Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians are perhaps three of the most prominent political parties within Texas. Within the pages of their party platforms, we see that each possesses a unique philosophy, with specific viewpoints and recommendations for shaping or reforming government policy. To be sure, the people of Texas face many challenges, two of the most compelling issues being the crisis in healthcare and in education. Not only are we lacking in these areas as Texans, but also on the national level. The parties’ stance on these two major issues defines them, giving us insight into the mind and intentions of each. “Of the people, by the people, and for the people” heralds the Texas Democratic Party. As stated in their 2008 party platform, “we believe democratic government exists to achieve as a community, state, and nation what we cannot achieve as individuals; and that it must not serve only a powerful few (cite).” They believe government should serve the public interest, not the special interests. The idea that government should provide for the welfare of all is their central philosophy. Texas Democrats extend this philosophy to the issue of public education. “All children should be able to attend a safe, secure school and have access to an exemplary educational program that meets their needs and abilities. All school districts must be adequately and 100% equitably funded. All Texans should have access to affordable, quality higher education and career education programs.” Clearly, they believe every child in Texas deserves a high quality education, and have outlined several propositions to accomplish this goal. Texas Democrats would like to reduce reliance on "Robin Hood" and instead utilize state revenue to es... ... middle of paper ... ... Libertarians share the same goal of improving Texan’s quality of life in the areas of healthcare and education, their proposed implementation of such varies along two major lines; Those for or against expansion of governments role in the peoples lives. Texas Democrats see greater government as necessary and good, and seek to solve these issues within the constructs of state and national programs,. Conversely, Texas Republicans and Libertarians find this position cumbersome, and fear that increased government directives are wasteful, and will inevitably lead to the loss of choice and freedoms. Personally, I have to agree with them. Life experiences have taught me that there is always a price to be paid for any service, comfort, or security. With respect to the government, we pay not only monetarily, but also with our freedoms, and that to me is much too costly.
Texas remains a solidly Democratic state, losing influence in the executive branch and the legislative. New Deal era has brought about a new relationship between the states and the national government where the national government has the legal authority wider economy and ultimately better protects civil rights. Much of the expansions of federal government power were made under the terms of interstate commerce. 1944, a split has developed between liberal and conservative Democrats in Texas based on their opposing positions on the New Deal. 1952, the conservative wing of the democratic party affiliated with Allan Shivers governor to vote for the popular (and conservative) Republican presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower. They are called "Shiver rats." For the most part, the Texas Democratic Party after a new contract was agreed on one issue: race relations and
The American way of living and thinking in Texas have changed tremendously over the past century. Political ideals are one thing that changes with time, and have transformed with the changing times well. The Texas constitution of 1876 was a landmark for the state and has been part of the state’s history since then. The Texas constitution of 1876 is still in use today but with all its harsh restrictions it is considered one of the most confusing of all the state constitutions. The constitution became one of the most prominent changes to Texas education system and politics.
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
The Texas Legislature is far too archaic to provide consistent leadership for a state government; Congress has become too enmeshed with the executive branch and leaves blurry lines drawn in its separation of powers. The ideal legislature would be a modernized version of what the Texas Constitution created.
University of Texas at Austin. Texas Politics, The legislative Branch. Austin, 2nd Edition-Revision 94 2009, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services.
Texas went through a great amount of political change from being dominated by the Democratic Party during the 1960s and 70s, from the Republican Party taking over in the 80s. One of the big reasons for this change was due to the political party’s views. Throughout this essay I will discuss the changes of the political stances in Texas as well as the present day factors that affect America.
The Texas government is an unusually complex institution that is composed of many different levels. Everyone asks, with a constitution like the one Texas has, can people really trust the government? The main reasons why people might not be trusting of the government are that they might believe that the officials take advantage of their power, or want to try to control them. The Texas legislature is also subject to checks and balances in the three branch system. For example, the governor 's power to veto bills, which is rarely overridden, and to call special sessions; while the court has the power of judicial review. In Texas, the Constitution divides the powers
Tannahill, Neal. "The People, Economy, and Political Culture of Texas." Texas Government: Policy and Politics. Pearson Education, Inc, 2013. 18-20. Print.
With any decision, both parties (republican and democratic) campaign over the state to gain support from voters to increase their chances of being elected to the office that they desire. When voting most voters arrive at polling stations to vote, first for instance, they can be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices and which later will be checked by hand; second they can be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices with the assistance of a voting machine; or thirdly they can be given a sheet of paper with a numerical access code. Texans share a lot of the same essential needs of voting and nonvoting as other Americans. The republican party remains undefeated after a decade that saw fights over legislature redistricting, bitter and commonly intense campaigning around both inside and between the parties, continuously expensive battling up and down the ballot. In 2002, Republican competitors cleared all statewide races and took control of both houses of the Texas legislature, viably assuming the organizations of powers. The resulting year the legislative gathering returned to the distribution of districts for the U.S. House of Representatives the accomplishment of that offensive is seen inside the progressive changes in the delegations that are represented in the features of The Texas Delegation to the united states House of Representatives.
Texas along with the other 49 state base their political culture off of the Daniel Elazar theory. Daniel Elazar, a political scientist and his associate did an extensive study; investigating the political culture of all 50 states. Upon completion of his research he identified three political cultures: moralistic, individualistic and traditionalistic. There were several states that possessed one or more of the following traits. Texas being one of them, being as though it carried on root from its original Spanish and Mexican heritage. Texas political culture is very diverse; although there traditionalistic, meaning being historically dominant with the intended purpose of reinforcing elite powers. Their also individualistic where their viewed as a marketplace in which citizens strive to better their personal welfare, and citizens are encouraged to participate in individual achievement
Texas, being the very conservative, right-wing state that it is, has long had problems compromising and working with the federal government and when it comes to environmental policy, this is no exception. Republicans in the state of Texas tend to clash frequently with federal Democratic leaders and this has been especially noticeable within the last few years. The state of our environment is a national problem and has gotten to the point where federal law must intervene when it comes to regulation of how each state deals with the problems of air quality, water pollution, and conservation of land and resources, to name a few. It seems as though when it comes to issues regarding the environment, the states and federal government have been unable to see eye to eye. In the past, there was a focus on meeting the minimum federal standards when it came to the environment but states are leaning towards more aggressive policies. While each state may choose to handle this policy in the way they feel best benefits them, it is an issue that affects the whole country and should be handled as if it were as important as any other. Single states often become catalysts for others to adopt their regulations, rather than using the federal government as a leading example, but it is important that these catalyst states are being led in the right direction in the first place.
As the 47th governor of Texas, he has and continues to put into motion many new acts and laws that have created a more prosperous Texas. A more prosperous Texas includes the creation of more jobs, a fair legal system, and more adept schools as well as low taxes for citizens and accordingly, low state government spending. These tough economic practices have also been proven through national statistics. According to many s...
The Texas anti-abortion law has taken the country’s attention by storm. It is an issue on many different woman’s minds, especially those who live in the state of Texas. The new laws are forcing many woman to have to cross state lines in order to receive an abortion and medical care. This includes woman who needs abortions due to preexisting medical conditions and those who are carrying fetuses which are diseased and are expected not to be born as healthy babies. The Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator Ted Cruz are leading the fight for the abortion laws to become permanent, laws that are considered the strictest abortion laws that this country has ever seen.
Texas and Federal Constitutions contain the principles needed for a representative democratic government and both arose from different historical situations; for instance, the U.S. Constitution was made to replace the Articles of Confederation, a weak decentralized form of national government with no president or taxes, which made the government not powerful enough to start a war. The U.S. Constitution was made to improve these weaknesses by proposing a degree of centralization which increased government power. On the other hand, Texas Constitution was made to reverse or avoid the ideas of the U.S. Constitution. On one part, the U.S. Constitution wanted to empower government action whereas the Texas Constitution wanted to weaken government action. The Texas Constitution is more geared toward protecting people’s rights whereas the U.S. Constitution protects the nation’s interest. The Texas Constitution has been amended more than 300 times whereas the US Constitution includes the Bill of Rights and the subsequent
In my lifetime it has never been a question what side of the poll Texas has been on. Now it seems that Texas is undecided and could be a big part of the way this election goes with our 38 electoral votes the second by any state and California is democratic for the most part. Those 38 votes could be the game changer in this election, because it seems this election could go either way. This last debate will be a deciding factor in my opinion. Our state could be deciding to go democratic, because of the high volume of Hispanics in Texas, and Trump is trying to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. Some people view this idea and Trump’s comments on illegal immigration to be racist. This seems like a big reason for Texas to be switching to democratic