In recent years, after the slow evolution of campaign finance reform culminated in the Feingold-McCain reform act, it seems as though the issues that were resolved have only led to more issues. For example the current finance regulatory regime has created a political environment that favors the incumbent candidates. The proliferation of PAC's (political action committees) has resulted in a slight advantage for incumbent candidates as they generally have a stronger more developed PAC base from which to gain support. PAC's (interest groups) are essentially the epitome of factionalism and play a large role in pushing their parties agenda especially through television spots.
In my opinion, factionalism is a political force that will always exist. Opinions are part of human character. The real question at hand is are they bad? As noted in one of my other blogs, when unchecked the factionalist passions can be destructive, but when they are vented into constructive means, I believe they challenge our candidates and parties alike and in the end provide more durable leaders.
note: I have to be totally honest here. I read the text and do all the work, but I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall. I don't know if its the way the questions are worded or what, but these blogs are becoming increasingly difficult for me to write. I really feel like I have no clue what I'm talking about. Hopefully this changes and I catch on a little more or this will be a long semester.
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well, i can agree with the feeling of banging my head up against a wall. it took me quite sometime to even get this weeks blog started, and i am not even sure i anwsered the question. this is my first polsci class, and i am hoping it will get easier as the semester progresses, plus my books just came in:)
ReplyDeleteabout the previous comment, my boyfriend had signed into google, and i did not realize it, so that comment was mine, not some random guy named john:) love the internet!!!! you know what they say about computers, its never the computer ALWAYS the operator!!
ReplyDeleteWilliam... A good way to learn how to answer these blogs is to read other people's, see how they approach the topic, and what they think is important. Read more than the few in your group. If you e-mail me, I will suggest a few students whose answers have been particularly good. Don't get discouraged, its hard to know what is important without being able to interact with a professor.
ReplyDeleteAs far as this week, what do you think the role of the primary process is in determining candidates? How does it affect partisanship?
I certainly agree with your thoughts on campaign finance and various attempts at reform. When one considers all the special interests and other forces at play, and the staggering amounts of money involved, it seems almost futile to try and clean it up. It is a very delicate balance, and rather difficult to achieve.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post title. Perfect for describing what it would be like if there were an attempt to completely rid politics of factionalism. Like you said, it will always exist, there just need to be wrangle things in a bit...well more than a bit. At lest the free Caribbean vacations aren't the norm anymore. As for the blog posts, I feel like i'm in the same boat as well...but I guess if i'm in a boat, there's no wall to bang my head against, but that oar sure does hurt!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it is right for me to reply to your concerns, but I think your argument is fine. It certainly has a compelling title, and you make a good case for a constructive factionalism. (By constructive factionalism I mean factions working towards a political goal by participating in the political process, not by rioting in the streets.)
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