Blog Post 3.3 - "Quick Shut Down"

1. Congress failed to pass a new law funding the government before the old one expired. 
2. Essential services still continue, like the military, law enforcement, Social Security services, and air traffic controllers. Everyone deemed nonessential (40% of employees), like park services workers, are furloughed. 
3. Republicans need Democratic votes to get to the supermajority of 60 and pass the budget, so Democrats said they would not vote for the budget to pass without a deal on DACA. 
4. Keeping the government shut down on behalf of Dreamers is not seen too positively politically, and many Democrats are facing a tough reelection year in red states. Since the shutdown happened over the weekend, it was not a huge deal unless it extended over the week, so Democrats opted to restart the government quickly. 
5. The budget for the Children's Health Insurance Program was extended for six years, so state funding is secure and the families that were about to lose coverage can rest easy. 
6. Mitch McConnell said there would be a vote on some sort of bill addressing the status of Dreamers within the next two and a half weeks, and if nothing happened during that time that he would bring it up himself. 
7. The Democratic Party's backing down from the conflict has led to disappointment from its base and from activists, who are growing disillusioned with the party. 
8. Trump got the government reopened without making any concessions, and Republicans approve of his actions more than Democrats approve of their party's, and he did this by doing nothing. 
9. 62% of Democrats blame Trump for the shutdown. 
10. 85% of Republicans blame Democrats in Congress for the shutdown. 

Blog Post 3.2 - "25th Amendment"

1. The cabinet and vice president would simply have to put it in writing that they think the president is mentally unfit and send that to two people: the Speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore. 
2. It takes nine people to remove the president: the vice president and eight cabinet members. 
3. The president can dispute the cabinet and vice president, and if he does so, Congress votes on the matter. The vice president remains acting president if he gets 2/3 of the vote of both houses of Congress. 
4. John F. Kennedy's assassination made Congress make an official plan for presidential succession. 
5. Before the 25th Amendment, the VP office would simply remain vacant if it became so during a term. 
6. There is no elaboration on what it means for the president to be unable. It could mean physical or mental health, or it could simply entail poor character or disagreement. 
7. To make the decision to remove the president, the vice president and cabinet would have to face the scrutiny of the public, and possibly the courts. This means they would have to document everything and provide their reasoning, so they couldn't remove the president for no reason at all. Also, since those that initiate the process are nominated by the president, they are unlikely to begin a coup. 

Blog Post 3.1 - "What's up with POTUS lately?"

1. States resisted the commission, failing to provide information that the commission states is basic and the states declare is overreach. 
2. His administration has declared that there is substantial evidence of voter fraud but has never provided this proof. He also claimed that millions of people voted illegally in 2016, which cost him the popular vote. 
3. Only 35 total credible accusations between 2000 and 2014, just a few hundred ballots at most, when more than 800 million ballots were cast in national general elections and a few more hundred million were cast in other elections. 
4. Only one out of nearly 4.8 total million votes in 2016, which is only 0.00002% of all votes. 
5. Trump cites a 2012 Pew Center report, which didn't even look at voter fraud. 
6. Republicans use voter fraud to enact real changes in policy that lead to voter suppression of minority and Democratic votes, particularly eligible black voters. 
7. Sessions has rescinded previous guidelines from the Obama administration that allowed states to legalize marijuana without federal intervention. Federal prosecutors can use their own discretion in cracking down on marijuana businesses in states where recreational use is legal. 
8. The Obama administration allowed states to legalize marijuana as long as they met certain criteria. They took a soft approach to enforcing restrictions. 
9. The Cole memo said that as long as states followed some rules, like not letting kids get legal pot or not letting it go across state borders, then the federal government wouldn't crack down. States can carry out their own legalization schemes with little federal interference. 
10. The new policy could cost potential jobs and tax revenue and hurt efforts to legalize marijuana. It is possible that the Justice Department could shut down the entire legal marijuana industry. No one will have any idea about the legality about any situation. 
11. Congress could legalize marijuana at the federal level, or at least limit federal enforcement. 
12. It lets the federal government go against the wishes of popular votes, and it also goes against the wishes of national opinion, even among Republicans.