Harvard University Political Science Trump and Coronavirus Questions

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Current Events  Trump’s Performance on the Corona Virus? In your comments last class most of you were very critical of the government’s response and many of you were also critical of President Trumps’ response. But check out this poll from a few days ago:  A clear majority believe he is doing a good jump handling the crisis. Please go to Discussion Question One for today and reconcile your views with this poll. Q29. Is there too much money in politics? Money and Politics Intro The people certainly think the system is for sale . . .Take a look . . . Figure 1. Public Attitudes about Money in Politics Politicians listen to wealthy donors more than regular voters 93% Money in politics is a bigger problem than ever before 81 The U.S. needs new laws to reduce the role of money in politics 78 We should limit the amount of money spent on campaigns The parties should work to reduce the role of money in politics Notes: Poll questions come from Pew 2018 and Ipsos/Reuters 2016. 77 72 How much do we spend on elections? Just to be clear in reading this – in the last election, just over 5.6 billion was spent in the 2018 congressional elections – this is only for federal offices. Facts about the 2018 Congressional Races – Take a close look . . . Spend a little time with this one. Rules for Contributing to a Federal Candidate Table 1. How much can you donate in the 2020 federal election cycle? to a candidate to a PAC to a political party $2,800 in the primary and $2,800 in the general election $5,000 per year $152,000 per year to a Super PAC unlimited to your own campaign unlimited A little explanation about campaign finance law What do candidates need all this money for? What is all the money for Disagreement over Importance of Money in Politics – Part 1 The Not a Problem Argument - Candidates Need to be able to promote their views - Campaigns and ads inspire people to get involved - Campaign spending educates people about the candidates - We don’t really spend that much on political campaigns when you think about it – much more is spent advertising beer, soda, and make-up. So it is not even that much money. Money in Elections is not really a problem Disagreement over Importance of Money in Politics – Part 2 It is a Huge Problem Argument - Money Destroys the Democratic Process, ability to raise money is not related to being a good leader - The people who contribute money, get more influence drowning out regular voters. Just look at the top contributors in 2018: Money in Elections corrupts the democratic process Discussion Question 2: What does Michael Bloomberg’s Failed Campaign Tell Us About the Importance of money in politics? Bloomberg and Discussion 2 Summing Up . . . Q29. “Is there too much money in politics?”  Probably. But it really depends on your outlook.  Billions of dollars are poured into federal elections every two years and the amount of money keeps increasing.  If you are concerned about wealthy and corporate interests dominating politics, you probably are very troubled by this.  If you think raising money is just part of the process and politicians still have to be responsive to the people, then you are probably okay with the amount of money in politics. Q.30 What is this Electoral College anyway? Electoral College System Electoral College – How Does it Work? Also, which ever candidate wins the popular vote in the state wins all of the electoral votes for that state – except for Maine and Nebraska. Those two states give the winner of the state 2 electoral votes and then divvy up he rest by winners of each the congressional district in the state. The Current Number of Electoral Votes for Each State Current Map Between Trump and the Presumed Democratic Nominee Biden https://www.270towin.com/ Play with the Electoral Map for a Minute The Boring Basic Facts of the Electoral College you Should Know Table 1. Electoral College Cheat Sheet 1. How many electoral votes are there? 538 2. How many electoral votes does each state have? Each state’s allocation equals the size of its congressional delegation (the number of members of the House of Representatives plus U.S. Senators). The District of Columbia has three electoral votes. 3. How do candidates win electoral votes? 4. How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win the election? In every state except Maine and Nebraska, it’s winner-take-all. If you win the state’s popular vote, then you get all of that state’s electoral votes. 270 Three Main Reasons the Electoral College is Controversial  1) Candidate with fewer votes can win  2) Each vote does not have the same weight – in other words, some voters have more influence than others  3) Candidates only campaign in swing states, making the presidential election all about voters 7-10 states Critiques of the Electoral College Reason 1 – The Candidate with fewer votes can win (this happened in 2000 and 2016) Table 2. The Popular Vote versus the Electoral Vote in 2016 Trump Popular Vote Clinton Popular Vote Trump Electoral Vote Clinton Electoral Vote California 4,483,810 8,753,788 0 55 Texas 4,685,047 3,877868 38 0 Florida 4,617,886 4,504,975 29 0 Total in three biggest states 13,786,743 17,136,631 67 55 Total nationwide 62,980,160 65,845,063 306 232 Reason 2 – Voters in some states have more weight – not all votes are equal Table 3. How Much Does One Vote Count? State Population Electoral Votes Voters per Electoral Vote Wyoming 572,381 3 190,734 Vermont 627,180 3 209,060 19,862,512 29 684,914 New York This table shows, for instance, a voter in Wyoming or Vermont, has more than three times the influence of a voter in New York. Reason 3 – The electoral college distorts the Presidential Campaign. Number of Campaign Events in Swing States in 2016 – that featured the candidates Florida 71 North Carolina 55 Pennsylvania 54 Ohio 48 Virginia 23 Michigan 22 New Hampshire 21 Iowa 21 Colorado 19 Nevada 17 Wisconsin 14 Arizona 10 The other 38 states and DC combined 10 These two figures show that the campaigns only spend time in states that are competitive. So voters in other states don’t see ads or campaign rallies. Arguments for the Electoral College are Much Less Numerous Argumet for the Electoral College  It preserves the autonomy of the states in our federal system.  If we went with straight popular vote then candidates would ignore rural areas and small cities and states  It prevents large states from imposing their will on smaller states.  Others . . . Question 1 - Trump and Corona Virus Why are Americans generally approving of Trump's handling of the Corona virus? What are they seeing that most of you are not? Also feel free to bring in any observations about polls and polling that we discussed a few weeks ago. Question 2 - Bloomberg's Billions Michael Bloomberg spent almost a billion dollars of his own money to try and get elected president. No one has ever spent like this in history. It did not go so well. What does his campaign tell us about the role of money in elections? It doesn't seem to matter, we should be less worried? Actually, it really should worry us a lot since he made it pretty far in the election? Or it does not tell us much other than maybe that he was a lousy candidate. Question 3 - The Electoral College This is really three questions - and two are based on the short articles. Against the electoral college: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/12315574/electoral-college-explainedpresidential-elections-2016 In defense of the electoral college: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/11/15/in-defense-of-theelectoral-college/ 1) From the article on Vox - Briefly explain why we have this system. 2) From the Washington Post article defending the electoral college, did you find it persuasive? Why or why not. 3) Do you think we should keep the electoral college? What is the best argument for keeping or getting rid of it in your opinion?
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DISCUSSION
Trump and coronavirus
The president of the United States is engaging his administration actively to fight
against the coronavirus. The welfare of US citizens is his responsibility. Therefore some
measures were put to try and contain the spread of this virus. The effort has gained popularity
by US citizens since the government is working towards helping its citizens and also
providing support to other affected countries like Korea and Italy. It has also extended
humanitarian efforts to Iran by delivering medical supplies and also testing kits. The severe
measures taken like the restriction of travel restrictions, especially to countries reporting the
virus, are met.
The American citizens are also encouraged by efforts such as the availing of the
necessary resources like the testing kits, which are developed in integrated DNA technologies
companies. The states which have recorded escalating c...


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