Barack Obama: The Partisan President

Partisanship throughout the Government

The Facts of Partisan During Obama Presidency

• Almost let Department of Homeland Security shutdown
• Republicans letter to Iran
• Benjamin Netanyahu invited to speak without President Obama consent
• The House has voted on Affordable Health Care Act 54 times in 4 years
• Government shutdown from Sep 30 to Oct 17 (first government shutdown since Clinton Administration
• GOP wants to fight Obama immigration order
• They are no passing laws (on the far right, the lowest bar is the 112th congress which is today congress

• Gallup reported that the approval rate of Congress is only 10%
• The chart measures the congressional polarization (distance between two parties) by looking to see who votes together and how often. Shows most polarize Congress since Reconstruction era

Analysis:  During Obama time in office he has faced partisan like never before. The numbers back that up. This partisan has caused gridlock throughout the whole government. Congress has not been able to get anything done. Republicans and Democrats are just too focused on canceling each other out instead of getting worked done. It has caused the shutdown of government for a short period. The two parties tend to forget that we are one nation. George Washington Farewell Address has warn us of political parties and this is one major result of this. It's time for the Republican and Democrats to stop being too right-winged or left-winged, respectively. 

(The video is of Obama giving his state of the union address and the disrespect Republicans show during)

sources:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/obama-partisanship/

Electoral College good or bad?

Electoral College:

The Good: 

1.      There is more power to the voters then direct elections

2.     When the popular vote is close this creates a clear winner

3.     Presidential candidates have to win the vast majority of votes, instead of focusing on metropolitan areas

4.     States with less population have just as much say in the vote as big ones 

5.     Make candidates to persuade states instead of individual voters

The Bad

1.     Any state that isn't a swing state can be ignore by the candidates

2.     Doesn’t establish the idea of one person has one vote, isn't much democracy

3.     Establishes the two party system, it is very hard for third-party candidates to run

4.     Creates the chance for the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote

5.     Chance for a tie, and what happens after that is bizarre

Analysis: The Electoral College should be here to say. Even though it takes away from the democracy, if everyone had one a single say in president the election would be long. In addition, candidates would focus on city areas and voters not in the cities won't have as much power. The candidates have to win the vast majority also. With America population growing it will only make the election process longer. In the end the electoral isn't a perfect but it isn't broken, so why fix it?

sources: http://www.sciencebuzz.org/topics/electoral-college-math/arguments-in-favor

http://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2012/10/10-reasons-why-electoral-college-problem