Analysis of Political Scandals and US Politics PDF

extraordinary time, the health of the Nation”. Many legal scholars considered the Supreme 344 Court delivered a thinly-disguised partisan decision, Joan Biskupic writing that the ruling “reflects Chief Justice John Roberts’ cramped view of voting...

extraordinary time, the health of the Nation”. Many legal scholars considered the Supreme 344 Court delivered a thinly-disguised partisan decision, Joan Biskupic writing that the ruling “reflects Chief Justice John Roberts’ cramped view of voting rights in America, a long-held position that has often favored Republican interests”. Another considered the Supreme 345 Court’s ruling was “brazenly ironic” in that it refused to make accommodation for Wisconsin’s voters whilst indefinitely postponing all of the cases that were originally scheduled to be argued before the Court because of the coronavirus crisis. Most 346 significantly, some claimed African-Americans in particular would be particularly hard-hit. With data showing a disproportionate number of African-Americans dying from the coronavirus. By way of reminder, the area in Wisconsin with the largest black population 347 (Milwaukee) only had five polling places, instead of the normal figure of 180. According to 348 David Cole, writing in The New York Review of Books, “in the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans may have discovered the ultimate voter suppression tactic. For years they have sought to erect obstacles to voting, imposing strict voter identification requirements, limiting registration opportunities, purging voter rolls, and opposing early voting – all ostensibly in the name of fighting in-person ‘voter-fraud’, even though there is virtually no evidence that anyone unlawfully impersonates a voter at the polls. Many Republicans believe that lo voter turnout favors them, because older and wealthier citizens, disproportionately Republicans, vote more regularly than younger and poorer citizens, who tend to favor Democrats. But the suppression tactics the party has previously pursued pale in comparison to fear of contracting a deadly disease, which is certain to deter many people from going to the polls”. 349 2. Scandal – Ridden Administration (=Government) cause someone to become involved in an argument or a difficult situation: The White House is embroiled in a variety of scandals: sex scandals, collusion with Russia and Trump campaign + possible influence of Russia on Trump’s campaign, conflicts of interest, … 3. Politically Inexperienced President Before becoming president, Donald Trump was a businessman, a T.V. host and a producer of reality TV shows. He never served in any public office. 344 Ibid, p. 6. In rare (and near-insulting) fashion, the majority spent considerable time outlining why it considered the dissent was wrong, to the point of criticizing the dissent’s rhetoric as “misplaced”: see majority opinion, slip op., pp. 3-4 345 Joan Biskupic, “Supreme Court’s Wisconsin Ruling”, CNN, April 7, 2020, Internet available at https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/07/politics/voting-wisconsin-supreme-court-john-roberts/index.html (accessed April 9, 2020). 346 Leah Litman, “The Supreme Court’s Wisconsin Decision is a Terrible Sign for November”, The Atlantic, April 7, 2020, Internet available at https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/supreme-courts- hypocrisy-going-get-americans-killed/609598/ (accessed April 9, 2020). 347 See Akilhah Johnson and Talia Buford, “Early Data Show African Americans Have Contracted, Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate”, Medscape, April 6, 2020, Internet available at https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928164 (accessed April 9, 2020). The reasons invoked have to do with racial disparities in the health-care system and socioeconomic disparities that prohibit poorer communities from taking various preventive measures. 348 Leah Litman, “The Supreme Court’s Wisconsin Decision is a Terrible Sign for November”, The Atlantic, April 7, 2020, op. cit. 349 David Cole, “Why We Need Postal Democracy”, op. cit. 125 b). Culture Wars Longstanding “culture wars”: inflammatory rhetoric rooted in different systems of moral understanding. People divide themselves in 2 opposing camps (polarization of the country). Different areas regarding different moral understanding: family (Defense of Marriage Act – DOMA that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman), recognition of LGBTQ: rights. abortion: Roe v. Wade (1973) recognizes the right of a woman to have an abortion (sphere of privacy). It’s a very controversial decision. Many Americans think this ruling should be overturned. renverser education: creationism (God created the world in 7 days) vs. the theory of evolution media: Fox News and Sinclair broadcasting: how different medias operate law: the influence of deism on the Constitution, the question of separation between church and state politics: guns (2 amendment), feminism, immigration, campaign financing, … nd c). Resurgence of Extremism Worldwide phenomenon: (UK with Brexit, Hungary, Italy, Brazil, India, …). Extremism is largely rooted in economic rage, fear of migrants/strangers, … Specificities in America lie in a post-9/11 environment marked by paranoia, resentment and anger the quality of being specific (= clear and exact) Religious fundamentalism related to the culture wars: people know that Trump is totally immoral, but they are ready to accept it. Belief that American government and the welfare state (état providence) were set by a socialist conspiracy. TEA Party: obvious reference to the “Boston Tea Party” of December 1773. Diffuse grass- roots group that emerged in 2009 in protest to the Obama economic stimulus package: more conservative views than Republicans generally → priority: reduce taxes (Taxed Enough Already). Basic agenda: be as obstructive as possible to any initiative coming from the Democrats (the economy, the environment, health care, appointments to SCOTUS, …). Fiscal conservatism and pledge to rein in the federal government Newt Gingrich (1994) was a member of the House of Representatives. He did not want to cooperate at all with the Democrats. Direct link with George W. Bush (2000) which leads to , the Tea Party (2009), which leads to the Freedom Caucus (2010) which leads to Donald , Trump (2016). Root problem: the balance power between federal power and the states. 126  gush: to flow or send out quickly and in large amounts There is a current gush of hatred in the nation. The root cause of current rage is not primarily economic. A book written by Ta-Nehisi Coates was aimed to understand white supremacy: Obama was eight years in the White House, but it led to a “tragedy” in the form of a backlash. Barack Obama was a successful president (not corrupt, no scandals, good job) but for a lot of Americans, he simply could not be accepted. And now…? There exists a need to repair the fabric of an angry and frightened America. People were expecting optimistic things at the inauguration of Donald Trump, but they were disappointed. He had bleak prospects, dystopian views (he spoke about an American carnage, portrayed a bitter and broken country). George W. Bush confided to Hillary Clinton: “That was some weird shit”. Trump had the opportunity to bring people together, but he didn’t. Since then, the bar for shock-value keeps rising. 127