American Political Behavior New Technology and Realignment

POL 370 American Political Behavior: New Technology and Realignment

Module 6/Discussion 1 -- New Technology and Realignment

What role will technology, including social networking, play in fostering a realignment of the electorate?

The coming of the new millennium, has introduced a significant change, which has affected political scenes significantly. Modern technology today is key in all aspects of human interaction. To the same extent is the connection in politics. The rise of social applications of networking like Twitter is key in passing messages from one person to another. Hence, it is critical to note that many political people influence citizens and communicate easily to their supporters and fans through these sites. In the same way, they increase their votes and win the confidence of many people by quickly responding to their requests and challenges. Consequently, is the effect in the realignment of the electorate? It is essential to note that this is a quick means of influencing the American opinion (2008).

Do you agree or disagree with the authors that a national political realignment began with the 2008 election? Justify your answer.

I agree with the authors thought that 2008 was the year of national political realignment. During this year, the presidential campaigns were extensively done using electronic media. Most of the plans to use brochures failed as the young generation was not responding to them. This is crucial to note as most of the people contributing to the national opinion is the young generation. In addition, young people easily influence one another using electronic communication. Hence, 2008 was the opening of a new era in national political scenes because the candidates that used electronic media to communicate easily obtained votes and won favor of the majority thus the electoral realignment (Winograd & Hais, 2008).

Response to classmates' posts

Author: JOEY WEEDON dated: August 7, 2012.

It is unfortunate that people are always on the forefront to criticize the current happenings yet there are no comments to improve the same. It is a trend that has prevailed for a long time that people will always sit back to observe but participate less in improving the political surrounding. It is beneficial for people to begin looking into the future and devising means of having better political events.

Author: Stephen Larocque dated: August 7, 2012.

Larocque's thought is crucial to note for future electoral campaigns. The mention of use internet sources and media for future aspirant is fundamental in building a reputation amongst the young generation. It is true that the realignments could have begun before 2008 basing on the fact that change takes time to occur. The rise of another generation in the near future is a point to note because every generation comes with new challenges and different needs. Hence, focusing on the future rather than the present is critical to the victories of the next elections.

Module 6 Current Events Blog

Democracy is a significant concept that not only affects the political standard of a nation but also the lifestyles of the people. Democracy refers to the freedom that a person has to express his or her interest in various aspects of life. It is a concept that has contributed significantly to the everyday growth of a nation both socially and economically (Winograd & Hais, 2008).

Online news - a current event related to our area of study.

The article sheds light on State elections for the presidential candidacy. The state has 20 votes, which most presidential candidates have out their eyes on. According to the news, Pennsylvania is a State that has for a long time voted for one presidential candidate repeated. However, these elections this time are expected to be different due to the introduction...

In this case, the people of Pennsylvania are applying their democratic freedom to elect a person of their own choice to run for the presidency. This is different from the past election when they had one party to vote for the presidential candidate.
Feedback as comments in the blog

Technology has brought in a lot of change to the current society. Many things have changed in the economic, social, and political scenes affecting the lifestyles of the people. It is worth noting that technology is still growing and as the year move by and the millennium gets older, new means of the campaign will rise. Therefore, campaigner should strategize and be ready to catch up with the fast moving technology. Nonetheless, older voters still have a role to play in the elections. This means that while incorporating with the new trends, maintaining the old means of campaigning can also contribute in maintaining the older voters / supporters.

Module 6: Transition to a New Era in American Politics

Reaction Paper #4

What role did new technologies have on political campaigning in the 2008 political campaigns?

Technology was extensively used during the campaigns in 2008 to capture the attention of youth voters who formed the majority of the voters in that year. Most youths use internet sources as opposed to other media sources to obtain information. Hence, campaigners of various candidates used websites, blogs, and other social sites to communicate to their supporters. This way they managed to obtain many young voters who quickly influenced one another to vote for their preferred candidate. In this regard, democracy and civic educations was done through the social networks to inform citizens about the benefits of the individual contribution to the elections of a president.

It is critical to note the capability of both positive and negative influence that can easily affect the change of opinion though the social sites. These sites often receive comments from various sources of sudden events concerning politicians and candidates. It is worth noting that once the information has been entered in the internet news many young people participate and comment on the same subject thus affecting voters support from one candidate to another. In this way, campaigners ensured that there is new information, which is relevant to develop positive impact towards their individual parties. However, the neglecting of other media sources could also be considered to be of significant impact to victory or down fall of the presidential candidates (Winograd and Hais, 2009).

According to Winograd and Hais (2009), technology and the young generation go hand in hand. Technology is a "power house," which has transformed the "substance and politics" in the current America. This thought agrees with the writing by Wattenberg (2007). The voting process is extensively affected and fully dependent on the participation of the youths of a given nation. For instance, the 2008 vote were largely given by the young generation. Therefore, it is beneficial for campaigners to strategize on higher means of campaigning using online networks.

How does the technology help to engage millennial voters and what impact will these changes have on U.S. politics?

The authors have clearly discussed the changes in the political scenes brought in by the new millennium. It is evident that as time moves on technology grows. Currently there is a significant increase in the use of technology. In addition, the authors have highlighted the significance of the young generation as they propel the message of embracing the new technology.

It is easy to conclude that the young generation holds the political opinion today, and they influence each other through the social networks. Putman records that the voters turn put at the poll stations has been remarkably low in the past. Many people have failed to attend elections due to various reasons. However, it is clear that each American has a preference towards a given political party. This indication explains the rise in individual opinion about political groups. In 2008, many could not vote at the polling station, but each person had decided on his or her political candidate. This is the…