Public Opion and a Republic
Because America is a representative republic, and not a true democracy, public opinion is very important. As Representatives to their constituents, the lawmaker's need to have their finger on the pulse of the people. By reading the public opinion the lawmakers are best able to discern what the people want. They are then able to look at an issue from all sides and hopefully form an opinion that is best for the district or state that they represent. Public opinion should aid in the formulation of public policy; it should not control it. Lawmakers are elected under the assumptions that they are the best-qualified persons in that district or state to do the job of creating public policy. They devote their careers to the study of policy. They are able to look at an issue much more in depth than the average person, thereby making a much more informed decision. If they were to govern strictly by public opinion, then there would be no need for their services. On December 19th 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton. The Republican leaders knew that this was not a popular decision in the eyes of public opinion; but after looking at all of the evidence that was brought before them they had to do what th
At the time when the Constitution was written, and the Federalist papers were published, American voters were much more knowledgeable about the political process than the voters of today. When the Federalist Papers were published in New York newspapers they were not only read, but also comprehended by a large majority of the electorate. Despite this fact, the founders were weary of a true democracy. Jump forward to today. We live in a myopic~knee-jerk~ten-second soundbite~MTV society. People today pay little attention to politics. What little news they are able to absorb from the mainstream media is growing ever negative (C-L, Patterson, 272) A good example is given in the Light textbook. There is a political pop quiz run by the Washington Post. Fifty three percent of the people surveyed knew who the Speaker of the House was. Twenty six percent knew how long a U.S. Senators term was. (Light 138) Despite this lack of knowledge, we are saturated with poll after poll telling us what the American people think about issues that one could study for months and not feel comfortable enough to make an educated decision. What is worse, is that instead of making educated decisions themselves, elected representatives are governing by these opinions; e.g. the Clinton Impeachment trial. ey felt was consistent under the rule of law. By the time the trial was convened in the Sen
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Approximate Word count = 926
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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