Posted on 04/05/2007 7:32:20 PM PDT by wouldntbprudent
TAKE MY QUIZ: Hold Your Nose or Cut it Off?
At least for now, the two-party system is entrenched in American politics. So, come Election Day in 2008, the fact is that there will be two viable candidates for the office of President of the United States.
In other words, in 2008, it is a major statistical likelihood that the newly elected president will be a member of the Democrat or Republican party.
What's at stake in a presidential election?
How many people are you actually voting "for" (or "against") when you cast your vote on Election Day?
Does it matter that the *party* of the person elected President comes to power along with the President?
TAKE MY QUIZ AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF!
Let's get started.
Answer the following questions:
About how many political appointments are made just in Washington, D.C. when a new administration is installed?
*** Answer here at #93.
About how many political appointments are made in the federal government as a whole when a new administration is installed?
*** Answer here at #94.
About how many people are employed by the new president directly in the Executive Office?
*** Answer at #95.
About how many people are hired by the new president to serve on the White House staff?
*** Answer at #96.
About how many political appointees are there in national, state and local governments combined?
*** Answer here at #33.
Who nominates military officers for promotion to general / flag officer?
*** Answer here at #210.
True or False: When you cast your vote for President of the United States, you are voting for (or against) a candidate, a political party and its long-standing "machine," and the administration assembled by the candidate and the party working together.
True or False: When you cast your vote for President of the United States, you are voting for (or against) the influence in our government and, thus, on our country wielded by the joint political actions of the president and his party.
NOW IT'S TIME TO NAME SOME NAMES!
First, pick ANY Democrat as that party's presidential candidate and pick ANY Republican as that party's presidential candidate.
Secondly, review the "15 departments and numerous agencies which together make up the 'government' that we see every day."
These departments and agencies "are responsible for administering the law, enforcing it, and delivering various governmental services. Their functions are far-reaching and affect the lives of every American."
Now, take the quiz!
Look at each department/agency and consider the candidates you have chosen as well as their respective party's political machine. Match the names of individuals to the organizations that you conclude would be likely to be appointed by---or which are representative of the appointments you think would be made by----the candidate to that organization.
For example:
[Fill in the blank] Democrat v. [Fill in the blank] Republican.
Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense:
----- Wes Clark (D) v. Tommy Franks (I, leaning R)
Department of Justice, Attorney General of the United States:
----- Jamie Gorelick (D) v. Eugene Scalia
Ambassador to the United Nations:
----- Bill Clinton (D) v. John Bolton (R)
When you're done, compare your list and decide if you think it impacts the country one way or the other whether the Democrats, headed by [fill in the blank], or the Republicans, headed by [fill in the blank] take power in 2008. Ready?
(The following information is taken from this overview of the federal government.)
The Executive Branch departments, each with a Secretary appointed by the President:
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Education (ED)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Other top Executive Branch officials that may have cabinet-level status:
The President's Chief of Staff (and his staff)
Director, Office of Management and Budget
U.S. Trade Representative
Director, Environmental Protection Agency
Director, Central Intelligence Agency
The President's National Security Advisor
Some examples of Executive Branch independent agencies and commissions:
U.S. Postal Service
Environmental Protection Agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Major regulatory agencies, which are " an especially powerful type of agency . . . [that] make rules that affect nearly every business and consumer:
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Food and Drug Administration (in HHS) (FDA)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (in DOL) (OSHA).
Federal Reserve System
One more, just to give a hat-tip to the many appointments the President makes to ambassadorships, and similar positions, around the world:
Ambassador to the United Nations
Well, that's it for now. Of course, my quiz can't cover every position that will be filled by the next President of the United States in conjunction with his or her party machine. Nor can it cover all the ways in which those individuals will affect our nation. But I hope this helps you decide whether or not your vote matters.
Thanks.
Yawn :)
Okay, tell me some of your better answers.
Nice work.
We can only hope.
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” —John Quincy Adams
I’m wondering why I have yet to find a poster who’s pronouncing they will vote on “principle” who will actually TAKE THE QUIZ.
Will you cherish the sweetest reflection of, say, Jamie Gorelick as Attorney General of the United States?
Why don’t you share with us a couple of your answers as to who you think would be in leadership positions in the respective Rat and Pub administrations? Can we get past the platitudes long enough to talk about R/L?
If you need some names on the Rat side, here are a few from recent history:
Web Hubbell
Mike Espy
Ron Brown
Henry Cisneros
Frederico Peno
Donna Shalala
George Stephanopoulos
Harold Ickes
Jamie Gorelick
Les Aspin
Janet Reno
Madeleine Albright
Sandy Berger
My cousin was in Real Estate in DC area. She retired after a couple of Presidential elections.
thanks for the quote.
The Republicans have increased domestic discretioary spending at a much faster rate than the Democrats. They have supported taking away our free speech rights in election campaigns. They have largely been for some form of amnesty as long as it’s not called thaat. They have backed the President in his reluctance to do what it takes to win the war.
Your point is?
appointments and nominations are two different things.
THE most important nomination(s) the next President might have - SCOTUS.
My point is: quit talking in generalizations and name some names. Is there a reason apparently no one in the “stay home” crowd wants to actually get down to brass tacks?
There is very little practical difference in appointments and nominations. Both result in the president and his political party installing certain individuals into positions of power over us, the American people.
I agree that the most important nominations are to SCOTUS. That’s exactly why, given ANY Rat or ANY Republican, I’d hold my nose and vote Republican.
That said, are these other positions chopped liver? Does it matter from which party the Secretary of Defense comes? Does it matter from which party the Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Enforcement comes? Does it matter from which party the head of the EPA comes from?
(( not you - but for others: crickets chirping))
I agree with you in theory. However, there is the little matter of the several vocal “stay home” crowd members who have already (prematurely) vehemently and loudly proclaimed that if [fill in the blank] is the Republican nominee, they fully intend to cut and run on Election Day, *even if that means the election of [fill in the blank], the Rat candidate.
When you have people in your own party declaring they will *never* vote for certain individuals should they win the nomination, the rest of the team that actually does want to play a full four quarters has to assess how that impacts the game plan NOW.
In short, your approach is very reasonable and I support it whole-heartedly. Yet it has become necessary to push back at the nonsense that there would be no difference at all between [fill in the blank] Rat administration and [fill in the blank] Republican administration.
Withe the age and health of several justices, the next President will get to nominate more than one (if W does not get one more in the next year).
No, your response to my post is more or less irrelevant.
Name some names, Old Mil! Who do you think [fill in the blank] Rat president would appoint as, say, Secretary of Defense compared to who [fill in the blank] Republican president would appoint?
C’mon. Pick out five cabinet departments and give me your best choices on each side of the aisle.
True.
That’s why at this juncture in history, I’d vote Republican every time.
But what about these other departments. They are important, as well. In some cases, very important. The power grabs could be unbelievable, depending on the individuals appointed to them.
Again, I’d like *someone* to take the quiz. Give us your considered judgment on the type of people that would be serving in these respective administrations.
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