American Politics And The United States Congress Essay

Over the last several decades, American politics scholars have sought to understand the causes of increasing partisanship and polarization in the United States Congress. Since the 1970s, the ideological positions of the two major U.S. parties, the Democratic and Republican parties, have widened (Abramowitz and Saunders, 2008; Levendusky; 2010). This ideological divide also promotes a perception among the American public that Congress has increasingly become ineffective and polarized to a point where political parties in government no longer compromise on policy for the good of the country. In recent years, a new concern has arisen regarding unlimited spending in elections by outside groups permitted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in SpeechNOW.org v. FEC (2010) (Mann and Corroado, 2014). Both decisions allow unlimited independent expenditures for political advertisements, ad buy s, and other electioneering communications during elections. Furthermore, there is an increase and heightened unease of outside undisclosed donors, or â€Å"dark† money, who may have undue influences on political, electoral, and policy outcomes (Mann and Corroado, 2014; Federal Election Commission). Thus, does independent campaign expenditures spend have detrimental or undue influences on polarization and policy outcomes by promoting more extreme ideological positions in congressional representation?Show MoreRelatedAs Senator Arthur Vandenberg Famously Stated In 1947, â€Å"We1579 Words   |  7 PagesSenator Arthur Vandenberg famously stated in 1947, â€Å"we must stop partisan politics at the water’s edge.† Vandenberg’s declaration suggests that domestic policy differences should not affect how the United States conducts itself abroad. 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Not to mention, Americans refuse to accept that the federal government has people working in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, recognizing and debating theirRead MoreEssay on Manifest Destiny and American Politics658 Words   |  3 PagesDuring the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the United States saw many problems come and go. Some problems were more important than others, however all led to further division of American politics. The most divisive issue in American politics during this time frame was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or territorial expansion. Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States’ destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Most of the publicRead MoreThe Effects Of Free Speech On The United States1729 Words   |  7 PagesAs an American citizen and a late bloomer to the political arena in the United States, I find myself arriving in an disheartening and frightening environment. 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By understandingRead MoreAn avowed nationalist, who had impact on the American dream, Theodore Roosevelt brought presidency1200 Words   |  5 Pagesavowed nationalist, who had impact on the American dream, Theodore Roosevelt brought presidency and nation into the twentieth century. (Theodore) Theodore Roosevelt was the twenty sixth president of the United States, a president that had great impact in politics. He was born into a rich family, and he suffered from asthma during his childhood (United States. National Park service). He studied at Harva rd University, and the Columbia law school (United States. National Park service 2). He attended theRead MoreAmerican Foreign Policy During World War II1565 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican foreign policy shifted drastically from the birth of the new nation to the beginning of the 20th century. George Washington’s Farewell Address in 1796 left an admonition for the nation and isolationist roots from its founding President; however, by the early 1900s, William McKinley and other American Presidents took part in imperialistic foreign policy that represented a complete digression from Washington’s doctrine. After World War I and before the impending Second World War, American