US Government and Politics Notes

Homes face numerous problems, including crime rates.
A speaker suggested people should apologize and return to their spouses.
This suggestion ignores no-fault divorce situations where people want to divorce due to lack of care.
It also disregards cases involving restraining orders, domestic abuse, and violence against children.
The speaker's stance was that people should honor their vows made before God, which caused distress and reconsideration among those seeking divorce.

Nonpartisan elections involve a ballot with a list of names without party affiliations.
In North Carolina, securing signatures was enough to get on the ballot for a superior court judge position, resulting in ballots with many names.
The speaker suggests a cool name might have been advantageous in such elections.
The speaker jokingly references Judge Judy, suggesting her name contributed to her success.
During the old system, the speaker recalls seeing a voter researching candidates on her phone for an extended period.
Rational choice behavior involves thinking over and researching candidates.
Party line votes can simplify the voting process.
Nonpartisan judges require voters to research each judge.

It's argued that the average voter doesn't know who judges are, which aligns with judicial restraint.
The speaker recalls a student, a habitual criminal, who knew judges and advised on which ones to avoid.
Judge Henderson was mentioned as a judge to avoid due to strictness.
Most people don't know judges and instead reach out to councilmen, mayors, presidents, and congressmen for day-to-day problems.
Judges are supposed to be on the sidelines, and their names are rarely known.

Getting involved in a presidential campaign is demanding, but local politics is more accessible.
In local politics, showing up with the right attitude and willingness to work for free can lead to involvement.
Attending local Republican or Democratic headquarters and expressing a desire to help can lead to finding a role.
Political party meetings in Durham are small, sometimes held at restaurants with free pizza and beer.

The speaker shares a story about a college professor's experience getting involved in Chicago politics.
The professor, a staunch Republican, attended Republican Party meetings and offered to help.
He was assigned to help the Republican Party win a precinct but faced challenges due to the area's Democratic lean.
Voter registration data was used to identify unregistered voters, but initial attempts to engage with them failed.
The professor then focused on a nursing home in the precinct, where residents could register to vote using the nursing home's address.
The nursing home was primarily populated by people of Polish descent and Catholics, who were receptive to his message.
The professor registered voters at the nursing home and requested a van with a handicapped liftgate for election day.
Despite facing resistance, he secured the van and significantly increased Republican votes in the district, though he lost by 3%.
His efforts led to recognition and opportunities to help other Republicans win districts, eventually becoming a political advisor.
Showing up and being willing to work is crucial for success in local politics.

Mark Robinson's rise to lieutenant governor began with a speech at a Greensboro city council meeting regarding a gun show.
He spoke passionately as a member of the majority, and the speech gained him local hero status within the Republican Party.
Robinson's YouTube video propelled him from a Greensboro resident to lieutenant governor of North Carolina in two years, illustrating the impact of showing up.

Linkage institutions are channels through which individuals can interact with the government.
Examples include interest groups, media, and political parties.
It's not necessarily the government's job to encourage voting; instead, it's the responsibility of those seeking election.
Political parties connect voters, persuade voters, and provide information about candidates and issues.

Political parties connect voters by providing information about what candidates stand for.
They persuade voters through various means, such as sending people to the polls to convince voters last minute.
Political parties help individuals learn how to vote.
Media outlets also play a role in informing voters about elections.
Political parties control legislative districts.
Gerrymandering, the manipulation of districts, can influence election outcomes.
Registering to vote with a particular party signifies party membership.
Political parties educate voters and provide a platform for donating money.

Political parties engage in various activities to mobilize voters and encourage them to participate in elections.
Robocalls is one of the ways in which voters are mobilized.
Parties have different levels, and those interested in getting involved may need to create social media accounts to connect with local party organizations.
The goal is to play the chess game of politics effectively, including raising money, finding candidates, and getting them elected.

Party realignment occurs when a massive group of people changes its party affiliation over a period of time.
The last major party realignment took place from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
In the 1960s, the Democratic Party's stance on civil rights led to a shift in how minorities voted.
The Vietnam War also influenced party alignment, as the Democratic Party faced criticism for its pro-war stance.
The Southern states, which had been predominantly Democratic for over a century, began voting for Republican candidates.
States like California and New York, which had previously been more politically diverse, aligned more heavily with the Democrats.
The 1968 election was a critical election in the last party realignment.
Arlen Spector was an example of an individual who changed party affiliation multiple times.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) is credited with a realignment during the Great Depression, as many people blamed Republicans for leading the country into it.
New policies and ideas can lead to shifts in party affiliation.

Chapter 10 discusses party eras, with the US currently in the fifth party era.
The original party system consisted of Federalists and Anti-Federalists, followed by various iterations involving Democrats, Whigs, and Republicans.
Party realignments occurred in the early twentieth century and in 1968.
The populist movement, later becoming progressives, led to a party realignment with Republicans becoming the party of big business and Democrats branding themselves as the party of the people.