The Nonpolitical Aspects of Keith Ellisons Life - Assignment Example

1. Write a paragraph describing the personal, professional, and educational background of the representative before he or she entered Congress. Focus on the non-political aspects of the member's life. In what ways is the representative you are studying typical of other members of the U.S. House? In what ways is he or she atypical? (The word atypical means not typical.) Base your judgment on the description of the typical member of Congress found in American Politics Today, pp. 260-261 and the online profile of the membership of Congress found at the following Internet site: www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/R41647.pdf (10 pts.) From a review of the nonpolitical aspects of Keith Ellison’s life, it can be inferred that he is most certainly not a typical politician. In an era in which becoming a politician usually means being white, male, middle aged, upper class, Christian, and with a great deal of money, Keith Ellison represented none of these aspects. Instead, Ellison hailed from a middle class background, was African American, converted to Islam, and did not attend any of the Ivy League schools that are so commonly represented within the United States House and Senate. Another reason for why Keith Ellison is atypical has to do with his voting record. Whereas a great many members of the United States House and Senate vote strictly based upon party line, Ellison’s voting record delineates the fact that he is a strict noninterventionist and believes in promoting social welfare above any type of irrational foreign intervention in other parts of the world. Furthermore, from the statements that it made by Ellison, he views the interventionism that is taken place as a distinct aberration from the very core fundamentals that the United States was founded upon. 2. Write a paragraph describing the representative's political background. Identify the elected and appointed positions in government the person you are studying has held. Is he or she a career politician? What is the basis of your judgment? A career politician is someone who wishes to earn his or her living in the political arena for an extended period of time. (10 pts.) With regards to the representative’s political background, it can and should be understood that Keith Ellison most certainly personifies what can be termed as “a career politician”. In short, even though Keith Ellison began his career as a legal advocate for a civil rights group, he rapidly left this work and sought out a state Senate seat for the Minnesota Legislature. After serving two consecutive terms with the Minnesota state legislature, Ellison sought out to run for the United States House of Representatives representing the 58th District of Minnesota. As a function of the fact that Keith Ellison’s career aspirations have been concentric upon seeking to integrate with the political needs of his local community and region, it can definitively be inferred that he should be classified as what is known as a “career politician”. However, this fact in and of itself should not be misconstrued to have a negative connotation. Rather, upon graduating law school, Ellison merely integrated with the political field as a means of addressing the unique situations and shortcomings that governments had within his particular region. 3. Write a paragraph describing the district the member represents. Where is it located in the state? Does it include any towns? Is it part of a major city? Is it inner-city urban, suburban, small town, or rural? What issue or issues would you expect to be particularly important to the residents and interest groups found in the member’s district because of the nature of the district? Identify at least one issue and explain why it is particularly important in this congressional district, whereas it might not be as important in other districts. (10 pts.) Whereas it must be understood that many districts throughout the United States are increasingly diverse, the level of diversity that is represented within the 58th District, represented by Keith Ellison, is extraordinarily high as compared to the national average. In short, over 50% of Elliott’s constituents identify themselves as African-Americans and/or non-native born individuals. Further, historical origins of individuals represented within the 58th District that are of a Caucasian descent are invariably Norwegian. As such, the level of sensitivity and cultural diversity that is represented within these particular districts demands that Keith Ellison is not only familiar with the issues at hand but intimately related to the diverse viewpoints and particular needs that these constituents represent. One of the unique issues that Keith Ellison must continually bear in mind is with regards to how such a diverse constituency that represents such a range of different backgrounds and cultural traditions can be represented effectively. Another key concern is with regards to the level of economic growth and development that he can bring to the region; due to the fact that this particular constituency lies firmly in the “rust belt” of America. 4. Write a paragraph discussing the representative's committee assignments. On which standing congressional committees does the member serve? [Look up the term “standing committee.”] Is the representative the chair or ranking minority member of each committee? [Look up “ranking minority member.”] What sorts of policy issues does each of the standing committees address? Is the representative a member of any subcommittees? Does he/she chair any subcommittees or serve as the ranking member? [Please note: Do NOT give me information about the member’s participation in congressional caucuses.] (10 pts.) Keith Ellison has an active level of participation within the House and also serves on several committees and sub committees. Among these include: the Committee on Financial Services, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. As can readily be noted, Keith Ellison’s participation within each of these subcommittees signifies that he has a great level of influence and participation with regards to the financial decisions and oversight that helps to constrain and define the United States government. The oversight committee is of course tasked with reviewing the decisions that Congress and divisions of the government make. As such, seeking to review these decisions creates something of a watchdog from this particular committee. Further, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets as well as the Committee on Financial Services provides a further level of oversight with regards to the market decisions that the nation is making and the way in which the government seeks to integrate with these markets as a means of promoting further economic growth. 5. How much money did the representative raise for the 2012 election? How much did his or her main opponent raise? (If the database indicates that a challenger raised no money, it means just that—the challenger raised no money.) How does the incumbent’s fundraising compare with the amount raised by the average incumbent member of the House in 2012? (The Center for Responsive Politics presents data on this issue at the following Internet address: www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php.) What were the most important sources of the representative’s campaign funds? Identify two or three important sources of funding. Did the candidate self-fund to any significant degree? (Click on the representative’s name at the website and it opens up to provide detailed data.) The textbook discusses congressional elections on pp. 262-271. (10 pts.) $2,053,544.00 was raised for the 2012 election cycle by Keith Ellison and his campaign. By means of comparison, the Republican challenger only raised a paltry $809,455.00 for the 2012 challenge to the incumbent. From an analysis of the funding, it can clearly be noted that the majority of Ellison’s funding comes from medical professionals and unions. Although this may be surprising to the casual observer, it should not be due to the fact that the majority of candidates from both parties derive the glut of their campaign contributions not from individuals but from professional groups and/or trade unions of various types. Although the amount of money spent exceeded the amount of money raised in 2012, Ellison contributed around 50,000 dollars of his own money for his 2012 campaign. Even though this seems like a large amount, by the standards of how other individuals contribute to the funding process, it is relatively small. 6. What percentage of the vote did the representative receive in the 2012 election? Based on the results of the 2012 election and the data on fundraising, does it appear that this representative is firmly entrenched in Congress? (Entrenched means unlikely to be defeated for reelection anytime soon.) Why or why not? Is this typical for members of Congress in general? (10 pts.) In 2012, Ellison received an astonishing 74.5% of the vote. As such, it can definitively be stated that Ellison is firmly entrenched in Congress and greatly loved by the constituents. Further, rather than using this percentage to prove that Ellison is using money as a means of guaranteeing his supremacy in Congressional races, it would be far more effective to understand the fact that Ellison is accruing far greater levels of funding as compared to his challengers due to the act that he has a much more popular with the constituency and has the potential to bury them in terms of money raised to fund campaigns. From the information that has thus far been presented, it can firmly be understood that the overall likelihood of a challenger coming in to defeat Ellison is limited to say the least. However, with that being said, it is not outside of the norm for the United States Congress. Even a cursory review of Congress reveals the fact that a very large percentage of representatives and senators are entrenched within their positions and unlikely to be defeated by a challenger in the upcoming elections. 7. The Project Vote Smart website includes links to several interest groups that rate members of Congress based on their voting records. The group identifies a set of votes that it considers important and gives the member a score depending on whether the member supports the policy positions favored by the group. [A high score means that the member voted the way the interest group likes most of the time.] Select one of the groups (using the pull-down menu) and research its evaluation of the member of Congress you are studying. What group did you select? (Choose a specific group rather than a category of groups.) With what sorts of issues is the group concerned? Be specific. How does the group feel about the member of Congress you are studying? Would you expect the group to consider him or her an ally, an enemy, or something in between? Discuss. (10 pts.) The groups that were selected were those that provided the most funding to Ellison’s campaign; namely the professional medical community and those interests that seek to promote a greater level of industry and manufacturing base throughout the United States. Accordingly, as might be expected, the candidate represented the issues that affected these groups almost exactly as the groups themselves understood the issue and would have voted had they been members of Congress themselves. What this ultimately means is that even though the congressional duty of Keith Ellison is to represent the constituents, as might be expected, this process is oftentimes confused with regards to the moneyed interest that enter into politics and seek to dictate the direction in which it will take. Accordingly, the two groups that were analyze highly favorable opinion of the way in which Keith Ellison noted; most certainly linked to the fact that he voted consecutively to promote the interests that these particular groups espouse. 8. The Project Vote Smart website includes a link to speeches and public statements of each representative. Review some of the recent speeches and public statements of the representative you are studying. Identify an issue on which the representative has recently focused. What is the issue? Why does the representative think it is important? What position has the representative taken? Do not just copy the statement of the representative. (10 pts.) The particular legislation that will be discussed is with regards to HJ 99. This particular motion was to deny the president the ability to raise the debt ceiling. As a direct result of the fact that the Ellison believed that this would be detrimental to the economy and detrimental to the society of the United States, the opposed this movement, voted Nay, and presented the speech on the Senate floor which help to delineate some of the main reasons why any member of society, and indeed of the Congress, should be against such a motion. Subsequent letters to the speaker of the house, as well as a presentation of fact with regards the way in which denying the debt limit would impact negatively upon the economy and outlook for the United States as a whole, Ellison was able to provide a succinct and rhetorically sound approach through which other members of the United States House of Representatives necessarily engaged; due to the fact that HJ 99 was rejected and the debt ceiling was ultimately raised at the 11th hour. 9. To which political party does the member of Congress belong? Based on his or her voting record, interest group evaluations, fundraising sources, and issue positions, would you say that he or she is typical or atypical of members of his or her party? (American Politics Today discusses political parties in Congress on pp.274-276.) Explain the reasoning behind your answer. (10 pts.) Keith Ellison is a member of the Democratic Party of the United States. From a review of the voting records, interest groups, evaluations, fundraising sources, issue positions, and a litany of other factors, it can be definitively stated that Keith Ellison is a very typical member of the Democratic Party; voting along party lines almost each and every issue – as well as supporting the Democratic president, Barack Obama, in each and every issue that has thus far come up. 10. Do you admire the representative? Why or why not? Be specific. (10 pts.) With regards to actually admiring this particular politician, it must be noted that my opinion of him is closer to a lack of admiration as compared to admiration itself. The ultimate rationale behind this is due to the fact that politics within the United States is inherently flawed and represents the interests of moneyed individuals and groups more than it does the individual constituent. Although Keith Ellison is something of an aberration to the norm, he nonetheless continues to represent the unique needs of moneyed interests at the expense of the constituency that he serves. As such, it is difficult to admire and appreciate the actions and decisions that such an individual is made on the behalf of the powerful moneyed elite that continue to provide the funding for his subsequent campaigns and reelection. More specifically, due to the fact that Ellison is unable to look beyond party lines and continues to vote straight Democratic upon each and every situation that presents itself, it is difficult to appreciate and admire him based upon the grounds that he is able to reach across party lines and come to a level of cooperation and bipartisanship with his fellow House members. Read More