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3C and 4C Government and Politics 2016

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Original post by SleepyJohnEstes
Does anyone have a plan / general idea for a 45-mark question on Obama's record on immgration, or any 45-mark question on immigration reform?


Obama has failed on immigration:
- Came into office saying he was going to pass immigration reform but instead has spent over $11.7 billion on immigration deportation and border security (more than any other president in America) and has deported over 1 million immigrants
- He has been able to pass other major reforms such as the fiscal stimulus package and Obamacare thus he has missed early opportunities to pass the DREAM act where he would have been guaranteed to pass it due to the Democrat majority form 2008-2010
- States have passed their own laws as a result e.g Arizona SB1070 where they knuckled down on immigration and could deport someone if they were considered an illegal immigrant

Obama has not failed:
- He has passed executive orders such as DAPA (November 2014) and DACA to allow around 4 million immigrants to stay in the USA
- His administration started work and initiated legislation on SB1070 however the supreme court did not rule in their favour
- Obama tried to pass the DREAM act in 2010 however it was defeated in the Senate by Republicans thus it is not his administrations fault but the state of partisan politics as in 2001 the DREAM act had been a bipartisan piece of legislation
Original post by nta786
Maybe it could becwhether they are more influential than political parties?


For pressure groups being more influential you could say:

- Enthuse voters (rock the vote have apparently enthused 5 million voters) and have taken up the role of political parties
- Think tanks thus are more influential in constructing policies are parties are bogged down by partisanship
- Endorse candidates thus may have influence in office as the candidates will by loyal to them e.g the NRA endorsed 261 candidates in 2012 and had an 80% success rate
- More members, ARRP has over 37 million members

Parties are more influential :
- They have become more ideological and have an official stance e.g on abortion thus people be edging more towards pressure groups under the parties resurgence
- Parties are generally members in Congress who actually legislate
- Parties still fund candidates and have influence over elections e.g. in 2012 the Democrats and Obama raised over $967 million for the election and won
- Parties have had united congressional agenda e.g the contract for America and 6 for 06 which has lead to a resurgence of parties and success amongst congress = influence
What about "How influential are pressure groups in the USA?" as a 45 marker?? or 'Assess the view that pressure groups are too powerful in the USA' thinking it might be one of those or a question on how democratic they are.
does anyone have any examples of pressure groups advising presidents?
are there any plans out there for the pros and cons of primaries and caucuses?
Reply 245
Original post by MelissaaC
Obama has failed on immigration:
- Came into office saying he was going to pass immigration reform but instead has spent over $11.7 billion on immigration deportation and border security (more than any other president in America) and has deported over 1 million immigrants
- He has been able to pass other major reforms such as the fiscal stimulus package and Obamacare thus he has missed early opportunities to pass the DREAM act where he would have been guaranteed to pass it due to the Democrat majority form 2008-2010
- States have passed their own laws as a result e.g Arizona SB1070 where they knuckled down on immigration and could deport someone if they were considered an illegal immigrant

Obama has not failed:
- He has passed executive orders such as DAPA (November 2014) and DACA to allow around 4 million immigrants to stay in the USA
- His administration started work and initiated legislation on SB1070 however the supreme court did not rule in their favour
- Obama tried to pass the DREAM act in 2010 however it was defeated in the Senate by Republicans thus it is not his administrations fault but the state of partisan politics as in 2001 the DREAM act had been a bipartisan piece of legislation


I legit do not know anything about immigration, is it okay to leave it out? I hope the question is on the Electoral College or possibly pressure groups
Original post by mapp
I legit do not know anything about immigration, is it okay to leave it out? I hope the question is on the Electoral College or possibly pressure groups


I've ignored immigration :redface: My reasoning is that I'm sure if it does come up, there'll be other options I could definitely answer a lot better
Reply 247
Original post by EmilyPlatypus
I've ignored immigration :redface: My reasoning is that I'm sure if it does come up, there'll be other options I could definitely answer a lot better


Alrightt, I feel less alone now, what 45 markers have you officially prepared for; for tomorrow?
Original post by mapp
Alrightt, I feel less alone now, what 45 markers have you officially prepared for; for tomorrow?


I've prepared - the electoral college is in need of reform, pressure groups are undemocratic/pressure groups promote democracy, pressure groups influence the issues on the political agenda. I've looked over others briefly, memorising basic points but these are the ones I've written and planned in a lot of detail
I have a 2 hour exam in the morning and then an hour and a half before politics so I'm hoping to cram :laugh::laugh: I have prepared for a lot of 15 markers though
Reply 249
Sorry to ask again peeps, but what three points would one make if the question was
'What impact have third parties had in USA?'

Textbook is blank. Thanks :smile:
Original post by nta786
Sorry to ask again peeps, but what three points would one make if the question was
'What impact have third parties had in USA?'

Textbook is blank. Thanks :smile:


They have impact on policies due to co-optation which basically means that bigger parties absorb and essentially steal third party policies - This happened when Clinton took Ross Perot's policy to balance the budget in 1992

They have an affect on the popular vote too like Perot (again) got 19% of the popular vote which then reduced the Dem and Repub popular vote rating

I'm not sure on other points at the moment my mind has gone blank
Original post by mapp
I legit do not know anything about immigration, is it okay to leave it out? I hope the question is on the Electoral College or possibly pressure groups


I don't think immigration will come up so I think you'll be good!
Original post by nta786
Sorry to ask again peeps, but what three points would one make if the question was
'What impact have third parties had in USA?'

Textbook is blank. Thanks :smile:


They had an impact in 1992 with Ross Perot who won 18.9% of the vote but clinton used co-optation and essentially stole his ideas on balancing the budget and by the end of Clinton's presidency he successfully balanced the economy

Impact in the 2000 election as Nader won 100,000 votes in Floria and Bush beat Nader by 537 votes in Florida, Nader was more to the left of the spectrum, thus if Nader had not run they most likely would have voted for Gore who would have won Florida and possibly the election as he could have gained 29 ECV's in Florida

Governor wise Jesse the body ventura won elections in Minnesota as a third party and Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island (2011) was the only third party governor, you could also mention Bernie as an independent and has the highest individual approval rate in America for a Senator- 73%
Good luck to everyone tomorrow!!
Original post by MelissaaC
Good luck to everyone tomorrow!!


Good luck to you too! Thanks for all the help with answers! :h::h:
what points could i use for a question on federal governments ethnic makeup?? can't think of anything but it is unrepresentative
does anyone have any examples and points for pros and cons for affirmative action? thanks
Reply 257
Original post by EmilyPlatypus
I've prepared - the electoral college is in need of reform, pressure groups are undemocratic/pressure groups promote democracy, pressure groups influence the issues on the political agenda. I've looked over others briefly, memorising basic points but these are the ones I've written and planned in a lot of detail
I have a 2 hour exam in the morning and then an hour and a half before politics so I'm hoping to cram :laugh::laugh: I have prepared for a lot of 15 markers though


Impressive!! Well done I wish you the best of luck, I hope the paper is kind to us so we can all obtain the grades we deserve and want. I'm guessing your exam in the morning is psychology? Good luck if so !
Original post by Rebecca adams
what points could i use for a question on federal governments ethnic makeup?? can't think of anything but it is unrepresentative


Minorities in Congress
In 1984, there were 21 African Americans in Congress - all in the House of Representatives.By 2013, there were 41 African American members in the HoR and one in the Senate. In the 114th Congress there are 46 African American members of the House and two in the Senate.The rise in African American members of the House was brought about largely by the creation in some states of majority-minority districts in the early 1990s.There are 34 Hispanics in the HoR and 3 in the Senate for the 114th Congress - compared with just 10 (all in the House) in 1984.

Minorities and presidential elections
The last 40 years have witnessed the following milestones for African-Americans running for the presidency:
1972: Representative Shirley Chisholm became the first major-party African-American candidate for the presidency. She won 152 delegates at her party’s National Convention.
1984: Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson won over 3 million votes in the Democratic primaries, finishing third in the number of votes cast. Jackson became the first African-American candidate to win a major party presidential primary, winning contests in four states plus the District of Columbia.
2008: Senator Barack Obama became the first black major-party presidential candidate and went on to defeat Republican John McCain to win the presidency. He was re-elected in 2012.

Minorities in the executive branch
Minority representation in the president’s cabinet first became an issue in modern times when President Lyndon appointment African American Robert Weaver as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1966.Between 1966 and 2013, 17 other African Americans were appointed to head executive departments, including two consecutive secretaries of state - Colin Powell (2001-05( and Condoleezza Rice (2005-09).Obama’s first term cabinet in January 2009 was the most racially diverse of any administration, with heads of 7 of the 15 executive departments being from racial minorities.

Minorities in the judiciary
Not only did President Lyndon Johnson appoint the first African-American to the cabinet, but in 1967 he also appointed the first African American to the Supreme court - Thurgood Marshall.Upon Marshall’s retirement in 1991, President George H.W. Bush replaced him with another African America, Clarence Thomas. In 1986, President Reagan had appointed the first Italian-American to the Supreme Court - Antonin Scalia. During President Reagan’s 8 years in office, less than 5% of his appointments to the federal judiciary were from racial minorities. During President Clinton’s 8 years, over 23% of federal judiciary appointees were from racial minorities. During his first two years, Obama’s judicial appointees were 27.5% African-Americans and 7.1% Hispanic.
Reply 259
Original post by MelissaaC
Obama has failed on immigration:
- Came into office saying he was going to pass immigration reform but instead has spent over $11.7 billion on immigration deportation and border security (more than any other president in America) and has deported over 1 million immigrants
- He has been able to pass other major reforms such as the fiscal stimulus package and Obamacare thus he has missed early opportunities to pass the DREAM act where he would have been guaranteed to pass it due to the Democrat majority form 2008-2010
- States have passed their own laws as a result e.g Arizona SB1070 where they knuckled down on immigration and could deport someone if they were considered an illegal immigrant

Obama has not failed:
- He has passed executive orders such as DAPA (November 2014) and DACA to allow around 4 million immigrants to stay in the USA
- His administration started work and initiated legislation on SB1070 however the supreme court did not rule in their favour
- Obama tried to pass the DREAM act in 2010 however it was defeated in the Senate by Republicans thus it is not his administrations fault but the state of partisan politics as in 2001 the DREAM act had been a bipartisan piece of legislation


DACA has not become active and is currently in the Supreme Court going to be voted on

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