The Kids Are Alright - for President Obama
This article sheds light on the impact younger voters had on Obama's second term victory. The President went on to win over 60% of voters below the age of 30 in several states where he had actually lost the majority of voters above that age. It can be seen that young voters have a gigantic impact on the outcome of elections, and it is a demographic that should be marketed towards very heavily. Could it be a bad thing for the nation however if all these people who are likely less knowledgable about politics and government than those who are experienced in picking a good candidate are controlling the outcome of the presidency?
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Obama's second term: Who's in, who's out?
Obama's second term: Who's in, who's out?
This interactive photo collection/article breaks down Obama's first term cabinet and speculates about his second term cabinet. As we learned earlier this year, the cabinet can sometimes pull the president in multiple directions motivated by their respective interests rather than consult him. Picking a strong cabinet will help Obama in his second term should he successfully utilize their expertise. Also, this article mentions (as many others have) that Hillary Clinton is leaving the position of Secretary of State. This relates to the "great mentioner" and the election of 2016, as many people have speculated she will run.
This interactive photo collection/article breaks down Obama's first term cabinet and speculates about his second term cabinet. As we learned earlier this year, the cabinet can sometimes pull the president in multiple directions motivated by their respective interests rather than consult him. Picking a strong cabinet will help Obama in his second term should he successfully utilize their expertise. Also, this article mentions (as many others have) that Hillary Clinton is leaving the position of Secretary of State. This relates to the "great mentioner" and the election of 2016, as many people have speculated she will run.
Republican and Lesbian, and Fighting for Acceptance of Both Identities
Republican and Lesbian, and Fighting for Acceptance of Both Identities
This article talks about Kathryn Lehman, a fervent Republican who has come out of the closet. Before coming out, she helped to pass a law banning Same Sex marriage, but now, Lehman works towards marriage equality. Her story and the story of other cited Republican lesbians tie in with our discussion of a potential realignment of the Republican party. I found this article to be reflective of the changing demographics we had talked about. Whereas we often hear stories about homosexuals supporting the Democratic party, this article showed a different perspective. I hope the Republican party can embrace these individuals and reassess their position on gay marriage.
Gridlock in the senate
This article talks about how the senate became so contentious and driven by partisan loyalty. It states that in previous decades, the senate was the place where bills managed to get passed and receive votes while the house was where gridlock occurred. Now both have gridlock. The article goes on to say that the method used by senators to block each others' proposals is by filibustering them and now Democrats want to try and limit this tactic. I think that the senate faces enough pressure at this point from the public and the potential consequences of gridlock now that they will have to start compromising to keep their jobs and more importantly to help move the country forward.
This article talks about how the senate became so contentious and driven by partisan loyalty. It states that in previous decades, the senate was the place where bills managed to get passed and receive votes while the house was where gridlock occurred. Now both have gridlock. The article goes on to say that the method used by senators to block each others' proposals is by filibustering them and now Democrats want to try and limit this tactic. I think that the senate faces enough pressure at this point from the public and the potential consequences of gridlock now that they will have to start compromising to keep their jobs and more importantly to help move the country forward.
How the U.S plans to leave Afghanistan
This article discusses the U.S plans to leave Afghanistan in 2014. It says that NATO will have to leave a relatively small counter terrorism unit to deal with possible terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and other extremist organizations. The infrastructure of Afghanistan is still not up to where it needs to be in order to protect itself and maintain a stable government/country. Because of this, NATO will also have to provide air support and medevacs in addition to training more Afghan pilots. I think that groups will try to obtain control of the country once the U.S leaves , including the Taliban of course as well as several more. Hopefully Afghanistan will be able to defend itself and become an ally of ours in the middle east. It would be a shame if this ends up like Vietnam and the U.S allied group doesn't even keep control of the country.
This article discusses the U.S plans to leave Afghanistan in 2014. It says that NATO will have to leave a relatively small counter terrorism unit to deal with possible terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and other extremist organizations. The infrastructure of Afghanistan is still not up to where it needs to be in order to protect itself and maintain a stable government/country. Because of this, NATO will also have to provide air support and medevacs in addition to training more Afghan pilots. I think that groups will try to obtain control of the country once the U.S leaves , including the Taliban of course as well as several more. Hopefully Afghanistan will be able to defend itself and become an ally of ours in the middle east. It would be a shame if this ends up like Vietnam and the U.S allied group doesn't even keep control of the country.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Ryan Sees Urban Vote as Reason G.O.P. Los
Ryan Sees Urban Vote as Reason G.O.P. Lost
This article begins by stating why Ryan blames the urban vote as the reason for the GOP loss, but finishes by explaining how there is much more to the reason for the GOP loss, other than the urban vote. Marc Morial is quoted as saying that "what Paul Ryan misses is that the Republicans have been losing the urban vote for a long, long time", something, I agree, is obvious. Also brought up is Michael M. Honda's opinion that Ryan's use of "urban' is just another code word for people of color". [Ryan] is just grabbing at straws to justify his loss".
From this article, I feel that the best point made is that "not all of [Ryan's] colleagues agree with Mr. Ryan's analysis, arguing that the party needs to focus on reaching a broader coalition". If this party does not begin making some changes, and they don't need to be radical ones, then their chances of winning elections will become slimmer and slimmer.
This article begins by stating why Ryan blames the urban vote as the reason for the GOP loss, but finishes by explaining how there is much more to the reason for the GOP loss, other than the urban vote. Marc Morial is quoted as saying that "what Paul Ryan misses is that the Republicans have been losing the urban vote for a long, long time", something, I agree, is obvious. Also brought up is Michael M. Honda's opinion that Ryan's use of "urban' is just another code word for people of color". [Ryan] is just grabbing at straws to justify his loss".
From this article, I feel that the best point made is that "not all of [Ryan's] colleagues agree with Mr. Ryan's analysis, arguing that the party needs to focus on reaching a broader coalition". If this party does not begin making some changes, and they don't need to be radical ones, then their chances of winning elections will become slimmer and slimmer.
Voting Turnout ouf 2012
Article if the title isn't linked-- http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/turnout-steady-in-swing-states-and-down-in-others-but-many-votes-remain-uncounted/
This article is about the number of votes that were casted this year and comparing them to 2008's voting numbers. This showed that there was a -6.8% drop-off from 2008, or was there? This also talks about how many votes still have not even been counted. California has a -25.1% voter turnout this year as of right now, but tit is estimated that there are still a couple million votes that haven't been counted yet. The battleground states, with the exceptions of PA and OH, generally increased which makes sense since that's were most of the advertising was. This could change though as Ohio still does not have all of its ballots counted. I was not surprised to see that the voter turnout this election was lower than in 2008 although it may be closer than this indicates.
This article is about the number of votes that were casted this year and comparing them to 2008's voting numbers. This showed that there was a -6.8% drop-off from 2008, or was there? This also talks about how many votes still have not even been counted. California has a -25.1% voter turnout this year as of right now, but tit is estimated that there are still a couple million votes that haven't been counted yet. The battleground states, with the exceptions of PA and OH, generally increased which makes sense since that's were most of the advertising was. This could change though as Ohio still does not have all of its ballots counted. I was not surprised to see that the voter turnout this election was lower than in 2008 although it may be closer than this indicates.
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