and Johnston 2006). It is difficult to see how the Republican Party would have become the majority in Congress in 1994 without the increased voting strength in the South. This marked a dramatic shift in national policy. This increased Republican Party strength more than made up for the lost ground in the Northeast over the period of study. Moreover,

Trevor will be charged with manslaughter of the accidental killing of his friend with an illegal gun . Trevor will be sentenced for 90 days of jail time rehabilitating him to rethink his bad choices . Sentenced with custody and supervision for three years to also help his drug and alcohol problems . After his jail time he will have two years of meeting with his probation officer twice a week making sure Trevor is staying clean and making good decisions.

In 1995, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton. The court ruled that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those specified in the Constitution. After the recent ballot measure adding an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution that denied ballot access to any federal Congressional candidate having already served three terms in the U.S. House or two terms in the U.S. Senate, was challenged on the grounds that the new restrictions amounted to an unwarranted expansion of the specific qualifications for membership in Congress enumerated in the U.S. Constitution: “No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five

Paul Starobin’s “Pork: A Time Honored Tradition Lives On” discusses the control exerted upon local appropriations by the Legislative Branch. The author points the divide the practice of “porking” creates within the House, fiscal conservatives are fundamentally against it, while some democrats support the action. Those in opposed to the method find that it creates budget inefficiencies because the federal funding is being used to finance local projects and special interests, which is generally done for political gain. However, those in favor, believe, as elected officials, their duty is to fight for the benefits of the people and areas they were chosen to represent. In reality, there needs to be a healthy balance between the two sides, central

The President I have have chosen is Andrew Johnson. He was the 17th President of the United States serving from 1865-1869. He started out as a vice president when president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After that someone had to be elected the new president. Andrew Johnson was chosen. He was apart of the democratic party. During his presidency, some of choices were a success and others were failures. He served many roles as the president but not all of them when well.

George Washington Plunkitt was a historically significant politician born in 1842 into a poor family. He initially worked as a butcher, but then followed his dream of entering into politics. He started at the New York state assembly and ultimately ended up as a New York state senator. He held the reins of the Tammany Hall political machine for over 40 years. Tammany Hall is one of the most controversial topics of political history and is the main discussion of the book Honest Graft: The World of George Washington Plunkitt by William L. Riordon. It is a collections of talks and writing of Plunkitt detailing about his life, politics, and general knowledge of the public. Many reformers saw the organization of Tammany Hall as a corrupt malignancy that plagued the American government. But Plunkitt argues that his work was always practical, legal and influential and helped shape the democratic system for the better. And as for his fortune, he simply states, “I seen my opportunities and I took em.” (Riordon)

Gerrymandering restrictions is likely to be a key topic of debate for the Supreme Court as partisan lines have tested the constitutionality of the act. While this process of redrawing boundary lines has been around for a long time, it is not the same that it once was. The act of gerrymandering and redrawing boundaries has become more of a drastic partisan act in the modern election world than ever before because of technology. The 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Davis v. Bandemer declared partisan gerrymandering for electoral advantage justiciable under the United States Constitution. The asymmetry standard in testing for gerrymandering states that the act needs to exhibit intentions that partisan gerrymandering would be recognized for its given distribution of popular votes, if parties switch who holds the popular vote and if the number of seats in a district would change unequally based on Supreme Court cases Vieth v. Jubelirer and LULAC v. Perry. Unfortunately, this standard is not the precedent established by the Supreme Court. The current argument headed to the Supreme Court in 2017 is that partisan gerrymandering is quietly producing a greater effect on the nation than ever before and needs to be addressed by the highest level of judiciary for its

Chapter 1 (It 's not who you know it 's who you get to know)

Political Parties serve a crucial role in congressional campaigns, especially for candidate recruitment. One significant role political parties serve is the state law of redistricting, “Because the composition of House districts can make the difference between winning and losing, the two major parties and individual politicians, particularly incumbents, often fight fierce battles in state legislatures over the alignment of districts.” (Smith, et al., 2007).

When Billy Long campaigns during election season, as a politician, he listens to his constituents as they voice their concern with the issues and policies that are damaging to his district. It is his responsibility to then help the citizens and ensure that he is able to do everything within his jurisdiction to mitigate these very difficulties his constituents face. If he is successful, there are two parties whom benefit. His constituents benefit by having their problems resolved and the less obvious, but perhaps more concentrated benefit goes to Representative Long himself because he is now in a position to claim credit. Passing certain legislation that he promised to his district, gives Billy Long leverage in the next election cycle because he would possess the ability to boast a successful track record and claim credit for bettering the lives of individuals within his district. This again, all goes back to Mayhew’s theory of how members of Congress seek

The article is written by Richard Fenno in 1978, summarizing the dilemma of congressmen in the contemporary time. The author was specifically discussing about members of the House, who always seek for reelection during his legislative career, as stated in the initial part of the paper. Fenno went on to propose the conflict in incumbent congressmen 's career: more attention for the Washington career leads to less attention for the congressmen 's home state. The Washington career required commitment to build up support within the House. However, focusing on Washington rendered the congressman homeless, or losing his home 's supportive forces. Thus, there were two solutions. Firstly, the congressman can change the expectations of his

Mike Huckabee was the 44th Governor of Arkansas. He was governor from 1996 until 2007. He has gone down in Arkansas’s history as the longest serving governor. When Huckabee left office he left tax cuts, job creation, reconstruction of his state’s road system, K-16 education reform, and a health plan that took a less expensive approach than the government’s approach to healthcare. He has changed Arkansas it a positive way. Lindsey Graham started his career in politics in 1994 when he was elected as a representative. Graham was elected to the United States Senate in 2002, reelected in 2008, and in 2014. He generated the most votes in South Carolina for senate. In 2008’s election he generated over one million votes. Graham has experience with

Fenno traveled with each of them in their districts, as he has done with many others (though it all began with Conable in 1964). The questions Fenno always poses are: What’s he like? What’s she like? How does each member relate to his/her constituency? And how does the member balance life on Capitol Hill and in the district? The contrasts are familiar. Barber Conable, conservative in policy but moderate in temperament, is an old school politician. He is, in Fenno’s words, a “local boy,” someone far more interested in his rural constituency than in the power politics of Capitol Hill. He is amiable and driven to be the best constituency representative possible. His focus was the one-on-one personal touch. He did not come to Washington to be a

In August of 1957, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond spoke on the Senate floor for 24 hours and 18 minutes in attempt to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.1 The bill passed anyways, and Thurmond’s efforts only resulted in a misuse of the Senate’s time. This act of speaking for unlimited time in opposition to legislation is known as the filibuster and is a controversial practice in the Senate. The Senate filibuster can be understood through its definition, its background in the United States, and the legislation regarding it. It is also characterized by the support for it, the nuclear option to limit it, and the potential reform to fix it.