http://townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2008/05/14/race_and_the_2008_election
This article is called "Race and the 2008 Election." It discusses how race runs deeps throughout history and how things are turning out and being talked about now that Obama is president.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Looking at the exit polls from this past election there were many things that were different compared to previous elections. The only group that prevailed for John McCain was the 65 and older age group. In past elections while this group has normally been more conservative leaning others who have also been shifted towards Obama and the Democratic party.
There was a strong support coming from minority and young voters for Obama which in the past hasn't been very strong. Also another biggie for Obama was the first time voters and the number of minority voters that came out this election.
Looking at some things from our readings and the exit polls they are pretty accurate. For gender and race, males voted 49% for Obama while 56% of females voted for Obama. This goes to show that the gender gap is continuing to be open and not as close as it was back in the 60's.
As for race this could be the most promintent gap with black males voting for Obama 95% compared to white males who voted for him 41% of the time. This is by far one of the widest "gaps." And the same goes for white women compared to black women.
Looking at race alone Whites tended to be more evenly divided with 43% to Obama and 55% to McCain. For African American's this was 95% to Obama and only 4% to McCain. All other minorities as well had over 60% of the vote going towards Obama.
Looking at the exit polls and refering to our readings this week the gaps for this election seem to be a lot wider than those of previous elections. The most prominent seems to be race. This election could be the most talked about and publicized in all of presidential history for the simple fact that in this election there were a lot more first time voters as well and minorities and young people who exercised their right to vote.
There was a strong support coming from minority and young voters for Obama which in the past hasn't been very strong. Also another biggie for Obama was the first time voters and the number of minority voters that came out this election.
Looking at some things from our readings and the exit polls they are pretty accurate. For gender and race, males voted 49% for Obama while 56% of females voted for Obama. This goes to show that the gender gap is continuing to be open and not as close as it was back in the 60's.
As for race this could be the most promintent gap with black males voting for Obama 95% compared to white males who voted for him 41% of the time. This is by far one of the widest "gaps." And the same goes for white women compared to black women.
Looking at race alone Whites tended to be more evenly divided with 43% to Obama and 55% to McCain. For African American's this was 95% to Obama and only 4% to McCain. All other minorities as well had over 60% of the vote going towards Obama.
Looking at the exit polls and refering to our readings this week the gaps for this election seem to be a lot wider than those of previous elections. The most prominent seems to be race. This election could be the most talked about and publicized in all of presidential history for the simple fact that in this election there were a lot more first time voters as well and minorities and young people who exercised their right to vote.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/obama_the_great_divider.html
This article is called "Obama: The Great Divider?" This article talks about how Obama first brags about "championing bipartisanship," and the author talks about how he really hasn't which is what Congress is all about...... Competition!!
This article is called "Obama: The Great Divider?" This article talks about how Obama first brags about "championing bipartisanship," and the author talks about how he really hasn't which is what Congress is all about...... Competition!!
The Role of the Minority Party
In Congress the role of the minority is to help the majority party shape public policy. While majority rules in Congress the minority still can develop influence. Outside of Congress the minority party must work to gather and unite its members so that the party is strengthened. The idea is party power.
The minority also must work for the support of the majority party. The key here is BIPARTISANSHIP!!! I’m not saying that the majority party is going to just go ahead and give power to the minority, but the minority will try to get some of the members of the majority to see their side of the story on issues. This is what happened to Nancy Pelosi. A side from her being the first woman speaker of the House she exercised her minority party power and persuaded the majority to vote with some issues that would have gone the other way if there wouldn’t have bipartisanship.
Another characteristic that the minority needs to have besides uniting members of the party is to be aggressive. Nancy Pelosi was aggressive and pushed forth many issues of the minority party. This helped her gain more support not only from her party, but also gained the support of the majority party on legislature that was important to both parties.
The calling for bipartisanship is and will continue to be something that will always happen in Congress. As we talked about there will not be a median voter, there will not be median party either. There will be continued turmoil in Congress and especially among the majority and minority parties.
In Congress the role of the minority is to help the majority party shape public policy. While majority rules in Congress the minority still can develop influence. Outside of Congress the minority party must work to gather and unite its members so that the party is strengthened. The idea is party power.
The minority also must work for the support of the majority party. The key here is BIPARTISANSHIP!!! I’m not saying that the majority party is going to just go ahead and give power to the minority, but the minority will try to get some of the members of the majority to see their side of the story on issues. This is what happened to Nancy Pelosi. A side from her being the first woman speaker of the House she exercised her minority party power and persuaded the majority to vote with some issues that would have gone the other way if there wouldn’t have bipartisanship.
Another characteristic that the minority needs to have besides uniting members of the party is to be aggressive. Nancy Pelosi was aggressive and pushed forth many issues of the minority party. This helped her gain more support not only from her party, but also gained the support of the majority party on legislature that was important to both parties.
The calling for bipartisanship is and will continue to be something that will always happen in Congress. As we talked about there will not be a median voter, there will not be median party either. There will be continued turmoil in Congress and especially among the majority and minority parties.
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