With Mark Strama stepping down from his seat in Texas’ House District 50, it called for a special election this past November. With a seat now open in the House and a Democratic incumbent, three different Democrats and a Republican campaigned long and hard for the seat. Almost a century later, we can still assess Max Weber’s Politics as a Vocation and find connections in his analysis to contemporary politics. Working as a campaign intern during the three months before the election for Jade Chang Sheppard, a successful businesswoman and mother of two, the connections to leadership, an appeal to followers, and challenging power instincts still remain prevalent characteristics of a modern-day politician. Looking to Jade’s own successful and …show more content…
This was one of Jade’s major downfalls because her staff was maybe overall more members, but because Jade herself lacked the leadership and credentials, her staff was not working at full capacity compared to Celia’s. Jade spoke to us as though we were citizens or members of the community she was asking support from, not employees that worked for her. It was because she did not fully believe in herself; her campaign staff did not consider her a leader, which Weber indicates as an integral characteristic to politics as a vocation. Next, Weber indicates that a passionate and likable politician is integral to using politics as a vocation and it still can be traced to modern day politics. Rico Reyes, another Democrat in the race ended up placing last in voter percentage and a lot it had to do with him being an unlikable candidate. Weber cites that, “passion as devotion to a ‘cause’ also makes responsibility to this cause the guiding star of action” (21 of 27). Jade is a charismatic likable candidate because she has a clean blank state to work from. Now, although Rico has credentials and leadership characteristics, his platform does not connect with community members. Up against two women who openly have worked with Planned Parenthood and show dedication to pro-choice work, Rico doesn’t appeal to a lot of the women voters. He attempts to play this off by using his wife’s fight with breast cancer as a gateway into the women’s health care issue,
Voter turnout in Texas is ranked amoung the lowest in the states. However, there are several reasons for this. Over the years political scientist have dicovered that education, income, and age have a lot to do with overall voter turnout. People who are better educated, have higher incomes, and are older are more likely to care about politics and actually vote.
Texas political culture is one that can be described as a combination of three main ideas: individualistic, traditionalism and moralism. Considering Texas and its overwhelming 254 counties we can see these main ideas undoubtedly. The 254 counties each have their own general set of ideas, attitudes and beliefs. The whole state of Texas is simply not just considered individualistic, traditionalism, or moralism, it is considered all three. Individualistic, traditionalism and moralism are all strong values that coexist in our society and they all affect how we as the people live our lives. A political culture shapes a region’s politics.
From the PowerPoint “Thinking Critically about Elections in Texas” it says that in 2014 only 33.4 percent of all eligible voters exercised their right to vote. This means that Texas has a very low voting rate, which can affect Texas in the long run. Why is it that Texas has such a low voting turnout? Why are people not participating? The same PowerPoint suggest that maybe it is because of the vast number of elections or maybe when they schedule voting times. There is being millions of dollars spent on campaigns and such to get the word out and get people involved but Texas voters are still not voting!
The Texas Legislature members cannot hold another official government office. In addition, the members must meet specific criteria such as voter status, citizenship, and district residence. Although all the large criteria required in order to become a member, millions of Texas residents occupy these legal qualifications. Biographical data, however, has advised that numerous individuals recent to Texas Legislatures have informal qualifications which are restricting opportunities for election.
Hyosang You GOVT-2306-71001 Professor. Sharifian Assignment Two: 1 The Campaign Before running for the office in Texas. First, we need to decide which party to run for between the House of the Representative or Senate. According to the chart that was provided for the candidates spend in 2016, the average cost for the Senate is about a dollar per vote. Whereas the average cost for the House of the Representative start around three dollars per vote and the price goes up significantly. Which concludes that running as House of the Representative costs more than the Senate in Texas.
From March 2, 1836 to February 19, 1846, Texas as its own independent country in North America. Those who resided in this independent country were referred to as Texians. Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 during the Texas revolution which ended on April 21 of that same exact year. However, Mexico did not want to give the Republic of Texas its independence which resulted in conflicts between that of Texas and Mexico that went on into the 1840s. As a result, The United States of America recognized the Republic of Texas as an independent country in 1837 but failed to append their land. Later receiving its independence, Texas elected a Congress of fourteen senators and twenty-nine representatives in the month of September and year of 1836. However, within the Republic, citizenship was not a privileged for everybody living in Texas. Not everybody had legal rights to reside within the limits of the Republic without Congress permission. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas created differences for each and every ethnicity for each individual person. Meaning, whoever was there on the day the Republic of Texas won their independence had to be classified as a citizen of the Republic including Africans, those with African descent, and Native Americans. For Caucasian immigrants to become citizens they would have to had lived in the Republic for six months or less and take an oath. Those who were brought to Texas as a slave had to stay a
With respect to every election race, we are reminded that decisions are both profoundly charged typical customs of a voting based system in a democratic society and is a key procedural part of our political system. Both segments of the political elections, typical and procedural, serve key functions at all levels of our political system.
The core function of the Texas Legislature is to formulate and enact laws. Apart from the enactment of laws, the legislative body is also mandated with the functions of shaping the state’s political agenda, performing checks and balances on state of the state’s government, pass the state’s budget, as well as oversee the functions of the administration. Similarly, the body also sets the critical details or a court’s organizational procedures when it comes to matters that pertain to impeachment and court disputes regarding election petitions. It is equally important to mention that the body is also mandated with the function of informing and educating the electorate regarding the critical functions the body is required to deliver to the people as provided for by the laws of the State of Texas (Dautrich and Yalof 684).
1. Should the Texas Legislature continue to serve as a part-time lawmaking body, only meeting in regular session for 140 days every two years, or should it change to a full-time body meeting in regular session each year?
Presiding Officers are the highest officers and leaders of an organized group such as a board committee, or deliberative assembly. For the Texas Senate, the presiding officer is Lieutenant Governor. As Lieutenant Governor, they are a Hybrid Official with a 4 year term. They are elected in a partisan statewide election and they get paid $7,200 annually. The current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, is Dan Patrick (42nd). Dan Patrick is a Republican and a Baptist. He is also a radio talk show host. For the Texas House of Representatives, the presiding officer is the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House serves a 2 year term, is an elected member of the TX House and is selected by members of the House. The current Speaker of the House is Joe Straus.
A native of Austin, Texas, McWilliams is a devoted wife, mother of three, business owner, philanthropist, lobbyist, and cancer survivor. She grew up within walking distant of the Capitol in an apartment above her father’s small restaurant and at the age of 21 she was Chief of Staff. That was the beginning of her rise as a political force. McWilliams worked for Public Strategies, Inc, a notable public relations firm, where she learned the ropes and gained experience in public relations. She and her husband, Dean, later founded McWilliams Governmental Affairs
As individuals, we turn towards political parties to identify with a group that has the most in common with our own values and principals. Each political party’s agenda focuses on the primary interests affiliated with that party and is motivated to enact its beliefs and interests through legislation by electing officials into government. Texas is a large state with four political parties: Republican, Democratic, Green Party, and Libertarian. Each political party has a basic fundamental ideology and platform on current issues. The two major political parties in Texas and in the nation are the Republican and Democratic parties.Texas is a conservative state where the Republican Party has known success as the leading political party in
With the 2016 general election coming up, the citizens of Indiana will be electing their members of Congress to represent the state and its districts. The Indiana Senate race that has received a lot of attention is the race between Todd Young and Evan Bayh. An Indiana House race that has been receiving a lot of attention is the District 9 race between Shelli Yoder and Trey Hollingsworth. When analyzing these races, a wide variety of factors, such as demographics, money, and scandals should to be taken into consideration.
Texas is a state that has always been recognized for its size and politics. Elections are a huge part of democratic societies that are intended for citizens to choose their public leaders and approve the policies set by candidates. Political parties and interest groups also play a key role in shaping opportunities for public participation. Most Texans and historians know that the Democratic Party’s historical dominance is important to state politics. It is less likely that people are not aware of the consequences of the one-party system for public participation and democracy in Texas. Like many of the rim South states, the white elitist belonged to the Democratic Party which stemmed from the end of Reconstruction until the late 20th
Political Culture Texas is a state that gives off many myths. When people from other states think of Texas it is fair for them to think about cowboys, horses, boots, and cattle. But this is not our reality. Back then, the reality of Texas was not nearly as complicated as it is today. Today, Texas is the second most populous state, and our politics are dominated by the Republican Party.