American Politics: The Key to Success

The 2012 election was an interesting moment in American political history. Not only did President Obama secure his second term as President of the United States, however the Republican Party had quite the uphill battle to fight against and continues to fight as the coming election approaches. Governor Romney, 2008 Presidential hopeful and 2012 Presidential nominee, gave a telling effort to try to gain the Primary. Ultimately, Governor Romney’s efforts were not found favorable with the citizens of the United States as President Obama was elected to his second term in office. Rumors have been circulating since November evening in 2012, whether Romney would one last election in him. With President Obama, no longer able to run, it appeared promising that Romney would have a chance at winning the 2016 primaries.

            The journey of the Republican Party has been an interesting and tactical approach since the end of 2012. With the newly elected Congress, Republicans now have control of both the House and Senate, allowing them to once again stake their claim in Washington. As the 2016 elections quickly approach, rumors are circulating as to who will attempt to gain the Republican and Democratic Nominations. Some favorable candidates from the Democratic Party include Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Bernie Sanders. Among the Republican Party, some hopefuls include Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Scott Walker and up until two weeks ago, Mitt Romney was also included in this list.

              Governor Romney, a Republican favorite has been receiving pressure from both the party and the public in terms of deciding whether he was going to attempt a third election. In a New York Times article written January 21, 2015, Mr. Bush and Mr. Romney were discovered meeting together to discuss the potential of their candidacy. As noted in the article, neither Bush nor Romney was “friend or foe.” The rivalry between them really heated up when rumors were announced that Romney was considering seeking a third election. It appeared that both Romney and Bush were calling upon similar, if not the same donor pool to seek their support in helping them with their campaign.

            In a recent CBS News article, the author speaks of skepticism of potential donors that could be a real hindrance to the candidates potential in the race. “Bush is a favorite of the GOP’s establishment wing, but tea party conservatives and activists have greeted the talk of him running with skepticism.” Because of the skepticism of many donors, the GOP base is also not quite sure what to think of Bush. He has also seemed to work backroom deals with a variety of interest groups involving education bills that people are not happy with. According to the political blog, “In the Public Interest,” these backroom deals may be a hindrance to Bush as he continues to seek support of his campaign.

            In an article written by Bawn, he gives evidence to suggest that politicians exist to benefit the interests of the parties. In a way, the politicians are puppets being controlled by not only the parties, but also the interest groups that have a vested interest in the outcome of the elections. Jeb Bush seems to fit perfectly into this category of politicians working for the party. As mentioned in the previous articles, it seems, as those Bush may not even have a platform to run on if he does not gain favor with interest groups, donors and the GOP. The other reason why Bawn suggests this kind of control occurs is because voters are not informed enough on their own to make a decision about the candidate to counteract the necessary support of the parties. This could especially be the case for Jeb Bush because of the famous last name that he carries. Perhaps, with a last name of Bush, the American people, being generally an uneducated electorate, would assume Jeb Bush to be the same as the previous two Bush Presidents and would vote for Jeb Bush based on their thoughts of the former Bush.

            The American public seems to become more and more polarized as the years go on. Voters, more so than a few years ago, are latching onto the idea of party identity and are depending on parties to steer them in the right direction. They want the Democrats and the Republicans to produce a candidate that they can stand behind and that they can support. It is because of this pattern, and those also stated above, those politicians just Jeb Bush must rely on the Republican Party and should be working very hard to gain favor with them. Perhaps a solution to this predicament could be for Jeb Bush to launch a media campaign that would allow voters to get to know Jeb Bush apart from his families political legacy, allowing him to forge his own path and gain support from unlikely voters. Some analyst suggests that President Obama used a similar tactic in 2008 to gain so much support from the general public. Some have suggested that although he ran with the support of interest groups, donors and the Democratic Party, that he may have gained enough support to ride his wave of victory with the voters. Whatever the race, whatever the party, there is merit behind gaining the support of the party and those that have invested interests within the party’s success. That, indeed, may be the key to success. 

Sources:

Miller, Jake. "Jeb Bush's Team Signals Possible 2016 Presidential Run." CBSNews. CBS Interactive.       Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeb-bushs-team-signals-possible-2016-presidential-run/>.

"Corporate Interests Pay to Play to Shape Education Policy, Reap Profits." In the Public Interest. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.inthepublicinterest.org/node/2747>.

Martin, Jonathan. "Romney and Jeb Bush to Meet in Utah." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/us/politics/romney-and-jeb-bush-to-meet-raising-speculation-on-presidential-race.html>.

Bawn, Kathleen, Martin Cohen, David Karol, Seth Masket, Hans Noel, and John Zaller. "A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Policy Demands and Nominations in American Politics." Perspectives on Politics: 571-97. Print.