A resource for John Marshall's Advanced Placement English and Government class. Woo-hoo!
Feel free to post great questions or leave amazing comments that you didn't get a chance to make during our time on Wednesday. You may post right up until 3:03 on Thursday the 8th of Nov.
posted by erdecker @ 12:15 PM
2 comments
Enchanted April at Roc Rep Jan 2016 (Sound Design). Donnybrook's Dilemma Murder Mystery Jan 10 (Donnybrook actor). Valentine's Murder Mystery at Plummer House Feb 13 (actor). Ole and Lena in Love at Rochester Sons of Norway March 19 (Director).
2 Comments:
Nobody? Really? I guess I'll start with a question then. Is it possible that the ability to try to start a bill that has failed multiple times before leads to corruption or voting based on issues besides what is best for the country? If the bill failed before, even with the possibility of changes during the process, what would make it pass when proposed a later time?
Danny Luedtke
Just so Danny can have some closure on his question, bills have various "extras" in addition to the actual content of the bill. Let's say that you need two more votes in the senate for your spending bill to pass. Both senators from Minnesota are currently against the bill. In order to get their votes, you might add in a part to the bill that says that Minnesota doesn't have to help pay the cost of the bill. Now you have Minnesota's votes, but some of your other supporters now want the same thing and start holding out on you. In effect, you can't get the two votes you need because it would take away from the votes you already have.
Another instance of a bill that fails initially but eventually passes is when the Congress changes power or when public opinion changes. For instance, if womens' rights activists wanted to have women's suffrage passed in the 1800's, Congress probably wouldn't have passed it because the public sentiment at the time was that only the man of the household was responsible enough to vote. A hundred or so years later, public opinion changed and legislation was passed allowing women to vote. Similarly, if Republicans were in control of both houses and the Democrats wanted to increase taxes on the wealthy, the legislation would not be likely to succeed. However, if the Democrats get control of Congress after the next election, the tax would be more likely to pass.
In conclusion, I'm bored. I don't know why I just did this. Probably so Danny's comment wouldn't be so lonely. Anyways, to answer the question, defeated bills can be proposed and passed later because, as one of the Founders said, the Constitution is for the living. Because the living are fickle and have dynamic ideals, what might not have support at one time may be overwhelmingly favored sometime in the near future. The population's paradigm shifts will (ideally) be illustrated by who is voted into Congress and the Presidency. When reexamining an old idea through a new paradigm, the legislators may find that legislation that seemed like a bad idea the first time actually does have merit. As to whether or not the new public paradigm is more correct than the old one, only the future will make us certain.
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