Politics and the word “exciting” being used in the same sentence is an oxymoron for most. But the CBS show Madam Secretary, shatters that assumption. The show is based on the life of a “rogue” Secretary of State, Elizabeth (Bes) McCord which is played by Tia Leoni. She has been appointed to the Secretary of State position just after the previous Secretary of State dies in a mysterious plane crash. The pilot episode begins with President Conrad Dalton pulling up to her private ranch house asking his former colleague from the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) to work with him again, but this time in his cabinet. She is reluctant at first for a few reasons, she is married and has three children, she has not previously held any political office, …show more content…
When a candidate chooses to attempt a public office you almost have to obtain a perfect record. Name recognition is a huge factor that goes into a person choosing to run. Public polls of a specific state are done by pollsters just to get an idea if a candidate can prosper in an election at all. For women in public office its worse because pundits care more about what you’re wearing or how your hair is styled than what your ideas are. Madam Secretary showcases this media bias as well but in slightly humorous manner. McCord changes her hair and wardrobe in an attempt to distract the public from an issue that had come up internationally. The plan worked just the way she thought and the media focused on her wardrobe change rather than talking about the country. By the media doing this, it presses Americans to choose their leaders based on clothing rather than what they can do for the betterment of this country. According to David Moss with Harvard Business Review says that, “The Media controls the narrative of how the public sees the candidates”. This is true because rather than going online and researching official’s positions and stances the public is getting their information form cable news …show more content…
For the writers this must be a difficult task; writing a show that portrays a glimpse into the executive branch of the United States but purposefully does not mention the two major political parties. One of the producers of the show Barbara Hall adds, “We hope to highlight the process not politics. I think a lot of the time, the way we consume politics is to take a stand or position, and to ignore the process”. The process that she Hall is referring to is the method to make things happen without being brought down. From a viewer standpoint, by not mentioning a party this limits the biases that can sometimes drive the storyline of a political show. Once you mention a certain political party you lose half of the audience. With a country whose political climate that is intensely divided this creates a refreshing getaway. Referring to an article at Harvard Business review David Moss states that, “The American political system shows that the Congress is more divided than ever, pulled apart by two starkly different conceptions of government”. Our members of congress are not working together anymore even on the simplest of issues like education and infrastructure. Gridlocked is term heard way too often when examining American Politics which has led to extreme voter apathy. Taking a look at this past election, according to The Daily Dot, “about 40% of registered voters did not cast
The Party is Over by Mike Lofgren goes undercover to reveal what politics is like behind the screen. I believe this book was more for criticizing the GOP and Republicans that the Democrats. The GOP and Republicans are a lot different in politics now than they were decades ago. The book talks about how the Republicans are against the government, how Republicans are anti-science and anti-intellectual, and also how they view religious rights. All of these lead to problems with politics. The Democrats were brought up than the Republicans, but were still mentioned. They too did some damage in today’s politics. This book informs us on how the Republicans went crazy and Democrats became useless, and how it’s become a problem.
8.In order for political success, both sides of the political spectrum must be critically examined in order to omit mistakes and for cultural advancement. Over two hundred years of United States politics have seen many changes. The names of parties may have changed, but the bi-partisan feature of the party-system has not. Republicans and Democrats are our two major partisan groups in present day America. Sometimes there are disagreement amongst party members that lead to dispute and a less concentrated effort. That is the beauty of a democracy, everyone is allowed to put their two cents worth in.
Political gridlock and dysfunction is a central aspect of studying Congress because it determines a huge part of how they function and their general effectiveness. When it comes to the political landscape in the United States, law-making and legislation ultimately comes down to what the Senate and the House of Representatives vote on and how they vote. Gridlock has been studied for years because of how it has changed the political landscape, essentially from the beginning. The Jacksonian Era in the mid 1800’s shifted the way that political parties operated, and from then on a two-party system has been a critical part of American politics. The winner-take-all format of elections in the United States, along with the increasing importance of political parties, has forced a two-party system into being and prevented a third party from being able to get their feet off the ground for more than one or two elections.
In the United States of America, there are a number of national issues that go unresolved and become more of a major issue subsequently. The lack of resolution in some of our nation’s most critical issues is due to the lack of a common ground between opposing political parties. Issues such as healthcare, climate change, abortion, same-sex marriage, taxes and welfare are reoccurring problems in the United States due to congressional gridlock. The cause of congressional gridlock can be attributed to the difference in liberal and conservative views, which can be further examined through some of the nation’s most prominent reoccurring issues such as immigration and gun control.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
According to a study done by Nonprofit Vote only “an estimated 58.7% of eligible voters turned out to vote” ("Voter Turnout" ) in 2012’s presidential election, which is below the 62% that was achieved in 2008. (Ginsberg 306). According to the United States Census Bureau in 2012 71.2 percent of Americans reported that they were registered to vote, but only 61.8 reported that they actually did so. ("Voting and Registration"). While each source didn’t report the exact same statistics in America these percentages are considered highs in political participation. Even worse, in midterm elections voter turnout is normally closer to 33% and even lower for any local elections. (Ginsberg 306). While we may consider any of those statistics good for America, looking at world democracies we are trailing far behind, in many “European countries and other western democracies [the] national voter turnout is usually between 70 to 90 percent.”(Ginsberg 306). The question is then asked why don’t American’s vote, which is then an...
Political Divide in the United States The political divide in the United States is very bad. The two main political parties are the democrats and the republicans. The two parties dislike each other and each other's views. Abortion is something that has been talked about a lot, some people find it good and others find it as a bad thing. Health care is another issue that is controversial. Another big issue is illegal immigration. The death penalty and euthanasia are also reasons the government is divided. The topic of the right to bear arms is also very controversial, especially with all the murders and riots going on. Global warming, even though it does not seem very political, is a topic that comes up a lot in political speeches and events. And lastly, the separation of church and state is another topic that gets in heated discussions in politics. Not all of these seem like they are political, but they have been made into be, even though they should not have, the United States is divided over them. The political parties have caused the country to be divided. Democrats and Republicans, also known as liberals and conservatives, most people do
From its early period, the United States has obtained an indirect type of democracy, and has always had contentment that its citizens are allowed to vote for their representatives, especially the President. Nevertheless, the amount of citizens that actually vote in nationwide elections has decreased noticeably over the years. Voter participation and turnout has been declining in the United States throughout history. Voter turnout, the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote (Ginsberg), to this day is lower than it was in the 1900’s. Since 1912, presidential elections have only had about 50 to 65 percent of Americans participate. This means that about half of United States citizens who are eligible and have the freedom to vote have failed to participate in presidential elections. At the end of the nineteenth century voter turnout started plummeting, reaching the 60 percent level by the election of 1912 (Teixeira, 1987). The declining rate of voter participation in the United States is due to voter registration and procedu...
When America was first established, they had the highest voting turnouts ever in American history. Ever since, America’s voting turn-out has dropped (Fortin). The reason for the high turn outs were because American colonists wanted change from the British’s electoral system. As history writes, American colonist rebel and over time becomes one of the greatest countries ever. Today, Americans are one of the worst countries in vote to registration as they rank 120 in the world (Pintor). Over the summer, I got to learn more about Ohio’s electoral system and voting turn outs in a first hand experience. A decreasing number of voting to registration is not only a national problem, but a local issue as well and there are creative ideas in fixing these
Thus, inactivity in voting threatens the very legitimacy of our government. In the recent November 7, 2013 midterm election, a few counties reported a mere 4% of eligible voters actually participated, in some cases, in voting for a policy referendum that would affect how millions of dollars would be spent in the coming years.... ... middle of paper ... ...
However, with regard to women and electoral politics, there was not a huge change accomplishments of women until the 1960s and onward (Anderson 1, 1996). Today there is a record number of women in congress, with 20 serving in the Senate and 82 serving in the House of Representatives, which is still below 25% of members of the government (CAWP 2014). Women are underrepresented and less likely to be involved with or run for local or national levels of government. A popular belief, while unproven, is that women are less likely to run because they are concerned about their family responsibility (Fang 2014). Women are less likely to seek government positions because women are less likely to be encouraged to seek government positions, and are therefore less likely to be seen as a candidate for an open government position. Despite this, a Gallup poll in 2014 showed that 63 percent of Americans say that the U.S. would be more well governed if there were more political leaders who are women. So while women need to be more involved in political affairs to reduce the wage gap, the barrier isn 't that women are not wanted in office, nor that they are too focused on their families, but instead that there is very little encouragment for women to enter the political arena at
Voter turnout has been declining in the United States throughout history through the potential voters’ personal choice not to vote and ineligibility. According to research a large percentage of individuals are not voting because political parties fail to appeal to the voters and this leads to the voting population losing interest in the campaign, while others postpone registering and by the time they realize their delay the election is upon them.
8% of college students said they forgot to vote, and over 12% of those not in college said they forgot to vote or send in a ballot. For students in college, 12% versus 19% of those not in college said that the reason they did not vote is because they were not interested or felt their vote did not count. Another reason for not voting was being too busy or stating that voting conflicted with work for 35% of college students and 30% of those not in colleges. Lastly, “other reasons” to not vote was listed as the number one category for those not in college at 33% and 21% for those in college. With every survey taken, there are limitations.
Madam Secretary is a TV series about a woman, Dr. Elizabeth Faulkner McCord, who was a former CIA analysis and later became a college professor until she was elected as the secretary of the State by the demand of the president of the United States. Because of her political leanings, artistic thinking, and understanding of the Middle East, she earned the honors of her bosses (Madam Secretary - CBS.com n.d.). Her roles are to impel global international relations, combat office politics and evade set of rules while bargaining national and international concerns (Madam Secretary Series - TV Tropes n.d.). Her husband Dr. Henry McCord, a former retired United States Navy captain and a fighter jet pilot of the F18 Hornet during Operation Desert Storm who later became a theology professor. Furthermore, Dr. Henry McCord had written and published eight books (Madam Secretary - CBS.com n.d.).
...cal elections is many times less than twenty-five percent. Americans too frequently disregard state and local governments, although these governments have much power in the way that they live their lives.