It May Not Work in Politics
It May Not Work in Politics
Introduction
According to Frederick Kaiser (2003), James Madison envisioned Congress as a body of chosen individuals that the public could submit their ideas to for debate, refinement, and, ultimately, implementation for the public good. But the question still remains unanswered whether or not the Congress truly represents the people, and if courts ensure that justice prevails.
In this modern world where commercialism dominates, people tend to forget professional ethics just to get up the ladder of success. Even a number of politicians defy their oath in the Code of Conduct as stated in the House Ethics Manual. Among the most common violations by members of the House of Representatives are: 1.Failure to disclose their property/ies; 2. Violation of House Gift Rule; and3.Financial Conflict of Interest.
In 2010, New York Representative Charles B. Rangel was charged with thirteen (13) violations. Of these charges, he was found guilty with eleven (11), among which were: soliciting donations from businessmen to be used for the center named in his honor in the City College of New York, failure to pay taxes for his home in the Caribbean, and improper reporting of his assets worth US Dollars Six Hundred Thousand (Margasak, 2010). He was voted off for a censure and he said that it was very political. He felt that the House of Representatives was not fair to him, while other members said his punishment was meaningless because he got to keep his seat (Dye, 2010). I believe that a heavier punishment could have been given to him because of the number of violations he committed, and considering these involved money that could have benefited the poor.
Third Party Candidates
Do Americans feel poorly represented by the two-party system? During most of its history, the United States has had a two-party system: The Republican, which is a conservative party, and the Democratic, which see themselves as liberals. So far, only Ross Perot of Texas was the most successful independent candidate who got nineteen (19) % of the vote in 1992. His platform was for the reduction of the federal budget deficit (Nwazota, 2004). So, why couldn’t a third party candidate get a Presidential seat?
According to political scientists, historians and scholars, it is the political process that relegates third party candidates to the sidelines. Barriers have been formed that blocked the emergence and growth of more than two parties. In fact, the Founding Fathers (Madison, Jay, and Hamilton) themselves formed some of these barriers. Two of such barriers are:
1. Constitutional Biases and, 2. Ballot Access Restrictions. The Constitution mandates a single-member-plurality system wherein parties compete for a single seat and the candidate who gets the highest number of votes win. The second barrier also poses a huge challenge in that while the major parties are already preparing media ads, buying television time, and planning campaign strategy, the 3rd party candidates are still struggling to obtain positions on the ballot (Rosenstone, Behr, & Lazarus, 1984, p.16).
In 2014, sixty percent of the American voters said there is a need for a third-party candidate (Gallup.com). However, it still remains to be seen whether they will actually support these candidates because to do this, “a voter must awaken from the political slumber he ordinarily lies, reject the socialization of his political system, ignore the ridicule and abuse of his friends and neighbors, and accept the fact that when the ballots are counted, his vote will never be in the winner’s column” (Rosenstone, Behr & Lazarus, 1984, p.16). In my opinion, it will take a very strong candidate and a higher percentage of determined American voters for a third-party to emerge the winner.
Federal and State Authority
"The federal and State governments are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers, and designed for different purposes." -- James Madison The Federalist, No.46
It has been more than 200 years since federalism has provided the framework for the development of American democracy. Until now, the claims of the federal government and the claims of state governments are in tension with each other. It is unfortunate that the Health Reform that President Obama authored has been met with indifference by almost half of the U.S. states.
On March 23, 2010, the president signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. This was upheld by the Supreme Court on June 25, 2015. The states reacted negatively because this ACA will not only incur huge costs for the government but will also constitute a significant usurpation by the federal government of long-standing state authority over health insurance regulation (Haislmaier & Blase, 2010). Recently, twenty states filed lawsuits against the ACA because citing violation of Origination Clause because they said the law began in the Senate instead of the House. (Cantrell, 2014).
Richard Cauchi (2016) of NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) reported that between 2010 and 2015 at least 22 state legislatures had enacted laws and measures related to the challenging or opting out of broad health reforms. He stated that “additional states considered non-conforming with ACA-stated goals, non-participation in the operation of the health exchange, and blocking individual health benefits”, to name some. In fact, North Dakota has enacted a law that “ACA is nulled in this state”.
I think those involved here have to consider that the U.S. Constitution was made supreme over state constitutions and it includes a clause that states that whenever the national government’s constitutional use of power clashed with the legitimate actions of the states, its actions will be declared supreme.
References
Cantrell, M. (2014, May 28). 20 States Launch New Lawsuit against Obamacare.
Retrieved from http://conservativetribune.com/states-file-suit-kill-obamacare/
Cauchi, R. (2016, February 24). State Laws and Actions Challenging Certain Health Reforms
Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-laws-and-actions-challenging-
ppaca.aspx
Dye, J. (2010, December 2). House Censures Rangel for Ethics Violations. Retrieved from
http://www.law360.com/articles/212639/house-censures-rangel-for-ethics-violations
Haislmaier, E.F. & Blase, B. (2010, July 1). Obamacare: Impact on States. Retrieved from
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/07/obamacare-impact-on-states
Kaiser, F. (2003, May). American national government: An overview. Retrieved from
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RS20443.pdf
Margasak, L. (2010, November 16). Charles Rangel Guilty: Convicted by House Ethics.
Retrieved fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/16/charles-rangel-guilty-
convicted_n_784212.html
Nwazota, K. (2004, July 26). Third Parties in the U.S. Political Process. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics-july-dec04-third_parties/
Rosenstone, S. J., Behr, R. L. & Lazarus, E. H. (1984). Third Parties in America. Retrieved
