Current Political Issue

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Current Political Issues

Introduction

There is no doubt in the fact that the American political culture is all about getting the public's opinion through various interviews and polling. Campaign managers of different politicians keep on looking into what the people want. This is a good way to create a whole campaign around what the people want. This way the politician can get more votes. For democracy to succeed, the participation of the citizens is needed. Back in the day, the Texas Government worked on denying people the right to participate. However, the system is more open today. Currently, any Texan can vote for a candidate or join an interest group. If they choose not to vote or join an interest group, they can do as they will. The wealthy Texans still have an influence, but the citizens have the right to ignore any kind of impact. A candidate must understand the choice that they are making and the impact that will be brought by their selection. This paper will shed light on the current status of the Texas Government.

Discussion

When it comes to the political parties in Texas, they are bonded together by shared thought and sponsored applicant for office. Parties ask the involvement of the citizens to help elevate the status of their candidates with votes. Texas has had a history of being a one-party state but that has changed over time. Now, Texas is a two-party state but the second party has little power. Ever since the 1970s the Texas politics was dominated by the Democrats, however, there was an end to that in the 1980s. Texas shifted to Republican control from a Democratic hold. The Republicans were given the ability to take over the major chunk in both the houses of the state legislature. This happened due to the redrawing of district lines throughout Texas back in 2002. The newer federal district formed the main federal delegates going to the United States House of Representatives (Silver, 41-64). This all happened because the voting restrictions were made lenient and due to the arrival of new conservative citizens. Although the smaller parties have next to no chance of winning an election in Texas, they do have an impact on the outcome of the election. However, the majority of the Texans still show their loyalty towards the major two powers.

Now, coming to the Interest Groups of Texas, they are the spitting image of the money that the members of the group have. The interest groups who can generate a substantial benefit from their actions are the ones who can accumulate the most members and money. Talking about other groups, who find a way to directly benefit their members also get a lot of members and money. Regardless of all this, there are still people who donate a considerable amount of money because they have an emotional attachment to the cause represented by the group. There are mainly three kinds of interest groups:

Economic

Equal Opportunity

Public

There are many ways interest groups use to influence all the policymakers, however, direct contact with a policymaker and lobbying has proven to be the most impactful. Though business interest controls the majority of Texas politics, few smaller groups have proven to be impactful (Fagan). The teachers, AFL-CIO, the Christian Right and, Hispanic Texans have gotten triumphs during the last few years, and they will not be the last. Even though money is the leading resource, the overall public can apply an influential impact, when it is focused and feels the need for it.

A healthy democracy is signified by-elections that are just and free. Even though many people believe that Texas has a healthy democracy, but that is not the case. Over time, there have been many discriminations seen in the polling stations. There have been factors like the one-party rule and poll tax (Wiarda). However, the influence of the wealthy participants has kept the Texas turnout low. Even today, many people can feel discouraged to vote. Elections in Texas are usually comprised of a two-stage process. The stage one comprises of the primary elections, in which there are a plethora of candidates from a singular party and they are all narrowed to just one. Even this singular stage can have two more parts. If the winner of the election does not succeed with a single majority, then they have to participate in a Run-Off election. After that, the main winner is decided based on who gets the most votes. Then all the candidates who are selected go further to the general election and based on the votes the winner is decided.

Conclusion

Even though Texas has had a past of disheartening participation, the voter requirements currently are quite minimal. The registration for voting is fairly easy, and the best part is that voter-registration material can be found online. Texas has adopted a more liberal voting absentee practice. This perk gives everyone at least two weeks of entitled voting chance before the official Election Day. Regardless of the measures that are being taken, it takes time for recovering from a tradition of non-participation. Other than that, people still feel intimidated by wealthy voters. Financial assistance to officeholders and applicants is a nonstop procedure. Applicants are continuously competing for contribution dollars, and officials push for re-election funds uninterrupted. Most of the time, people who pay the most, get schedules to numerous Texas Boards that the Governor has to fill. For instance, the Transportation Board, the Board of Regents for Universities and the Highway Commission. Today current laws put reasonable restrictions on judicial campaign contributions. However, there are no bounds on contributions to applicants who are running for statewide offices or legislative.

Work Cited

Silver, Adam. "Elites and masses: the prevalence of economics and culture in nineteenth-century American party platforms." American Nineteenth Century History 20.1 (2019): 41-64.

Wiarda, Howard J. New directions in comparative politics. Routledge, 2018.

Fagan, E. J. "Issue ownership and the priorities of party elites in the United States, 2004–2016." Party Politics (2019): 1354068819839212.