Political Efficacy Methods in the United States - Essay Example

Midterm Required Question: Political efficacy in the United s and methods of influencing the national government policies There are several constitutional processes and tactics that U.S citizens can use to impart influence on the national government either directly or indirectly. The five tactics include voting in the general elections, voting in the primary elections, expression of public opinion, joining of interest groups and direct action tactics. a) Voting in general elections Voting in the general elections provides US citizens the opportunity to influence government polices at the national level since the registered voters have an opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to elect their preferred government representatives such as the Senator and the President. Although the registered voters are not allowed to directly vote for the President, they have the opportunity to elect their political party delegate to the Electoral College who will act on their behalf in finally electing the US President. The general election is held at predetermined term intervals and citizens have the opportunity to replace their government policies. The citizens thus determine the electoral vote of their state and thus influence the outcome of the final presidential elections and subsequent government policies and programs (Watts 16). b) Voting in the primary elections The US citizens vote in the primary elections that aim at nominating the candidates that will run in the general elections. The registered voters or registered members of a political party are allowed to evaluate the different policies proposed by various candidates and vote for their preferred candidate who will run on the general election depending on their preferred polices (v 17). c) Expression of public opinion The US citizens can shape their public policies and agenda through displaying their attitudes towards certain controversial issues The US Congress representatives usually hold several meetings with the electorate in order to gauge the public attitudes towards certain policies and issue recommendations for implementation of a policy or abolishment of the government policy. In this case, expression of public opinions through polls and other methods of understanding the public sentiment ensure citizens participate in public policy formulation and implementation (Jillson 89). d) Joining of an interest group Another method that US citizens can use in shaping national government policies is joining an interest group that advocates for a certain public interest issue. The structure and informal traditions of American politics provide for growth of interest groups that pressure the legislators to enact laws and policies that favor the causes of such groups. The separation of the executive from the legislature ensures interest groups exert more pressure to the legislature in order to check the formulation of public policies. In this case, the political candidates and elected legislatures must address the issues raised by these groups in order to gain support. Examples of interest groups include pro-abortion interest groups and animal rights groups. e) Direct action The fifth method of influencing the national government is through use of direct action that involves non-violent methods such as writing letters to the elected leaders, civil strikers, protests and peaceful demonstrations. Accordingly, circulation of petitions and political rallies put pressure on the government to review its policies such as the foreign policy, immigration policy and health care policies (Watts 18). According to the above explanation, there are numerous methods of influencing the national government policies that are available to the citizens due to the democratic, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly that is enjoyed in the country. In this case, the US citizens play a critical role in influencing the national government policies (Watts 20). Section one: Question three: differences between Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution There Articles of the Confederation and US Constitution clearly differed from each in many respects. The Articles of the Confederation failed to set up a country, but offered a confederation of states that were sovereign and independent unlike the US constitution that provided that the sovereign is exercisable by the people of the whole nation. The Articles did not establish federal courts, but the Constitution provided a separate federal court system that has powers to determine the disputes between states (Watts 72). Another difference is that the Articles provided only specific delegated powers to Congress and did not have powers over interstate or foreign commerce, but the Constitution changed this and granted the Congress the powers to collect revenues, taxes and excises and also regulate foreign commerce. According to the Articles of the Confederation, there was not separation of powers or a system of checks and balances since the unicameral congress did not have judiciary or executive unlike the Constitution that provides for separation of powers among the judiciary, legislature and executive (Jillson123). Under the Articles of the Confederation, the Congress consisted of one body and each state was entitled to one vote unlike the Constitution that later provided for two bodies where the number in the House is determined by the state population and each state has two senators. The Articles provided that only state governments acted directly on the people unlike the Constitution that provides that both federal and state government acts directly on the people. According to the Articles of Confederation, the members were elected by state legislatures unlike in the Constitution whereby Representatives are elected through popular vote and senators by the state legislators (Jillson 213). Section two Question 8: bureaucracy and its role in government Bureaucracy is a system of government in which most important decisions are made by state officials and agencies rather than the elected representatives. Bureaucracy entails non-elective government officials that act as a policy-making group in specialized functions and using fixed rules that have a hierarchy of authority. The officials are politically neutral, professionals and competent in the provision of public services and include judicial service, military officials and police department. Some agencies include the FBI, Federal Reserve Bank, and Coast Guard (Watts 68). The roles of bureaucracy include implementation of government policies such as revenue collection and other administrative duties. The agencies may implement the policies through writing regulations and rules that will facilitate provision of the services to the public. Bureaucracy assists the elected officials in formulation of policies through providing technical knowledge and skills on various interest issues. Another role is delegated legislation that includes by-laws, rules and regulations in accordance with the relevant law. Another role is ensuring law and order and providing administrative adjudication such as settling of tax disputes and rent disputes through various tribunals. Bureaucracy also regulates various government activities such as curriculum standards, and teacher training and outlines the administrative framework such as issue of professional practice permits (Watts 56). Question 11: Theory and practice of Judicial review in the United States Judicial review is one of the distinctive features of US constitutional law, but the US constitution does not expressly provide the Supreme Court such powers. The US Constitution is designed to provide the government with flexibility to meet the needs of the country, but sufficiently limits the powers of the government enactments in order to protect the guaranteed rights of citizens. In this case, the Supreme Court derives the judicial review role that entails invalidating legislation or executive actions conflict with the provisions of the Constitution. Before 1789, state courts still overturned legislations that conflicted with the state constitutions and Founding father anticipated Supreme Court should assume such powers in regards to the constitution. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton underlined the importance of judicial review in their Federalist papers (Marsh 115). Judicial review was confirmed in 1803 when Chief Justice John Marshall in the case of Marbury v. Madison. The Chief Justice outlined that the Supreme Court had a responsibility to overturn unconstitutional legislation as part of its sworn duty to uphold the Constitution. The US Supreme Case had declared more than 100 legislations unconstitutional. After the court make legislation unconstitutional, the judgment is final and can be used as a procedure to constitutional amendment or new ruling of the court. After statute interpretation, the new legislation will take effect (Marsh 117). Section three Question 12: Compatibility of civil liberties and civil rights The civil liberties and civil rights are compatible since both are essential in a civilized society. Civil liberties are constitutional guarantees that protect the citizens from the actions of the government such as the freedom of speech, right to vote, right to privacy and right to fair trial in a court of law. On the other hand, the civil rights entail the rights that are granted by the government in order to protect the citizens in ensuring fairness and avoiding discrimination thus fostering equal treatment (Watts 63). Both civil rights and civil liberties are core to a well functioning democracy and free society since civil liberties such as freedom of speech enable the citizens to speak about government actions that are associated with discrimination and unfair treatment. For instance, The 1st Amendment of the bill of rights grant the freedom of religion to all citizens and thus government cannot interfere with the freedom of worship. On the other hand, the Civil Rights Act 1964 provides for equal treatment of all citizens while Title VII of the same act provides for non-discrimination. The civil liberties and civil rights promote a just society since government takes positive actions to create equal and free conditions where the minorities can access equal opportunities. The civil liberties are actual freedoms safeguarded by the Constitution while civil rights are protective in nature thus enhancing the quality of life of the citizens (Jillson 245). Works Cited: Jillson, Cal. American Government: Political Changes and Institutional Development. New York: Psychology Press. 2007. Marsh, Carole. The U.S Constitution. New York: Gallopade International.2004. Watts, Duncan,. Understanding American Government and Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (2006. Read More