Political factions frequently emerge in response to specific social, economic, or political issues – for instance the Dixiecrats, Know-Nothings and free-spoilers from early American history, or Abraham Lincoln’s departure from the Democratic Party over slavery as examples of such forces at work.
Polls aimed at uncovering affective polarization often find Americans to be discontent with each side. Programs designed to build trust and agency around shared issues could prove more successful.
Election Reform Debates
Election reform debates have become a source of violence and misinformation, leading to one riot where a US Capitol police officer was shot – underscoring the need to make facts widely accessible, especially as political controversy escalates.
Congress and state legislatures have introduced numerous bills to address electoral system problems, including voter registration, voting equipment, ballot accessibility, and vote counting procedures. Unfortunately, momentum for rapid passage has diminished as policymakers grapple with both substantive and logistical obstacles to swift implementation of any measures proposed.
Some experts favor a national election administration model while others favor state control of elections. State control would offer voters from different states similar experiences by offering standard voter registration forms, uniform ballots, uniform standards for voting equipment and registration databases and clearer instructions at polling places.
Many Americans affiliate themselves with one of two political parties that dominate American politics today. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, our Founding Fathers sought to prevent factionalism by creating an electoral system with two major parties as its foundation; yet third-party political activity remains widespread across our nation.
Infrastructure Bill Negotiations
After months of negotiations on Zoom calls late at night, a bipartisan group of Senators reached an agreement on a $1.2 trillion “hard” infrastructure bill that will fund roads, bridges, waterworks, electric grid, broadband internet infrastructure investments. This landmark investment stands as one of the largest ever made.
But the bill may still fail. Centrist Democrats have indicated their preference to vote for it only if accompanied by an even larger $3.5 trillion social spending package that includes expanding Medicare, expanding child tax credit eligibility, paying for family and medical leave benefits, changing tax code laws and taking climate action measures.
Rob Portman of Ohio, one of the GOP negotiating team’s retiring members, played a critical role in making sure the infrastructure bill’s bipartisan success. He spent weeks assuring centrist lawmakers such as Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia that they wouldn’t have to vote against their respective parties’ bases. Unfortunately, however, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and most members of Progressive Caucus remain opposed and insist upon having separate social agenda bill as part of any agreement reached in the House.
Foreign Policy Focus
American perspectives on foreign policy have been significantly altered by events in Ukraine and Russia as well as its role as an upholder of democracy worldwide. While Americans from both parties remain deeply divided on many issues of foreign policy, a majority of Americans from both parties generally support defending Europe from Russian aggression while also welcoming China and other emerging economies into global markets for mutual gain.
Americanists appreciate America’s primacy as an assurance of freedom to pursue its interests without being limited by international agreements or institutions. According to them, unlike previous hegemons such as China or Russia, its global influence makes others seek its assistance while at the same time feeling pressure from it meddling in their affairs.
Democrats tend to favor an approach where American policy is directed at globally coordinated solutions to global problems, and are much more likely than Republicans to support policies which balance American interests with those of allies, even if it requires making compromises. Americans remain critical of their federal government; large majorities support term limits and abolishing the Electoral College as long-standing proposals.
Climate Change Policy Updates
In the US, nearly 8-in-10 Democrats describe climate change as at least somewhat of a serious problem and believe humans play an active role. This figure represents more than twice the proportion who held this view a decade ago. On the other hand, Republicans and Republican leaners tend to be less concerned; although younger Republicans may be more likely than their older counterparts to view climate change as serious issue and hold this belief as true.
Climate change is already having significant repercussions throughout the country, from droughts to heat waves. This study was undertaken as part of the fifth National Climate Assessment which took several years and involved contributions from authors across all 50 states.
2022 marked remarkable progress towards meeting climate challenges through transformative legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This landmark legislation is helping position the US to reach President Biden’s goals of net-zero emissions and accelerate the clean energy economy, mobilizing unprecedented investment in clean energy while decreasing pollution and carbon dioxide emissions while simultaneously expanding America’s economic opportunity and household savings.
COVID-19 Response Measures
As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads throughout the US, policymakers are taking proactive steps to mitigate and contain it. For instance, the federal government has continued imposing travel and public gathering restrictions as well as encouraging citizens to implement social distancing and vaccination initiatives.
The US military has played an essential role in supporting national containment and testing efforts, deploying active duty personnel to civilian hospitals for support services, while working closely with 3M to increase production of medical-grade masks for distribution.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has taken several steps to assist victims. First, funding has been increased for research into vaccines and antivirals; next it created a task force dedicated to laboratory screening/detection; staff were deployed to review donations from private donors of equipment/supplies; DOD also activated its headquarters as part of the response effort while working closely with FEMA on providing assistance in affected areas.
Social Justice Initiatives
As one of the nations with highest gun ownership and violence levels in the world, members of LGBTQ+ communities in the USA continue to experience discrimination and fatal violence. To counteract this issue, President Donald Trump took some measures in his administration – repealing the “Global Gag Rule”, reinstating consideration of sexual and reproductive rights within global health policy framework, combatting anti-transgender discrimination in housing and healthcare provision and creating an Envoy for Advancement of LGBTQI+ People – but none were enough to meet this goal.
But many other social justice issues remain. The US continues to experience considerable economic inequalities, with minority communities often being negatively impacted by incarceration, immigration enforcement and other forms of abusive power structures.
The 2020 elections saw a historic election of women and racial and ethnic minor representatives to Congress, including an unprecedented or near-record number of Black, Hispanic, and Asian American members elected as well as near record or near record representation from each race/ethnicity in House and Senate memberships. Yet White Americans continue to be overrepresented within politics and senior policymaking positions.
Buckner highlighted how contemporary movements advancing civil and human rights differ significantly from past ones, with Learning for Justice (a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center that combats white supremacy through education) and grassroots initiatives like BYP100 being spearheads of mobilization efforts towards social justice. She believes these efforts demonstrate rather than dilute the original intent of civil rights movements like BYP100.
Supreme Court Decisions
Last year when the Supreme Court issued its landmark abortion ruling, its justices could foresee that it would cause an uproar; yet no one could have predicted how quickly political, economic and social life would change as a result of it.
Roe v Wade has caused outrage among abortion rights supporters while anti-abortion activists rejoice, leaving many Americans split along partisan lines. Additionally, it has caused an unprecedented drop in public approval for the Supreme Court that now ranks among its least favorite institutions for over 30 years.
As of 6 January, the justices are considering several high-profile cases with significant ramifications for America’s future. They will decide if Donald Trump can block a Colorado ruling stating he is ineligible to run for office and whether Congress may review his tax and financial records. Furthermore, Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action policies are under fire, which use race as one factor when admission decisions are made; also considered is legal challenge regarding South Carolina congressional districts allegedly drawn racial gerrymandering by critics.
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