Blog Assignment 6

Gerrymandering: It's just not sexy

Implementing the shortest split-line method would create a more impartial system. The problem is putting that into practice when the people who write laws benefit greatly from the current system. The first step would need to be creating awareness among eligible voters, but as you noted at the beginning of your post, there are other really important issues that need to be addressed, issues that are much more attention grabbing than how we divide up voting districts. The only way I could see people actually caring about gerrymandering is if we directly connect it to their quality of life in a way that not even the most ignorant Americans can deny. If anyone has an idea for how to do this please let me know, because fixing gerrymandering would lay the groundwork for fixing non-partisanship and gridlock in congress which would let us truly address other issues such as immigration and healthcare in a way that represents the will of the people.

Blog Assignment 5

Many people see the Mueller investigation and hope it will eventually climb the ranks all the way to the top and successfully impeach Donald Trump. While possible, we should sincerely hope that this does not happen because Mike Pence would be worse as President of the United States than Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a controversial figure who can’t seem to keep his facts straight through an entire sentence, much less long enough to try to enact policy. He often makes about faces and has been an excellent contributor to slowing down a conservative agenda in a republican controlled senate and house. Trump talks big, incites anger, then moves on to whatever has caught his attention in the meantime. His danger comes entirely from the fact that every time he opens his mouth he helps increase a divide between factions existing within the country. That’s all he is: words and hot air. His actions bring bitterness, anger, and resentment to the surface, but those things were already here, now they’re just in plain view where everyone can see them. In that way, he’s beneficial, because there’s nothing like having a problem shoved in your face to motivate you into fixing it. Mike Pence, on the other hand, is a hard-liner, ultra conservative, evangelical Christian. He opposes abortion for any reason, including rape, he has actively passed laws that essentially legalize discrimination against homosexuals, and is firmly convinced that global warming is a myth. He supports one of two agendas at any given time: the conservative Christian agenda, or whatever the Koch brothers are currently paying him to support. Pence compared Obamacare to 9/11, took money from its expansion, then did everything in his power to keep from spending that money on providing healthcare to Indiana’s poor. A Presidency under Pence would closely resemble his actions as governor of Indiana. The entirety of his governorship he ignored the concept of “separation of church and state” pushing through a religious agenda everywhere except in economics, where he pursued the Koch brothers’ agenda instead to maintain his backing and funds. The damage of a Trump presidency can be fixed if we come together as one nation and work for it. The damage of a Pence presidency would create longer lasting damage that could potentially undermine the constitution and the principles of America. That’s why if you’re going to kick out Trump, remember to save an extra boot for Pence.