F5

1. In the House/the Senate, the majority party has a clear leg-up due to the control that they have in Congressional Committees. Specifically if a party is the majority than it is most likely to have the Committee Chairs filled, and those people decide the Congressional Agenda. By having these chairs belong to one party, that party has more of a control over what Congress will be voting on, hearing, and hiring.

2 &3. It may be easier for a bill to pass in the House over the Senate because of filibusters. A filibuster is when opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk to death based on the rule of "unlimited debate." Filibusters discourage laws passing through the Senate because any person can halt it completely. Filibusters are not allowed in the House, and therefore, with the use of filibusters, it can be harder to pass a bill in the Senate than the House. For example, if the Democratic party wanted to pass a law restricting gun control laws, they would have already proposed it to the House and the Senate. The House passes it, but a Republican in the Senate threatens (yes, there only has to be a threat) to filibuster the law and boom! The legislation is d-e-a-d.

F2

The Americans with Disabilities Act has increased the power of the federal government over the states by mandating that every state prohibit discrimination against citizens with disabilities. This gives more power to the federal government because it does not give the states any power to vary from the national law.

Preemption gives more power to the federal government by allowing the federal government to get rid of a state law and replace it with a federal law. This gives the federal government ultimate supremacy and limits the states' power to waver in the law.

US v. Lopez gave more power to the state government when the Supreme Court decided that Congress could only have a say in channels, instruments, people, and things related to interstate commerce. This gives more power to the states by allowing them to individually monitor their state commerce.

Devolution gives more power to the state government by specifically taking powers from the national government and giving it to the states. This makes the states more powerful because they gain jurisdiction and the national government loses some.

E6

Vocabulary:
Collective good- a benefit (i.e. lower taxes) that the general population, all potential members of an interest group, will receive from the work of the interest group.
Free-rider problem- an issue that occurs when people feel as though there is no incentive to participate in an interest group when they will reap the benefits no matter what (letting other people do all the work).
Selective benefits- benefits that the interest group can offer solely to members.

My interest group is Estrogen for Engineering
Its goal is to get women and men represented 50-50 in Engineering schools.
Universities and women throughout the country would be potential people who would benefit from this group.
Collectively, we will provide more education on the benefits of pursuing an Engineering degree and encourage women around the country to apply and also offer financial aid. So education and monetary gifts would be the collective goods.
Members who donate money will get a tax right off, and also members can also participate in an annual trip to CERN.
We will petition to politicians to address the issue locally and then hopefully get a law passed that requires STEM to be advertised to every student in America.
We will also raise money through benefits to sponsor our scholarships

E3

In Georgia's 12th District...
Lee Anderson (R) is challenging the incumbent John Barrow (D) for a seat in Congress. Anderson has had some trouble funding (source: macon.com) and has only reported 174,000 dollar in cash, whereas Barrow is raking in over one million. The key issue in this race, according to 41nbc.com, is gun rights. Anderson is attacking Barrow's more liberal view- and this strikes home with many southern constituents. Overall, however, everyone in the 12th district seems to agree that the mud-slinging in this race has been much too intense.

E2

I went to www.huffingtonpost.com and read an article titled "New Evidence Shows Poll Watching EffortsTarget Minority Precincts" Which concerns which groups of voters the GOP is focusing on. 

Here is an opinion
lending support to the argument that their real goal is to suppress the African-American and Latino vote.

Here is a fact (I think)
A partial list of precincts targeted by a Pittsburgh Tea Party group working on behalf of the Republican Party shows that nearly 80 percent of the voters in those precincts are African-American, compared to 13 percent countywide, according to civil rights and union groups who on Monday called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.

There were no sources that I could see

This site seems to be incredibly liberal. Not only do they only have articles that attack Romney, but all of their advertising is for Obama. This infulences the American people greatly because a name like The Huffington Post sounds like a well-to-do newspaper and people might mistake it for neutral. 

D10

I learned that Virginians have given more to the Republican party than the Democratic. Also, my zip code (which is more in the county) gives less than Nell's zip code (which is in the city). I learned that Phil Wendel, who runs ACAC in Charlottesville, has given $50,000 to the Republican party. Out of the top 25 individual donors in America, only one gives to the Democratic party and 24 give to the Republican party. However, the Democratic party has raised more from individual donations in all races except the House.

I have learned that we spend too much money on campaigns, and people should put their money elsewhere.

D9

The subject of this report is how involved US citizens think we should be in foreign affairs. Presidential candidates could use this in the debate to decide whether or not they should seem eager to get involved or not. They should probably be sure that they don't sound too forceful if most Americans are more concerned with domestic issues.


ASK FORM 2 ONLY [N=749]:
Thinking about Afghanistan…
Q.43F2 From what you’ve read and heard, do you think Barack Obama is removing U.S. troops from
Afghanistan too quickly, not quickly enough or is he handling this about right?

Over time, more people (it's gone up to 50%) support the President in his time line of moving troops out of Afghanistan.

I actually feel like this is a pretty neutral question. However, if you wanted to make is bias towards the "too quickly" answer you could say:
Based on the fact that Afghanistan is still highly unstable, do you think Obama is removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan too quickly, not quickly enough, or about right?


This survey was collected October 4-7 2012. The total sample size was 1,511 adults for all 50 states and DC. I believe the margin of error was 3%. And the confidence of 95%.

D7

Jeremy Epstein- “Unemployment, can I support myself after I graduate?”

• Romney
• Pell Grant program must keep growing
• I want you to be able to get a job, I know what it takes
• More debt-less jobs (last 4 years)
• Bankruptcy was necessary for GM
• Obama
• Make sure we are creating good paying jobs in this country
• 5 million jobs created last 4 years in private sector alone
• Manufacturing jobs in this country
• Change tax-code so companies invest here
• Control our own energy (ten years from now)
• Invested in new energy
• 5 point plan? No, 1 point plan. Wealthy class is what matters to Romney

Tricolla- “Is the energy department in charge of lower gas prices?”

• Obama
• Last 4 years, increased oil and coal production
• Doubled the fuel efficiency on cars by next decade
• Invested in wind, solar, biofuels, etc.
• Create jobs and also find energy in America
• Must think about 10 years from now
• Romney wants oil companies to write regulate
• Yes demand has gone up but the production is going on
• Romney
• Look at Obama’s policy
• None of the oil came from federal land (actually gas production down 14%)
• Wants to use our renewables
• Obama did not let North Dakota drill for oil
• Too many regulations on energy resources?
• Some pipeline
• Then there was a cat fight...
• I fact checked
• http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/apr/13/crossroads-gps/crossroads-gps-ad-oil-production-obama/

Follano- “Deductions in government and taxes, Romney, ahem?”

• Romney
• Bring rates down
• Simplify the tax code
• Middle income should pay less taxes
• Top 5% will stay the same
• Middle income people will get a tax break
• President’s spending will mean more taxes
• I will not let that happen- and will get a balanced budget
• Top 5% will continue to pay 60% of  the income tax still
• Bring rates down, easier for small businesses to flourish
• Obama
• Middle class families- relief
• They have been hit hard
• Republicans in congress will not let tax breaks appen for 98%
• Back to bill clinton
• Romney said it is fair for him pay less taxes
• Obama fundamentally disagrees
• Small businesses tax cuts for hiring veterans
• Top-down economics will not work

Fenton- “Females making 72% of men’s income?”

• Obama
• Single mom raised me
• Grandmother trained people who would become her boss
• First bill he signed was protecting income rights (I think)
• This is an everybody issue
• Do not tolerate discrimination
• Women need advocacy- Romney doesn’t do that.
• Healthcare for women- Romney feels comfortable deciding for woman, Obama no.
• Healthcare should cover contraception
• Romney said employers should be able to make decision on contraception
• Romney will cut planned parenthood
• Women need all opportunities that men have
• Romney
• Cabinet all men so he found women.
• His cabinet had more women in the senior positions than any other state
• You need to be more flexible with women
• Employers need to be flexible

Susan Cats- “Fear a return to Bush if Romney wins, and what is the biggest difference?”

• Romney
• “Every woman should have access to contraception”
• Okay different from Bush
• 5 year plan, all energy can come from North America now with new technology (different from bush)
• Trade- crack down on China, Bush didn’t
• Balanced budget- bush didn’t
• Obama
• He did come in during tough times
• Still digging the way out of policies
• 31 months of job growth
• Romney has same tax cuts as Bush
• Getting tough on China? Romney invested in companies that outsourced to China
• InvestING in companies that are building security for China
• We have made trade regulations that levels the playing field
• Saved 1,000 jobs from china and kept in America
• Bush didn’t turn medicare into a voucher
• Bush was open to immigration
• Bush didn’t close planned parenthood

Michael Jones- “Most things I need are expensive, why should I vote for you again?”

• Obama
• I did collect taxes for small businesses, middle class families, ended war in Iraq, and killed Bin Ladin
• Made sure healthcare companies couldn’t jerk you around
• Passed toughest wall-street reforms since 1930s
• Created a lot of jobs
• Saved auto-industry
• Of course, however, you are struggling
• End deficit in a reasonable way
• Energy of the future very important
• Commitments I made I kept and if not it is not for the lack of trying.
• Romney is going to keep some bad committments
• Romney
• 4 years have not been that good...
• With Obama you will know what you will get
• Can’t afford another 4 years
• Did not get unemployment rate where he said
• Said he would reform Social Security and Medicare
• Said he would deal with immigration problem, didn’t file it
• Doubled deficit

Osorio- “What do you plan on doing for immigrants who don’t have a green card and are productive members of society?”

• Romney
• Shouldn’t have to have a lawyer
• Have to stop illegal immigration
• Employment verification system
• No driver licenses
• Kids of illegal immigrants can have a pathway (army)
• Obama
• Fix a broken system
• We did make it easier to do it legally
• More border patrol
• Undocumented workers is down
• Go after criminals, not students. Not workers
• Young people, brought here, need a safe pathway to citizenship
• Non discrimination. Police officers cannot stop people based on looks
• I have been trying

Libya “State department denied extra security, who and why?”

• Obama
• I said beef up security all around, investigate exactly what happened, when folks mess with America we mess with them.
• Romney turned National Security into a political issue super quick.
• I am ultimately responsible
• Romney
• Buck does stop at Obama’s desk
• Was a terrorist attack, took a long for that to be figured out
• Day following, Obama had a political event

D6

I emailed every Social Studies teacher and arranged for Brennan to visit their classes for some question and answer sessions during his lunch. Brennan and I also had a little bit of debate prep.

D4

Domestic and Foreign
Libya

• Ambassador Killed
• Biden
• We will find them
• Obama ended Iraq (Romney opposes)
• Obama ends Afghanistan in 2014
• Killed Bin Ladin
• What Ryan (my friend) said was not accurate:
• Ryan cut embassy security
• Romney did make a political statement TOO early
• No weakness- Obama has repaired relationships
• Intelligence Community told us there were protests
• Did not know they needed more security
• Ryan
• Took president 2 weeks to acknowledge terrorist attack
• There should be military detail (there is in Paris)
• Iraq- don’t want to lose what veterans fought for  
• 2014 (transition not end?)
• On that day- we had the same position. Never too early to state our beliefs
• Americans cannot apologize for standing up for their beliefs
• Iran (both agree can’t have nuclear weapons) Military strike?
• Ryan
• Cannot allow nuclear weapons
• Obama: 1 weapon to 5 capability
• Administration has no credibility and military option not on the table
• Need to be credible
• Can we fix in 2 months? Probably longer
• Got to get them to change their minds
• Nuclear Armadon is worse than other war (will make an arms race)
• Biden
• How are they going to prevent war? But military action? huh?
• We can militarily crush the Iranians
• My friend- Ryan
• Iranians don’t have weapon to but it in
• Obama has done the best
• Avoid war
• Not allowed to have weapons. And they don’t have a weapon
• Calm down. Iran is isolated.
• Ryan be lying
• We have the world be happened
• War should always be the last resort

Economy

• Jobs
• Biden
• Will get it under 6%
• It was in freefall and recession
• Rescued GM
• Cut taxes for middle class
• Romney said let detroit go bankrupt
• 47% thrown out!
• Oh my goodness he just got so ridiculous cannot even take notes
• Romney can be a good man
• My wife and daughter in a accident (oh my gosh)
• Romney did want to let the car industry drop
• “Show me a policy”
• Recession did not fall out of the sky
• Ryan asked for stimulus
• “I love my friend here!”
• Ryan
• Joe and I are from similar towns
• Economy is limping
• Heading in the wrong direction
• 15% are in poverty
• Energy independent in North America (where is it in North America that they are getting it?)
• Romney is a car guy
• Champion small businesses
• Romney is a good man. cares about 100% of this country
• When could you get it below a 6% unemployment rate? no answer
• Medicare and Entitlements (will benefits have to change?)
• Biden
• Ryan
• Medicare was there for us (gma, ma, and him)
• Don’t make medicare into Obamacare
• Don’t change rules for 55 plus
• 100% coverage for seniors who can’t afford it
• bipartisan

D3

1st ad: Peace Little Girl

In 1964, this ad was sponsored by Lyndon Johnson. It is a very sad ad, and makes the viewer think that if they don't vote for Johnson all the little innocent girls in the world will be blown up.

2nd ad: Family/Children

In 1988, George Bush sponsored this ad. It is literally the most picturesque painting of the Bush family. It makes him look very down to earth and the type of guy that everyone would be comfortable with giving power.

3rd ad: First Time

In 1996, this ad was sponsored by Bill Clinton. It uses the innocence of children and shows kids being corrupted by smoking, Bill Clinton, this ad says, will help end teenage smoking.

Contrast Questions:

I thought that the Peace Little Girl was the most moving because it was so depressing that I would definitely vote for Johnson.

Over time, there were more attacks on the other candidates. Also, there was more a focus on domestic policy than foreign policy.

D2

Nell and I organized for Brennan and Gabi to visit two different classrooms for a brief speech and question and answer session. There was also candy involved.

C9

• Jobs ( Supposed to be)

• Romney
• Happy Anniversary, Mr. Pres!
• Not going to cut taxes for rich
• North American energy independent
• Skilled American
• Champion Small Business
• I am not going to do a 5 trillion tax cut
• Will not add to the deficit
• Obama
• Anniversary... yikes
• Private Sector and Auto Industry have gone up
• Invest in Education and Training
• New sources of energy
• Change tax code to help small businesses and businesses that invest in the US
• Keep Tuition Loan
• Continue tax cuts for small businesses and families
• Back to Bill Clinton taxes
• Deficit
• Romney
• Eliminate programs that aren’t worth China’s money
• Planned Parenthood
• PBS
• Obamacare
• Obama doubled the deficit
• Obama (forgot to pay attention)
• Social Security/Medicare
• Obama
• Structure is sound. Romney and him have similar views
• Grandmother
• Name itself invokes dependability
• Americans earn it
• Medicare
• Saved money
• Lower prescription drug costs
• Romney- give voucher to Seniors and could go out and buy health care. But would cost more b/c health care would go up. Over time, medicare will collapse and cost like 6,000 a year for seniors.
• If you repeal Obamacare seniors will have to pay 600 more and also have to co pays
• Romney
• No changes for current retirees or close to
• Obama- cutting from program
• Repeal Obamacare
• Romney proposes changes for younger people (future)
• Totally ducked the question about vouchers
• Regulation in Economy
• Romney
• Repeal Dodd-Frank, not thought through
• Still need regulation
• Obama
• Can’t repeal it!
• Health Care (woot)
• Romney
• Repeal Obamacare
• Adds to cost of family
• Take the money from Obamacare to seniors (??)
• Too much control
• It has killed job
• Craft State-level healthcare
• I compromised with Democrats, Obama is partisan.
• Obama
• Families
• Obamacare
• If you have insurance- we don’t take it away
• Insurances companies can’t jerk you around
• If you don’t have health insurance- group plan that offers lower discounts
• Romney basically did the same thing on a state level
• Oh no. It was a republican idea!

Notes:

Romney definitely lied about a few things and deflected at least one question. Obama didn't attack Romney as much as I thought he would and seemed a little bit weaker. They both had formal attire and didn't agree on more than three things.

C7

As campaign manager, I have so far done the following:

1. Written out the key issues of our platform and made a google doc containing them.
2. Checked in with the print- ad team and the speech writing team
3. Found a wonderful picture of Brennan to use in our ads
4. Kept people focused on winning
5. Made brownies and handed them out along with Christen during our meet and greet event in the gym lobby.
6. Nell and I brainstormed and decided that we are going to get teachers to endorse Brennan and also sports teams. We also event-planned! But that is on Nell's blog so it doesn't get redundant.

Our Platform

• Middle Class Bargain
• Higher income should not pay a lower tax rate. Not crazy... but just equal
• Increased Welfare
• Make College affordable
• Pell Grants
• Withholding federal aid to colleges that do not work to cut down tuition cost
• Educating on social security
• Strengthening
• Long term (this is your parents in 30 years)
• Social Issues
• Same-sex marriage
• Pro-Choice
• Immigration
• Dream Act
• Health Care
• Environment
• Education

Endorsements

• Sports
• Volleyball
• Field Hockey
• Basketball**
• Football**
• Teachers
• Shields
• Cooke
• O Grady
• Horne
• Sohn

C6

Economic Left/Right: -4.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.13

I felt like this quiz had some very bias questions or would just present facts. For example, an advantage of a one party state being that it avoids arguing between parties. Well that's TRUE-- but it doesn't mean I want a one-party state. It all seemed very sneaky to me. 

C5

If 10 was a strong interest and 1 was little interest, how would you rank yourself with the following topics?

Healthcare___
Foreign Policy ___
Economic Issues ___
Gun Rights ____
Women's Rights ____


Would you say that women are human enough to make their own decisions in regard to their own bodies?

C4

I would like to be any of these jobs (not listed in priority, and I could not pick just two)

1. Campaign Manager. I like winning. And I am good at it.

2. Event Planner. I am the definition of organized. But, I have field hockey after school so I do not know when these events would be?

3. Print Ad Mavens- I like making ads! Also, I am superb at putting up signs right in front of water fountains where everyone can see them.

C3

My fellow citizens of America,
    Our Constitution holds that every citizen be treated equally under the law. Every citizen. Our laws are to be blind to all physical differences. The differences between a man and a woman are physical, no more than that. The time has come when people are questioning a woman's right to equality under the law. Republicans casually debate if women deserve equal pay for equal work, equal healthcare, or equal privacy. They think women are less deserving.
   Under the Democratic presidency, healthcare reforms have been passed that prevent insurances from charging more to women simply for being women. Contraception is covered by private insurances with no out-of-pocket costs, making safe-sex available to more groups of people. Our opposition wants to go back to the days when birth control was restricted. Well-woman visits are also available, providing preventative screenings for breast cancer. Men, may I remind you that this is good for YOU. These are your mothers, your wives, girlfriends, sisters, coworkers, daughters, and grandmothers. You love them, and you need to stand with them in defiance against prejudice. When my grandmother got pregnant with my grandfather at 19, she was almost shipped off to the Caribbean to receive a back-alley abortion because a safe procedure was not an option in America. That was 50 years ago. Abortion has been interpreted to be legal for now, but that does not mean that a Republican in office couldn't change that.
    One in every six American women is the victim of attempted or completed rape. That is 17.7 million women. If we were to build a city for these rape victims, it would be the seventeen times the size of Dallas, Texas. The Violence Against Women Act has been expanded in the last four years. We, as a party, vow to never let America go back to the days of blaming the victim. Rape is not okay. Legitimate and rape do not belong in the same sentence. Rape is rape, and offenders will be prosecuted to the harshest degree. It is not so with the Republican party.
 Ladies and gentleman, this issue is not casual. The future of America is greatly at stake. We could become a country where a woman must break the law to get proper health care. Other countries could look at us as an unequal society, a place where women are not valued. It is up to you. I urge you all to do what you can do--vote. Vote for the right choice. Vote for equality. It is up to you.

C2

My question for the Virginia Senate candidates:
    Would you push for same-sex marriage to be legal recognized in Virginia? How about in America?

A huge difference between the Democratic and Republican platforms is stance on same-sex marriage (hence my question above). Acceptance of gay people has been more affiliated with the Democratic party, and their platform this year did not change that. They said that, "gay rights are human rights." However, I was expecting a more gusto paragraph that proposed to make same-sex marriage in the United States. On the other end of the spectrum, the Republican platform made an argument defending "traditional marriage" as it is scientifically proven to be the "best for children." The platform does define traditional marriage as a union between one man and one woman. In the same way that I thought that it was interesting for the Democrats to  not be more gun-ho, the last line of the paragraph in the Republican marriage is also intriguing, "We embrace the principle that all Americans should be treated with respect and dignity." Both platforms seemed to try to be a little bit moderate, but in the end both platforms offered different views on same-sex marriage with the Democratic platform endorsing it and the Republican platform opposing it. 

C1

1. I got a 80 on personal issues and a 20 on economic issues making me a left-handed liberal
2. Aren't there other issues? I feel like this quiz asks a lot about general topics but doesn't get specific. Also, what are the current laws regrading national id cards? Is that just for voting?

B8

1. The first important principle decided in McCullough v. Maryland is that the national government has supremacy over the states. This is important because federal laws such as civil rights acts, environmental requirements, etc cannot be ignored by the states. The second important principle is that the national government has certain implied powers that go beyond the enumerated powers in the constitution. Back then, this was important to the constitutionally-approved National Bank. Creating it was an implied power

2. The full faith and credit clause states that any public acts, records , or judicial proceedings of one state must be recognized by all other states. The exception to this is that Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to disregard gay marriages if they so desire. The privileges and immunities part of the constitution states that every citizen will receive that privileges and immunities of the state that they are in. For example, you pay the Virginia sales tax while you are visiting there even if you live in Vermont. One exception to this rule, and there are many, is that not every citizen gets to pay instate tuition for whichever public university they attend... that only applies to their home state.

B7

A.

1) In a federal government, no one government (state or federal) has complete power. It's a nice balance I think. This way the federal government can not take advantage of the states... but the states are still forced, in a way, to be united. For example, the national government could not pass an amendment without the consent of 2/3 of the states. This ensures that amendments are beneficial for all people. At least 2/3 of people

2) A unitary government, such as France, holds many advantages. There is more unity in the nation as the federal government makes all the policies. In America, laws can differ between states which can be confusing. However, in a unitary government there is no such confusion.

B.

1) Only the national government can declare war on other countries or enter into treaties. It is good that only the national government can do this because it would create great division between the states if they could go to war separately. Also, if a state went to war against Great Britain and then they lost... Great Britain would own one state and probably want more. It would overall be bad.

2) Only the States can ratify amendments. If the national government could ratify amendments without the consent of the states... Congress may loose touch with the needs of their people. So it is good that the amendments must go through both the state and the national governments. Keeps everybody straight.

3) A concurrent power is the power to make roads. It is necessary that both the national government and the state governments have the power to do this because different types of roads can be required. For example, the national government need not be concerned with the Meadowcreek Parkway... but the national government should take care of high ways. In the same way, the state of Virginia should not be in charge of the upkeep of interstate 64.

B6

a. An amendment can proposed in Congress. For it to then be presented for ratification it must be voted on and receive a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress.

To be ratified, an amendment must either be voted "yes" by 3/4 of State Legislature or voted "yes" by 3/4 of State Conventions.

b. The constitution can be informally amended by the development of technology. For example, when the constitution was written, the President did not have the power of dropping an Atomic Bomb because they didn't exist. Because he/she is commander in chief, however, that power became part of the constitution when the technology was developed.

The constitution can also be informally amended by Judicial Review. For example, the Supreme Court decided in Plessy vs. Ferguson that discrimination was legal...but many years later in Brown v. Board found it unconstitutional.

c. Informal methods are used more frequently than the formal methods because they are much simpler.