The U.S. Government

Alright, I want to cover a few more things before discussing current political activity.  I'm hoping I can cover it all in this post and will attempt to do so.  I therefore apologize if this post becomes an eyesore for you.

As I mentioned in a previous post, read the Constitution.  Most of what I'm going to go over in this post can be traced back to the Constitution.  Each of the articles that deal with a branch of the federal government also contains clauses to determine if an individual may occupy that office.

Article I of the Constitution deals with the power of the legislative branch, or Congress.  There are even certain clauses that regard a specific chamber within the Congress.  For example, there is the Section 7 Clause 1 states:

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

A few of the notable clauses in Article I include:

• Each chamber setting their own rules of procedure. 
• To lay and collect taxes.
• To regulate commerce.
• To establish post offices.
• To establish inferior courts to the Supreme Court.
• To establish and maintain a military.
• The prohibition on passing bills that prohibit crimes against people that have already made those crimes. To name specific organizations in criminal law.
• (Senate) To confirm nominations made by the President.
• To pass all laws necessary and proper.
• (Senate) to confirm treaties.

As you can see, there are quite a few responsibilities, among other duties that congressional delegates must do.

Article II of the Constitution deals with the executive branch, or President.  The duties of the President are the ones most people remember and can recite.  I'll list some of these out as well:

• Commander and Chief of the military.
• Nominate federal judges, ambassadors, and other executive branch positions.
• Address the legislative branch.
• Grant pardons.
• Veto bills.
• Convene Congress.

Article III of the Constitution deals with the judicial branch, or the Supreme Court.  There aren't any enumerated qualifications for the justices of the Supreme Court, but it is generally understood that the justices have experience with law in order to at least be nominated.  The responsibilities for the Supreme Court can be boiled down to two statements:

1. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in some specific cases listed in the Constitution cases.
2. In all other cases the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction.

Other Articles of the Constitution include:

1. The relationship of the several states to the federal government (Article IV)
2. Amending the Constitution (Article V)
3. Debts and oaths; federal laws are above state laws (Article VI)
4. Ratification of the Constitution (Article VII)

Amendments to the Constitution are treated as part of the Constitution and not separate additions of a lesser value.  That being said, the Bill of Rights usually receive the most attention.  Along the lines of the amendments, the content of the amendments are usually the Supreme Court must review when deciding cases in front of them.  Occasionally, clauses in the Constitution itself are addressed, but you will usually see cases involving one, if not more, of the first 10 amendments or the 14th Amendment.

I would like to take the time to go over each amendment, but I feel that would consume too much space and would be much more beneficial to you, as the reader, if you read the amendments yourself.

The two party system that the United States has - Republicans and Democrats -  are a result of historical political evolution.  It was not always this way, but as political parties in the past found, the more people you can reach and support you can garner, the stronger your party becomes.  As such, the two party system pushes out 3rd parties and other minor parties and will absorb the goals and/or objectives those parties sought to accomplish.  An example of this is the Democratic party absorbing the interests and ideas of the green party and moving towards environmentalism and renewable energy.

The United States party system greatly contrasts that of most European politics.  Most European countries use a multi-party system.  If you've ever watched the elections for parliament for the United Kingdom, you might notice that there are other parties that attempt to get seats in parliament and not two parties.  Multi-party systems require cooperation and coalitions among parties to pass legislation.  The benefit to this is the ability to get more ideas passed rather than waiting for you party to control a majority of a bipartisan system.  The downside to this is it can take a lot of cooperation and effort to obtain the support needed in a multi-party system; you might have to shake hands with people you don't like.

Hopefully this gives you enough insight to start.  For an online reference to the Constitution, I recommend this website: http://www.usconstitution.net/.  As always, I welcome comments.