Summary
The article under the review summarizes on the key suggestions Republicans and Democrats issue in the states where they are dominant. Thus, one of the main focuses of the former is abortion restrictions up to a complete prohibition, which they have insisted on for a decade (Bacon 2019, para. 1). Other points of Republican legislative agenda include eliminating gun control, banning sanctuary cities, and cancelling union dues.
Democrats, meanwhile, argue for increasing the minimum wage, legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, banning gay conversion therapy, and other liberal ideas. However, their most fundamental initiative lies in replacing the Electoral College with a popular vote (Bacon 2019, para. 4). The author mentions that legislations sometimes overlap, for instance, some states where Republicans prevail are still joining the pro-marijuana campaign. Also, he highlights that not each of the policies the parties offer will be accepted and implemented at the state level.
Application
The fact that the leading party is different from one state to another is a textbook example of federalism. This form of government can be defined as “an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on behalf of the people” (Krutz 2019, p. 72). Simply put, each state has its own local government in addition to the central one, which is actually responsible for public services in the given state.
The existence of two levels of government determines that of two-stage elections the article tells about as well. Since the levels have different functions, they are elected separately, the probable purpose of which is avoiding misunderstandings (Krutz 2019, p. 72). Also, the system where the leader is chosen by a college of pre-elected voters apparently enables a more trustworthy communication between the levels, which is apparently expected to cement the society.
The author of the textbook highlights the fact that the federal government system is constitutional. Notably, the principal law of the USA empowers Congress to pass the legislation that they consider appropriate (Krutz 2019, p. 74). This enables rejecting any initiative the Congress did not approve of completely. Thus, some suggestions by Obama were not implemented because of the Republican prevalence in Congress (Bacon 2019, para. 5). This is actually one of the ways the different political forces interact with each other.
Analysis
The article illustrates properly how federalism works by comparing and contrasting the states whose legislations are substantially divergent. Therefore, it is apparently highly informative and can serve as a real-life presentation of theoretical knowledge on the given form of government. Also, the author draws parallels among the states that tend to pass similar laws, due to which their population can anticipate the upcoming legal initiatives (Bacon 2019, para. 12).
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This makes the article influential, as it may have an impact on the readers’ minds. My personal experience is another good illustration to the concept of federalism. Being communicative, I have numerous friends and pen friends in a variety of states. I can remember several situations where I was surprised to learn about the initiatives by certain local governments. Later, I noticed the regularity of passing similar laws in regions with the same dominant ideology, similar to what Bacon teaches. The legislation, however, does not necessarily repeat or stick to the same principle; sometimes, the representatives of different parties adopt single ideas from their opponents.
References
Bacon, P. (2019). What republicans and democrats are doing in the states where they have total power. Web.
Krutz, G. (2019). American government. Oklahoma State University.