Chapter 9

1.)    I mostly positively identify with the Democratic Party.  I mostly affiliate with this group because of the more liberal stance they take on their social issues.  For example two major social issues that I agree with majority of the Democratic Party on is supporting marriage equality and being pro-choice when it comes to abortions.  I think that their liberal view on these social issues is the right approach, for example they view gay marriage as an equality issue instead of a religious or moral issue which is how it should be viewed.  Democrats also support immigrant and health care reforms as well as I do, for the most part I fully agree with the Democratic Parties stance on both social and economic issues.

2.)    In this current day and age I believe that political parties are very much needed. People are too divided on issues, both social and economical, for there not to be political parties to represent the various differing ideas and beliefs that American citizens currently hold.  I do not believe that operating without political parties today would be near impossible to achieve because of the adverse opinions that are out there. 

3.)      The Libertarian Party is another semi-major political party in the US, and it is probably one of the lesser known political parties that I most identify with.  The party emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs both.  I mostly agree with their standpoints on social issues but no so much on their views of economic and other political issues. They take a liberal standpoint to social issues much like Democrats and believe that every individual should be free to live the life that they want to and have the freedom to express that individuality. They support same-sex marriage and also support separation of church and state, which are two issues that I strongly support.  They believe that government power should be limited but I believe that government has to have power over certain things or else tyranny and corruption would occur. Without some governmental control it would be difficult to have a growing economy because many individuals would only be focused on self and not on the nation as a whole, someone has to think about the bigger picture and as the nation as a whole and not just see it from an individual standpoint.  

I commented on:

1.      Nathan Tollett

2.      Megan Biggs

3.      Rebecca Zuchowski

Chapter 8

1.)    I chose the National Education Association (NEA) as my interest group from figure 8.1 in the text.  This group’s mission is to advocate for educational professionals and to unite their members and nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.  This group strongly believes in that education is the gateway to opportunity and that all students have the civil and human right to a quality public education that develops their potential, independence and character. They also believe that a good education is vital to building respect for worth dignity and equality in this diverse nation we live in.   

2.)    The interest group that I chose that I most positively agreed with is Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), a 501(c )(3) group.  This interest groups mission is to be dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of separation of church and state as the only way to ensure freedom of religion.  I strongly agree with most of their views and standpoints on this issue.  I too believe that separation of church and state should be followed and is very important.  They strive to break the hold of religion over our government and to see that our government functions unbiased and does not respect one religion over another.  They do this because they strongly believe in the freedom of religion in the US and believe that if our government is allowed to be influenced by one religious doctrine over another that we do not truly have freedom of religion and definitely do not practice separation of church and state.  I agree with them that separation of church and state is crucial to maintaining our freedom of religion in this country. 

3.)    I do believe that it is a fine line between influencing our government and freedom of speech when it comes to interest groups.  This line should be monitored by someone to ensure that it is not crossed and that an interest group does not have hold or too much influence within our government.  I believe that some interest groups have too much influence while others do not have enough.  I also believe that the freedom of speech line is crossed when interest groups use their political pull or financial assets to “buy” votes or persuade a member of legislature to vote their way.   

I commented on:

Rebecca Zuchowski

Nathan Tollett

Megan Biggs

Chapter 7

1.)    I believe that news media today is very objective.  Most news media outlets have an agenda behind most things that they broadcast especially when reporting on political stories or issues.  Fox News is one of the most biased in my opinion and has a very strong Republican opinion and agenda when dealing with political and social issues.    

2.)    I do not really listen to talk radio so it really doesn’t have any influence over my political opinions.  However I am very strong in my political opinions so I do not believe that talk radio would have much of an impact on my beliefs anyway. 

3.)    I believe that media objectivity is important but also can be negative thing.  It is important because it helps implement the watch dog effect to help keep the government from becoming corrupt.  But objectivity of the media can also put a bias on subjects that there should be a neutral standpoint on in the news media. Regardless of the good and bad of media objectivity, the news outlets will always be objective and more than likely always respect one side of politics over another. 

I commented on:

Nathan Tollett

Brittany McCann

Rebecca Zuchowski