Michael Thomas – Introduction to U.S. National Politics

SWA #4

SWA #4: Presidential Primaries & Elections

PETE BUTTIGIEG

Pete Buttigieg’s personal characteristics and priorities are generally encompassed within his slogan: It is time for a new generation of American leadership. Buttigieg, praised as a progressive millennial, war veteran, and devoted husband is about to finish his eight term as the mayor for South Bend, Indiana. In 2017, he was elected as the chair of the “Automation and the Impacts on America’s Cities” task force at the United States Conference of Mayors. Barack Obama also named Buttigieg one of the four progressive Democrats that represented the future of the party. Throughout his various efforts, his priorities seem to lie with global economic growth and advancement of industries. Since his mayoral term started, South Bend’s role was “reimagined” with large increases in job growth and improved technology applications. Based on his website, Buttigieg’s self-presentation is unambiguous. I believe that he represents both home-styles, but one more than the other. His social interactions and persona are absolutely person-to-person. When people mention Pete, they think of someone similar to them who is stepping up to make a difference. People see him for exactly what he is: war veteran and husband. Seems to me that he has made a strong connection with his voter base. I consulted a few stories covering Buttigieg and they all displayed the same theme evident in Pete’s personality and goals. Although an underdog, Pete has coalesced substantial support from the Democratic party. So much in fact, that he is now tied with Senator Elizabeth Warren at third in the 2020 caucus race. The New York Times specifically focused on Buttigieg’s desire to strengthen the party by winning back Trump supporters: the working white class. Pete stressed that this is the best and most logical way to defeat Trump, not by trying to broadcast exposure.

JAY INSLEE

Jay Inslee is currently the Governor of Washington, serving out his second term since 2012. Before that, he was a member of congress since 1998. Contrary to Pete Buttigieg, Inslee’s website slogan better represents his goals and aspirations for the future more so than what he stands for. Clearly, the only issue that has Inslee’s undivided attention is climate change. I don’t blame him, it’s a huge issue that is already impacting my generation and probably generations after me. Inslee has established himself as an issue-oriented contender for the presidential race, which is evident all throughout his webpage. This is evident in one of his website headings: “From fighting climate change to winning better pay and benefits for working families, Governor Inslee has worked his entire life for all of us”. As the Governor of Washington, he has worked hard to lead his state to having the best economy in the country as well as the most environmentally friendly. The Atlantic also states that “On his watch, the state has boosted health care, increased access to early-childhood education and college, raised the minimum wage, expanded paid family leave, invested in infrastructure, and established in-state net neutrality, all while leading the country in job growth, overall personal-income growth, and GDP.” Inslee is trusted and known for getting the job done making daily progress. Unlike Buttigieg, Inslee’s webpage (thus campaign) has a direct mission and list of goals set for defeating climate change. His campaign also proudly announces that they have signed the No Fossil Fuels Money Pledge.

Given his strong advocacy for a greener environment, there is not much else the media is willing and able to focus on. Inslee believes that a strong green message will bring everyone together and win his candidacy. Most of the stories discuss if his binary platform will win enough support to win.

REFERENCES

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/politics/buttigieg-2020-president.html

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/buttigieg-mayor-who-would-be-president-sees-surge

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-nation-needs-inslees-green-message/?fbclid=IwAR3Sc9D5xH-xFoMxxoJ9PCzl9WRju3Mul0oMgEWNR3y1R8kezhR-OzXguq0

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/washington-governor-jay-inslee-running-president/579217/

State of the Union Address

State of the Union Address analysis

Domestic proposals

Foreign proposals

· Trump nominees in the Senate to be confirmed/recognized

· $500 billion (10 years) to help HIV and cancer patients

· Upgrading infrastructure

· Health Care/Pharmacy price transparency

· Restrictions on abortion

· First Step Act: allow cooperative inmates to re-enter society as law-abiding citizens: reform sentencing injustice

· Border wall

· Imposed tariffs (matching tariff price between countries on same goods)

Cross-branch power dynamics:

According to several news networks, specifically CNBC here, states in that President Trump is more than willing to work and compromise with the Speaker and her House majority. In his SOTUA Trump claims that his agenda is not associated with any party, that it is the agenda of the American people and it will be governed as a nation. The President and the House majority agree on many proposals, some of which attempted to pass under democrats before the shutdown. From what I can gather, it seems both parties are on the same side regarding domestic remedies. These domestic proposals, listed in the table above, represent the welfare of all American citizens and do not discriminate to any ascriptive group. The House majority and Trump may have a harder time agreeing on foreign/immigration issues. The only foreign/commerce proposal that may pass through the House is to impose tariffs to other countries. If a country pins an unfair or high tariff on an American import, the government would then have the authority to match that same tariff price on the same or similar goods when exporting to that country. Immigration policies may force a compromise soon, hopefully before another shutdown. Trump proposed a new funding bill for the wall that is still pending approval; slated hopefully for mid-February. However, the President might have to compromise more than the House on this issue considering the Speaker won the shutdown debate, forcing Trump to rethink his wall agenda.

Executive Power:

While reading through the SOTUA transcript, no language or phrases stuck out to me that suggested reference to Trump’s executive power. However, I did some reading on the subject from USA Today here about the current state of power in the oval office. The main pitch of this article is that Trump’s executive power is out-of-check, but the greater executive power today stems from the office not the President. Today’s extreme use of executive power is a product of past presidencies, according to USA Today. Starting with FDR all the way up to G.W. Bush, the American people have increased their demands of action towards any holder of the oval office. Yes, I agree that Trump is going beyond his position’s power. Increasingly troubling is his mentioning of congressional oversight towards misused executive power. His actions, however, are at least attempts to answer demands of many citizens.

Democratic Response:

I am a bit confused on Stacey Abram’s rebuttal (this may be because I’m not very political and still have a lot to learn). Essentially, in my opinion, her rebuttal was set on stating how she is disappointed in the current administration because it is lying to its people regarding the state of the nation. She gave examples, some about how jobs are being lost and more and more families are living by paycheck. She states that the government shutdown was unethical and that although parties share different perspectives, both wings share the desire to protect and support its citizens. I agree with this, some people liked the shutdown. I didn’t see the point of it, unwillingness of both parties to compromise equally. What I don’t understand why Abrams stated Trump’s administration is failing on issues that the President had just suggested proposals for that same night. Mainly on domestic issues (see table), the President seems very ready to compromise and resolve those issues. The only issues that are creating partisan politics and debate is with immigration policies. Some of Trump’s statements about his proposals are more or less accurate. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been added since January and (from CNN transcript) almost 5 million people are now working and off food stamps. To me, that seems like the economy is growing stronger and unemployment rates are lower for all races. Despite Trump delivering one of his better speeches, he did choose to omit controversial details regarding the unnecessary shutdown of our government and who it affected (unpaid government employees).

Comparing National and State Legislature agendas

Generally, I believe most domestic proposals are in the interest of the people and are not partisan. The only two proposals that are similar (categorically) between Michigan’s agenda and our nation’s is reforming health care affordability/research and revitalization of infrastructure.

Michigan’s priorities

The state of Michigan is controlled by a bicameral legislature: the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). Michigan’s political actors include its Governor (Gretchen Whitmer), Speaker (Lee Chatfield), and its Majority and Minority leaders. Of the Majority, Mike Shirkey (Senate) and Tristan Cole (House) are its current legislative leaders. Of the Minority, Jim Ananich (Senate) and Christine Greig (House) are its current legislative leaders. Although previously a Republican trifecta, the state of Michigan is currently a divided legislature with no current party trifectas (when a party holds Governor’s office and Majorities in both state chambers). In terms of success, a divided legislature will not help matters and only perpetuates the need for a productive agenda-setting session. In the Senate, the new margin is 27-11 with a Republican majority. In the House, it is a much smaller margin of 58-52 Republican. Since Gretchen Whitmer is of the opposing party, legislative success this term might be slightly stagnant. It might be easier for the state to accomplish its set goals if the same party held the Governor’s office and at least one chamber majority.

Since her inaugural remarks on January 1, 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has initiated a total of 5 executive directives to address the concerns of Michigan’s denizens. Her first order of office was to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. On January 3, Whitmer ordered a directive focused on establishing and maintaining an ethical state government. Of the many issues, this directive will mostly target any budget irregularities, prohibiting solicitors from making any political contributions in state facilities, and much more. On January 4, she passed another directive focused on rehabilitating zones in Michigan where small local businesses and communities have lost capital and has since diminished. Whitmer is relying on the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget to partner with small business with new policies to create and expand new opportunities for growth. On January 8, she passed an equality directive aimed at ethical payment and management between employees and employers. Overall, the agenda of Michigan seems to strive toward supporting ethical practices and equal opportunities and growth for the state.

I live in Neshannock Township, a small suburban area outside of New Castle, PA in Lawrence County. My statewide representatives are Elder Vogel (R-Senate) and Chris Sainato (D-House). Chris Sainato, who is a family friend, was just sworn in for his 13^th term as PA’s House Representative. On January 7, he was reappointed (9^th term) as the democratic chair of Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. His continuous reappointment of this committee’s chair says a great deal about his stance/platform. New Castle, historically known as a steel mill town, has been decrepit and rundown for generations. There is some monetary wealth left from the “20^th century” representative of old factory buildings and business. All these vacant buildings are still being filed for tax cuts from through family inheritance, so the city cannot revitalize those areas until the owners sell. Throughout his 12 terms, Chris has done much to revitalize New Castle at its worst. Recently, he fought for $180,000 in tax credits to help rebuild distressed areas. Launched a plan that granted surrounding townships $425,000 for sewer upgrades. He also presented a statewide emergency planning commission with 27 recommendations to increase emergency preparedness and strength for the city of New Castle. Although Chris shares many ideals with a party that I disagree with, he has and will continue to regenerate the community of New Castle.

My state senator is Elder Vogel, Jr. I know very little about him, but he seems has runs a similar platform to Chris Sainato. He was reappointed as chair for the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs committee. Recently, he has helped procure over $100,000 in funding for New Castle’s local airport in addition to more supplemental community safety grants. He also is fairly active in veteran’s affairs and supporting our heroes and their families, given he recently hosted a rep. from the American Legion’s Veteran Assistance Program.

In general, I believe both of these officials represent me well but more importantly, represent New Castle/statewide townships better and making community needs a priority. As of now, I would vote for their re-election come next term.

Sources:

Ballotpedia: Who Represents Me?

Ballotpedia State Legislatures

www.senatoreldervogel.com

www.pahouse.com