Assignment 1: Political Analysis

Senator Royce West, who is a Democrat, was able to win election in my district because of many factors. One of the factors that influenced the

Senator Royce West is the name of my chosen state-level legislative representative. He is a Texas state senator of district 23 from the capitol, his district location is in Dallas Texas. Mr. West is an African American male and also a Christian and a member of Good Street Baptist Church. Senator Royce West represents the Democratic Party and I share the same party preference as a Democratic. Senator Royce West has been in the senate office for twenty- four years, he has be serving since 1992 and as of 2016 still strongly represents Texas.

The six documents provided in the appendix can be grouped together in many different ways. Although all of the documents imply ways their respective empires exerted political power, there were some distinctions between them. Additionally, all of the documents incorporate their respective cultures’ beliefs into their governments and methods for exerting political power. Document 1, for example, shows that the Persians incorporated their value of bravery into their method of exerting political power, military conquests. The Greeks and Romans in Documents 2 and 6 incorporated their value of freedom into their methods of exerting political power. The Greeks incorporated freedom by boating about their free democracy while the Romans included the

With the 2016 Election “Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa filed six senate bills on the first day of the 85th Texas Legislature pre-filing period. Senator Hinojosa’s early round of bills focus on veterans, public health and safety, civil liberties, criminal justice, and fiscal accountability.The 85th Texas Legislature will convene January 10, 2017”- Senator Juan Hinojosa

Personal phone calls and mail orders is an additional way of raising money. This area relies more on his ability to attract voters by laying the foundation of who he is and how his agenda will help the constituents of the 5th district prosper. Josh Gottheimer was born and grew up in Livingston New Jersey, which resides in the 11th district, right below the 5th. Being from around that area gives him a huge advantage because he is familiar with the people there and what they need the most. He needs to create a reason as to why the voters should vote for him and not the opposition. “I believe that we need more people in Congress who are willing to work across the aisle – with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – to get things done for our families and for children.” (Gottheimer) This message of inclusiveness and cooperation will play well, especially because of the political environment that we live in. He must keep his message simple enough to reach a broad range of people. Pamphlets that are distributed by mail should be comprised of a few major components. People are attracted to the simplicity in political brochures. A pamphlet with his face and a few crucial aspects of his agenda will be efficient enough to garner donations. His ability to raise substantial amounts of money and have his policies reach and resonate with residents will make or break his campaign.

1. What are the needs of the political community? What must all political communities do to insure their survival? What about Philosophy? What does philosophy seek? How does it go about this process?

For Texas, the representative is Jimmie Don Aycock. Representative Aycock if from Killen, Texas, which happens to be the neighboring city to Harker Heights. Aycock, a former veterinarian and rancher who also served as a captain in the army, has been the representative for Texas’ House District 54 since his election in 2007. He has won every election since then and continues to serve as representative. In his time as a representative, Aycock has been very active in the communities of Killen and Harker Heights as a “director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Killen Quality of Life Committee,” and even a deacon at his local church (TexasTribune). Currently, Aycock is a member of the Defense & Veterans’ Affairs Committee and is serving as the chair for the Public Education Committee. Some of the other committees he has been involved with include Agriculture and Livestock and Higher Education Committees (TexasTribune). One of the notable things about Representative Aycock is his dedication to improving education in the state of Texas. He and other legislative members have collaborated in order to prevent a school voucher program from being passed. Also, in 2015, Aycock designed and wrote his own education bill. However, he did not attempt to pass it due to the heavy opposition in the Senate. Overall, when asked about his political goals, education reform was his first and foremost priority.

One bill that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz sponsored was to provide tax relief related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in which it amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow various tax credits, deductions, and modifications to existing rules for individuals and businesses that were affected. There were both positive and negative consequences that resulted from the bill being passed. The negative aspects consisted of many angry

During the political typology quiz the questions with the hardest choices to make for me were about the government providing financial help to the poor and how much the government should be involved in foreign affairs. These questions were the hardest for me because I find myself falling in the middle instead of veering radically to one side. An example of this is that I believe the government should provide some federal funding to the needy but to a certain extent. Also I’m completely ignorant when it comes to the government’s involvement with other countries and the effects it has on the United States so I’m looking forward on learning more about this during the semester.

When comparing interest group scores it is clear that Blumenthal votes with the left on most issues. According to National Journal Ratings (2015), Blumenthal is ranked Number 5 among all Democrats in voting for Democratic issues. The Junior Senator from Connecticut is ranked Number 1 in the Senate at this time. Another fact that reveals Blumenthal’s Democratic tendencies is that Blumenthal has been endorsed by NARAL and Planned Parenthood, two groups that are Liberal leaning and stand against the Conservative agenda. Stephen Whitham in his presentation “Becoming an Informed Voter” (2014), talked about this very thing and why individuals should look at how a representative votes and who endorses them. When researching past votes of representatives how they think and feel towards issues will become

"I agree with President Trump that the House bill needed more heart, and it seems that the Senate bill needs more soul," Manchin said. "Based on my initial review, the health care bill released by Republican Leadership today appears to be as bad of a deal for West Virginia as the House bill."

Does the Congress of the United States have the power, under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution; have the authority to constitute a national bank even though that power is not explicitly enumerated within the Constitution? Did Article VI’s National Supremacy Clause forbid State taxes on federal doings or was the Maryland tax law statutory?

     Upon entering my first semester at Southern Nazarene University I could not have told you my political ideology. I knew what my opinions, observations, expectations, and ideals were, but did not know the proper ideology that would define them. Through several courses that I have taken, I have become more informed as to the role that I would like to see the government take throughout society as a whole and in the economy. Upon reading the section of ideology in American Government and Politics Today: the Essentials I learned that the correct term for my ideology is right-wing Conservatism. I would like to see the government take action if necessary in the economy, yet let

Although the aspirations and goals of states are often motivated by external political pressures, analysis of recent foreign policy decisions demonstrates how internal political forces can play equally crucial roles in the pursuit and execution of these objectives. Thus, it would be invalid to claim that domestic politics and the nature of regimes play minor roles in either the goals a state pursues or the means it employs to reach them. By understanding how the diffusion of power in governments affect policy decisions, one can develop increased awareness of the linkages that exist between the internal pressures of domestic politics and the external forces of foreign politics.

Political science includes a wide range of topics that attempts to describe and explain the political process, politics, and the relationship among governments. As American citizens we should all be informed and be educated about all these above topics. We as citizens cannot be unconscious of our government as the government can make or break our lives. The general areas of study in political science include American government and politics, political theory, public administration, public law, comparative politics and international relations.