5 Questions from Inside Obama's Presidency

How could Obama think that he could actually garner up significant support from the Republicans?

How come the President can get something to pass through Congress without a single vote from the other party?

Why does it seem like the big banks run the country?

Why was the President working so hard to have bipartisanship?

How did the public react to the fact that not a single republican voted in favor for the heathcare bill yet it still made it through?

Progress in the second semester

What have I learned?
I have to make flashcards and make sure I finish the study guides for chapters. Quizlets are very helpful.

What were my challenges?
Actually making the flashcards. I would complete study guides, but it's second semester and honestly it's really hard to focus a lot on studying.

What are my goals? New perspective?
Make flashcards on quizlet for every new chapter. Don't get lazy just because I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of the material. I need to study regardless. I've been dedicated to my work for three and a half years of high school, now is not the time to slack off.

What has happened during my AP Gov "journey"?
Well, I know a lot more about how the government functions and I realized that I am actually a lot more interested in politics than I thought I was. I really enjoy keeping up with current events and being "in the know". It makes me feel smarter. It also is very helpful to read the news because it gives real world exmaples that I can relate to my learning. I hated reading the news before this class and now I just kinda do it on my own. It's pretty cool. However, second semester of AP Gov was kind of a rude awakening. I really need to maintain the precedent I set for myself when it comes to studying for tests and quizzes. Netlflix is not always the best choice.

Democratic party in Crisis

With all the attention on Trump, Cruz, Bush, Rubio and Christie going at it, Hillary is falling way back in the polls. It seems like Bernie Sanders has the upper hand, but what does this mean for the Democratic party? If you asked me two weeks ago, I would've said Hillary was a shoe-in for the presidency. Now, who knows what's going to happen. "Sanders is in the lead this close to the New Hampshire primary, surging in Iowa, and is even besting Clinton’s support among younger women voters in some polls. But that reality has forced the party establishment to deal with an unwelcome prospect: As the Republicans energetically recast their pitch to disaffected Americans, it’s mainstream Democrats who are grappling with the more severe deficit of fresh messages, and new ideas." The GOP candidates have been honing messages that connect with voter's anxieties—fighting for common Americans against globalization, against terrorists, against the shifting moral landscape of the country they grew up in. The Sanders-Elizabeth Warren populist wing of the Democratic Party offers a powerful appeal to Americans worried about the growing unfairness of how money and power are distributed. "Part of the problem for the Democrats is that Barack Obama, despite seven years in office and a presidency that has been successful in many respects on policy, hasn’t really put his own brand on the party. He campaigned in 2008, vowing to be a transformative figure in the mold of Reagan, wowed liberals by explicitly scoffing at Bill Clinton’s strategy of “triangulation” between the ideological visions of left and right, and aspired to usher in a new age of diminished rancor in Washington." I don't really consider myself to be a part of a particular party. However, there's no way in my right mind that I would vote for Donald Trump and if the Democratic Party doesn't get it's act together and Trump manages to win the popular vote, who knows who he will be up against in the Primary. I sincerely hope it's someone who knows what they're doing and can actually beat out Trump. It's about time for Hillary to seriously step up her game, and she needs to do it fast. 

Jeb makes a stand

Thursday, Jeb Bush released his most aggressive ad yet. He openly calls Trump a jerk. It opens with a YouTube search of  “Donald Trump is a Jerk.” A clip of the former Florida governor then plays, where he tells a crowd that Trump is a jerk. He attacks the fact that Trump made fun of a man with a disability. Playing the video where he does so and the CNN reporter John Berman covers the story. As Trump speaks, an image of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis (a chronic condition that limits arm movement) appears in a split screen. It then reads: "Jeb Bush and boy with cerebral palsy ate dinner before Pendleton rally,” then emerges above a video interview with the boy’s father, who’s wearing a “Jeb!” sticker. “I have a 12-year-old son who’s handicapped. He has cerebral palsy, and that just made me so angry,” the father says. “And I told my wife I just couldn’t let that stand. I had to do something, make sure Donald Trump wasn’t the nominee for the Republican Party.” “I think life is truly a gift from God, and we’re all equal under God’s watchful eye — that’s what I believe,” Bush says. “And when anybody — anybody — disparages people with disabilities, it sets me off. That’s why I called him a jerk. What kind of person would you want to have in the presidency that does that? What point do we say enough of this? Let’s start solving problems.” Personally, Jeb Bush isn't my favorite candidate. He is pretty much the punching bag for the Republicans in my opinion. However, because of that he really has not restraints on what he says, he's trying to gain some leverage, just like all the other candidates. I am really glad he released this ad. I know Trump will fire back at Bush, but Trump IS a jerk and I'm glad someone finally wasn't afraid to say it publicly. 

Carson Suffers More Problems

On Thursday, Ben Carson's national finance chairman, Dean Parker, resigned after facing issues about how he was using campaign funds and was getting criticism from people who were donating money and people on the staff. "His operation has piled up unnecessary expenses and paid hefty consulting fees to an inexperienced staff. Parker recently began earning a $20,000 monthly salary, which veteran campaign operatives say is unusual for what is typically an unpaid, honorary role." He really has gone under the radar until now. "His bills were easy to overlook in the fall as the campaign raked in small donations, Carson soared in the polls and the campaign’s direct-mail operation generated tens of millions of dollars." He racked up at least $216,000 in expenses from July through September. Many of those expenses were paid through a network of limited liability companies set up for individual consultants on Parker’s finance team. Parker, who recently said he’d take a bullet for Carson, can’t seem to fathom the fury that’s suddenly coming his way.

“Everything I've done has been on Dr. Carson’s behalf. Everything I do was with his approval and his blessing,” he said. “It doesn't mean that everybody in leadership, like any company, would always agree.” "For every donor who might complain, he said, others would vouch for his integrity. One is Bill Millis, another North Carolina fundraiser who helped lead Carson’s campaign until he departed in November over strategic disagreements. Millis called Parker “a good man, who is committed to Dr. Carson.”" “If they think I’m getting a scrape on the money as a finance chairman, you lose all your credibility,” he said. “When you’re raising money $2,700 a person, someone making $20,000 a month — that’s eight to 10 maxed-out donors.” Washburne said the value of a finance chairman is the ability to make a “peer to peer sale” with fellow donors.Parker worked full time on this campaign and so most people on staff felt he deserved more reward for that. However, once people start accusing financial managers of things like this, especially when the campaign is under lots of pressure by going downhill. 

Political Barbeque

Earmark-Congressional directive that funds should be spent on a specific project.

Word origin-1590s, "to identify by an earmark," from earmark (n.). Meaning "to set aside money for a special purpose" is attested by 1868. Also the process of marking cattle. Earmarks got banned in 2011 after complaints about the bridge to nowhere, banned by the republican party. Congress would use this term to describe processes of allocating funds.

http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=earmark&allowed_in_frame=0

Logrolling- The practice of exchanging favors

Pork barrell spending is a “metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English. In election campaigns, the term is used in derogatory fashion to attack opponents.”

Examples:

“One of the most famous alleged pork-barrel projects was the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. The Big Dig was a project to relocate an existing 3.5-mile (5.6 km) section of the interstate highway system underground. It ended up costing$14.6 billion, or over $4 billion per mile. Tip O'Neill (D-Mass), after whom one of the Big Dig tunnels was named, pushed to have the Big Dig funded by the federal government while he was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, the Gravina Island Bridge (also known as the "Bridge to Nowhere") in Alaska was cited as an example of pork barrel spending. The bridge, pushed for by Republican Senator Ted Stevens, was projected to cost $398 million and would connect the island's 50 residents and the Ketchikan International Airport to Revillagigedo Island and Ketchikan”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_barrel

Logrolling- Vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of action of interest to each legislative member. The first known use of the term was by Congressman Davy Crockett, who said on the floor in 1835, "my people don't like me to log-roll in their business, and vote away pre-emption rights to fellows in other states that never kindle a fire on their own land."

Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Logrolling.aspx

Grand Finale: Log rolling can be used to support earmarks which can be referred to as pork barreling when it is seen as unnecessary government expenditures.

10 U.S. Soldiers Captured by Iran and Freed

"The 10 American sailors captured by Iran were freed Wednesday, but the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and U.S. officials appear to be at odds over whether the U.S. apologized for the incident before their release." Apparently they released them after the sailors claimed that their ships were in Iranian waters by accident and extended an apology on that front. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Troops made a statement afterword saying "The Americans have undertaken not to repeat such mistakes." But, Kerry's spokesperson says that never happened. A Navy statement said "the detained sailor have been transferred to shore and are no longer on USS Anzio, which helped carry them back to U.S. custody". The sailors were captured Tuesday after their two naval boats entered Iranian waters near Farsi Island, in the Persian Gulf. The wait for the sailors' release Wednesday morning dragged on for hours, with Iranian officials interrogating the sailors about their motives and demanding a U.S. apology.The vessels were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain. An official said they went to the area of Farsi Island for refueling, but it's not clear whether they actually refueled, raising the possibility they ran out of fuel. The capture of the sailors came days before the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is expected to go into force. The deal freezes Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions against Iran.They probably would have been held longer if not for this deal being made this week. This interaction could be an important step for military to military relationships between the U.S. and Iran. The exchange doesn't hint at anything hostile, only a clear misunderstanding and since the U.S. sailors encroached on foreign waters without permission from that country, they were seized.