The Pros And Cons Of Obstructionism

“The Communist threat inside the country has been magnified and exalted far beyond its realities”(273). Accusations have been made, irresponsible citizens are spreading fears. Multiples of suspicions had been made. Innocents are being considered as disloyalty. “Suspicion grows until only the person who loudly proclaims the orthodox view, or who, once having been a Communist, has been converted, is trustworthy” (273). Suspects are those who are unorthodox, who does not followed military policymakers. The fear has driven citizens to the folds of the orthodox. The fear was to be investigated, to lose one’s job, etc. These fears have driven many people to sorrow. These fears have effected younger generations. “This pattern of orthodoxy that is shaping our thinking has dangerous implications” (274). Douglas believes the great danger if we become victims of the orthodox school. They can limit our ability to change or alter. Douglas believes a man’s mind must be free.

Gridlock is one of the United States leading problems, and the main reason why people find the government to be “useless” or “slow” when trying to come to a consensus on major issues. Congressional gridlock is when neither the House or Congress seems to be able to respond with solutions to our nation’s pressing problems, and fails to enact any meaningful legislation to fix national issues. Gridlock mainly occurs when the president and the majority in one or both houses have different political beliefs and are in different parties. You hear everyone talking about gridlock and how it needs to be fixed, but you never actually see our political leaders doing anything about it.

In 1950 the emergence of the Second Red Scare’s driving force, Senator Joseph McCarthy, appeared and gave a speech proclaiming that America will soon be lost to communism if the people do not stand up to combat it. He revealed that night a list of 205 people working for Soviet Russia in the United States’ State Department whose intentions were to mold America from the inside to become a socialist nation. (Fitzgerald, p. 14) It was thanks to this newfound hysteria that began to break out thanks to McCarthy’s claims that the HUAC and other like-minded organizations began to gain momentum during this time period.

Since Congressional committees are ultimate decision makers, perceive that their staff individuals can have the critical impact over the course and content of legislation. Constituents are asked to keep up continuous contacts with these people, particularly subcommittee staff and the lawmakers' about particular authoritative helpers. These congressional meetings are very powerful because they also carry out legislations processes such as authorizing legislation, appropriation of bills, and entitlement legislation. Authorizing legislation is a bill that makes another government program, expands the life of a current program, or nullifications existing law. Approving bills generally set a point of confinement on the measure of assets that can

Under a backdrop of systematic fear and terror, the Stalinist juggernaut flourished. Stalin’s purges, otherwise known as the “Great Terror”, grew from his obsession and desire for sole dictatorship, marking a period of extreme persecution and oppression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. “The purges did not merely remove potential enemies. They also raised up a new ruling elite which Stalin had reason to think he would find more dependable.” (Historian David Christian, 1994). While Stalin purged virtually all his potential enemies, he not only profited from removing his long-term opponents, but in doing so, also caused fear in future ones. This created a party that had virtually no opposition, a new ruling elite that would be

A “Young Guard” of politicians were emerged in Congress. More interested in purifying the Uion rather than patching it up

According to Milstead, “success in the legislative arena is much like a three-legged stool, with each leg essential to the sturdiness of the stool as a whole” (Milstead, 2013, p. 53). Professional lobbyist, grassroots lobbyist, and money make up the legs of the stool. Effective influencing and persuasion would determine the success of this proposed policy. The three legs of lobbying can be used with obesity advocacy. “Building trusting relationships, demonstrating interest and concern for the public good, and providing information on issues important to the nursing profession are all things that can be done through regular participation in all aspects of the legislative process” (Milstead, 2013, p. 55).

In a like manner, due to the fear and hysteria surrounding communism during the 1950’s those accused of being

Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in a government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by many types of people, associations and organized groups, including individuals in the private sector, corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or advocacy groups (interest groups). Lobbyists may be among a legislator's constituencies, meaning a voter or block of voters within his or her electoral district, or not; they may engage in lobbying as a business, or not. Basically when you’re giving an opinion from someone else it’s not something that’s coming from your mouth it’s not how you feel someone is giving you what to say.

Today, Supreme Court Nominee’s, Neil Gorsuch, Confirmation hearing came near conclusion on a very confrontational note with the Senate’s Principal Democrat threatening to filibuster. This would complicate the way the senate “conducts its business”. The Republicans eager to confirm Gorsuch only have a 52-majority instead of the 60-majority that is necessary. However, they say he will be confirmed anyway, even if it means removing the filibuster option and allowing nominees to be confirmed with a simple majority vote. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s decision to filibuster was not unexpected but it will increase tension in the senate. “If this nominee cannot earn 60 votes — a bar met by each of President Obama’s nominees, and George Bush’s last two nominees — the answer isn’t to change the rules. It’s to change the nominee,” he said. Although the democrats do not have the votes to block this motion, his filibuster will publicize the resistance in the Congress.

On the other hand, there are a lot of cons to filibusters too. It is true that having the power to filibuster helps ensure the voices of the minority but it can also mean that having the power to filibuster ensures the tyranny of the minority. Because the size of the senate is not based on the size of the population of each state, every state gets two senators. It is now possible according to Jean Edward Smith, “for the senators representing the 34 million people who live in the 21 least populous states — a little more than 11 percent of the nation’s population — to nullify the wishes of the representatives of the remaining 88 percent of Americans. (Smith, 2009). This is completely the opposite of what the framers wanted, they wanted the government to represent the people not a small portion of the people. This is very dangerous because now if ever the more populous states wants to pass a bill on an issue regarding their states population, the more sparse states

In the McCarthy trials, many people have named “communists” they have worked with to save themselves from being blacklisted. One of the many is Mr. Kazan, who is amending his testimony and naming all the communists he has worked with. He amends his testimony by saying, “I have come to the conclusion that I did wrong to withhold these names before, because secrecy served the communists.........I was assigned to a “unit” composed of those party members who were, like myself, members of the Group Theater acting company. There

By the 1930’s, the anticommunist network had expanded, and begun to strengthen. The struggles brought on by the Great Depression and the political partisanship from the creation of the New Deal; Communist Party involvement in unions became a political issue. Instead of Liberals and Conservatives blaming each other for the country’s woes, they could instead turn their blame on to the Communists, just like the businesses. The opposition to the New Deal and the American Communist Party’s adaptation of Stalin’s “Popular Front”

Fascist government oppresses its citizens which causes the citizens to conform and start to believe in fascist ideology. In a passage from George Walker’s play Nothing Sacred, Walker introduces the audience to a Russia in a negative light by presenting its justice system and citizens. To begin, Gregor is getting beaten by a bailiff because he commits a crime. While Bailiff is hitting Gregor, he reacts in a peculiar manner: “ Whatever pleases the bailiff… The BAILIFF yells.

Nazism sympathy never quite spread over here like Stalinism did. In its pure form it stressed the brotherhood of the common people that made up the land. These thoughts were easily appealing to many people. Before the war communist and socialist ideas were quite on the rise here because the depression emphasized capitalism’s push towards the lonely individual and how free enterprise basically failed. Whitfeild refers to these communists who feel that they are progressives as Stalinists because they stand for ending American civil liberties that they saw as only for the upper class. So Whitfield argues that it is wrong to extend much sympathy to these American communists as their rights were wrongfully stripped away because this stripping of rights is what they aspired for everyone in the end. This new