Reference no: EM133708286
Assignment:
1. Politicians need to be responsive to public opinion. You have studied the various factors that go into forming one's political socialization and how one's political socialization impacts one's public opinion. Research shows and logic dictates that politicians will present themselves and their message in a different way depending on their audience. For example - if a presidential candidate is campaigning at a formal dinner the candidate will wear more formal clothing and speak formally - if that same candidate is speaking at a backyard barbeque to a trade union, the candidate will be dressed more casually and is more likely to use more slang words and not act as formally. If you were a politician running for election and were asked to speak to a group what THREE things would you want to know about that group before you spoke to them AND WHY?
2. One of the themes to address in this area is what makes you vote OR not vote for a certain candidate. In your lifetime you will come across political campaigns that bring up the personal lives of the candidates and some of the things political candidates do in their personal lives can be painted in a negative light. Some examples that have been brought up in past campaigns: a married candidate caught at a hotel with a prostitute, a candidate that had an abortion, a married candidate that was caught "sexting" with an underage minor, a married candidate caught having an affair, a married candidate whose wife had cancer who was caught having an affair (and the woman he was having the affair with subsequently had his child), I could go on and on - you get the idea. The question is - do you care about the personal lives of your candidates - is a candidate's personal life relevant to you in how you vote / would vote? Fully explain your answer.
3. A hot topic in this past election cycle surrounded mail-in voting (as opposed to voting in person). The debates around mail in voting will continue for many years. Spend a few minutes researching the topic of mail-in voting. Do you think we should allow mail-in voting or not? Make sure you address the pro side of this AND the con side of this before explaining what you think and why.
4. You did research and read posts about campaign advertising. If you were a political candidate would you run a negative campaign advertisement about your opponent? Or do you think that running a negative advertisement reflects negatively on the one who ran the advertisement? Explain why you feel the way you do.
5. All information campaign finance can be found at the Federal Election Commission website. Under the Campaign Finance Data Tab you will find information about campaign fundraising when you go to "Candidates." Go to the tab and look up the campaign fundraising data for the 2020 Presidential Candidates - the data will still be available to you. Tell me that you did this and you have credit for this question! I am doing this because I want to make sure you always know where to go to find this information for all federal candidates - especially going into the November 2024 Presidential Election.
6. Which form of media (i.e. the internet, newspapers, radio, magazines, television) do you think has the most significant political impact on American society today and why? Do you think the government uses this form of media effectively to communicate with us - or do you think the government could do a better job? If you were an official in the United States Government, how would you use this form of media to get your message across to the American people? Explain.
7. Do you think some media outlets are politically biased toward one political group over another? Why do you think the way you do?
8. Political parties will have platforms on many issues including (in no particular order) healthcare, education, the environment, taxes, LGBTQ rights, larger government vs. smaller government, business regulation, abortion, poverty, homelessness, trade, infrastructure, the military, veteran's affairs, voting rights, free college tuition or not, reducing prescription drug costs, mental health, guns and ammunition, violence, terrorism, the internet and regulation of it, and many other issues. When you think about which political party(s) you identify with the most what do you consider your top three issues and why? Your issues do not have to come from this list. My hope is that this questions helps you think critically about what issues are most important to you and why - such that those issues would motivate you to get politically involved.
9. You have learned there are two major political parties in the United States - the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Pick one of these parties to further research. After your research, tell me three (3) reasons you think people identify with that party - AND - three (3) reasons you think people do not identify with that party. My goal is for you to critically think about why people support and do not support both parties.
10. Do you think interest groups play a positive role in our government OR a negative role in our government and tell me why. Give some examples of how the group you researched for your Discussion Board Post - or another interest group - impacts our government negatively OR positively.
11. Please go to the webpage of the United States Congress and familiarize yourself with this website. Under the "Current Members of Congress" tab I want you to find your Senators and your Representatives in the United States House of Representatives. Pick one person and write me a paragraph about that person based on what you find by clicking to their homepage.