Questions tagged [united-states]
Questions relating to the government or the politics of the United States of America
6,217
questions
29
votes
11answers
11k views
Why are Democrats fighting so hard to vaccinate the reluctant?
Even though safe and effective COVID vaccines have been given emergency use authorization in the US, some people are still reluctant to receive them, over safety concerns, preference for "natural ...
19
votes
2answers
3k views
Are US Representatives from wealthy districts more likely to "graduate" to the Senate than Reps from poorer districts?
Some members of the US House of Representatives represent wealthy districts, and others represent poorer districts. Are Representatives from wealthy districts more likely to eventually become ...
-4
votes
2answers
388 views
Why isn't Biden more popular? [closed]
In the past more moderate leaders get very high approvals. Joe Biden ran as a moderate and seems to be governing like one. Even today you have this effect happen at the local level. Charlie Baker the ...
2
votes
1answer
249 views
Did USPS grant a preferential treatment to Amazon?
I asked this question, but it was closed on the ground that it didn't have to do with politics. However if a government owned organisation helped a company with a dominant position on the market to ...
3
votes
0answers
78 views
Is there any research about the number of people potentially affected by voting bills? [closed]
I've read that Texas and some other states are passing restrictive voting laws. Citation from Texas Tribune:
The bill includes proposals to ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options like those ...
4
votes
3answers
497 views
What was George W. Bush's plan about nation-building in Afghanistan?
Very recently Joe Biden said that
The USA did not go to Afghanistan for nation-building
As far as I recall, George W. Bush said something about nation-building when he was in office for his 1st term ...
11
votes
4answers
6k views
Why doesn't the Texas legislature nuke the quorum?
The GOP-controlled Texas Legislature finds itself unable to pass a voting bill due to State Democrats refusing to participate in the meetings, leading the state to lack a quorum. The GOP has made ...
6
votes
1answer
192 views
What explains this swing of areas near Canada and in Appalachia in the 2016 US presidential election?
I've seen pictures of the 2016 presidential election. They seem to show this line that goes across basically the entire US Canada border, but is more pronounced starting in North Dakota. It makes a ...
7
votes
1answer
338 views
Which President has had the greatest number of their actions ruled unconstitutional?
Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and the court ruled that it wasn’t within his authority, I am wondering which President did the most things that the Supreme Court explicitly ruled were ...
18
votes
2answers
6k views
Could Texas Democrats be punished for walking out?
The Texas Democrats in the Legislature chose to unite and leave the capitol. The decision was announced an hour before posting.
Could Texas Democrats be held legally liable when they return?
-2
votes
2answers
301 views
Isn’t having unequal numbers of Senators in each class unconstitutional?
The Constitution says that Senators
shall be divided equally as may be into three Classes
So wouldn’t the current Class 3 consisting of 34 members while Class 1 and Class 2 only having 33 members be ...
4
votes
2answers
601 views
Why does the Afghanistan peace agreement talk about Visa and passports when the US does not recognize the Taliban?
From part 2 section 5 of the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan:
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban will ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
When can one U.S. agency ask for intelligence or information from another U.S. agency?
When can one U.S. agency ask for intelligence or information from another U.S. agency? Let's say the FBI needs intelligence of information the CIA might have about a certain individual. Can the FBI ...
2
votes
1answer
173 views
Does the 15th amendment prevent voter discrimination based on ethnicity?
The 15th amendment reads:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of ...
3
votes
0answers
79 views
How have America's overseas territories been assigned a particular political status?
I quote from a somewhat dated source, the "DK Essential World Atlas" (1999), which states:
America's overseas territories have been seen as strategically useful, if expensive, links with ...
1
vote
2answers
181 views
What did the Framers intend the meaning of “probable cause” to be? [closed]
The 4th amendment reads
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall ...
4
votes
1answer
122 views
Is the NIH solely federal or public-private?
Many say the US drug industry came from the Federal, not the private sector. The US invests absurdly in basic health research. There they have the National Institutes of Health, the largest health ...
0
votes
1answer
179 views
Can the President personally arrest someone? [duplicate]
If all executive powers is held by the President and FBI agents can make arrests, doesn’t that mean the President can too?
12
votes
2answers
305 views
Who is the Condorcet winner of NYC's 2021 mayoral Democratic primary?
The 2021 mayoral primary in New York City was done using Instant Runoff Voting ("Ranked Choice Voting"). This system does not necessarily elect the Condorcet winner, if one exists. (The ...
22
votes
8answers
7k views
Why is the USPS not privately operated?
Currently, there is a lot of discussion in my home country (Brazil) about privatization of the postal service, so, of course, the United States comes to mind for comparison:
It is a country of ...
2
votes
2answers
135 views
Why is the US asking OPEC about prices?
I've read an article on WSJ:
Yet his Administration is now imploring the OPEC oil cartel to pump more oil so U.S. gasoline prices don’t rise more than they already have on Mr. Biden’s watch.
That's ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Why didn’t the Framers of the US Constitution clarify who has the power to suspend habeas corpus?
It seems awfully strange to mention a very strong power, that if used improperly could destroy American democracy, and not say who can invoke it. Why?
0
votes
1answer
196 views
Would a member of Congress be able to legally cast a vote via Zoom if they were away?
This could be a good defense against coups because representatives and senators could vote on issues even if a violent group took over the Capitol.
6
votes
2answers
952 views
Why hasn't Texas become a Democratic stronghold the way California has despite similar demographic characteristics?
Texas and California have somewhat similar demographic characteristics. They have:
A large Hispanic population
Younger than average populations
White individuals only make up slightly under 1 out of ...
8
votes
1answer
576 views
Does DEA operate in Haiti?
The assassins of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse announced via megaphone “DEA operation. Everybody stand down. DEA operation. Everybody back up, stand down.” (Source: The Hill)
I think they would ...
-5
votes
1answer
197 views
Is it likely that the Founding Fathers would not have created the 2nd Amendment if automatic rifles had been available in 1775? [closed]
I am wondering if it is likely that our nation's founding fathers would not have created the 2nd Amendment if automatic rifles had already been invented by 1775 and that they were being used in mass ...
2
votes
0answers
123 views
+100
NYC general election mayor polls: have any been released in 2021?
I have been wondering about the NYC mayor election. I paid a lot of attention to this primary, which had one of the highest turnouts out of any NYC Democratic primary. However, now that the candidates ...
21
votes
4answers
5k views
Why are national guards in states nowhere near the US Mexico border getting involved in border security with Mexico?
I have seen an article saying that the state national guard of North Dakota is preparing to send troops to the US Mexico border. Other states have done this too, I just pick North Dakota because it is ...
-6
votes
1answer
145 views
Is there any info about further destination of troops exiting Afganistan? [closed]
As US troops leaving Afganistan, it seems interesting to know where would they go.
Returning home huge amount of veterans (returning from a lost conflict) can influence inner politics drastically - ...
42
votes
4answers
13k views
Why has 20 years of US occupation not removed the Taliban in Afghanistan?
With the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, a question one might ask is how is Taliban still in power, in fact gaining more control? It is known that the majority of the Taliban's income comes ...
44
votes
3answers
7k views
Why is the Capitol Police expanding nationally, when we already have the FBI?
Capitol Police is setting up field offices in California and Florida, with more states likely to follow. I don't understand why though. The official reason given is to "track threats", but ...
4
votes
1answer
153 views
Who pays and organizes the primaries of third parties?
In the US, primaries for the presidential election of the two major parties are usually funded and regulated by the state government.
Is this also true for the smaller parties?
In that case how is it ...
6
votes
1answer
402 views
Can Congress really raise or suspend the debt ceiling through budget reconciliation with a simple majority in the Senate?
Some background info here
The federal debt ceiling has currently been suspended until August 1.
If this year so far is any indication, Senate Republicans will do everything possible to use a debt-...
46
votes
11answers
8k views
Is the prevalence of racial arguments unique to US politics or is it a topic in other Western countries as well?
It seems that in the United States, much of politics is currently focused around the subject of racism. Many issues are rephrased as racism issues - infrastructure, healthcare, policing...
Now I'm not ...
9
votes
2answers
339 views
How hereditary are political leanings in the United States?
I have scrolled through political Twitter. One person said something along the lines of "my parents are swing voters but I am a solid vote blue all the way through Democrat".
The general ...
2
votes
1answer
153 views
Do gun permits that can be used as voter ID all have a photo?
Some types of identification have photographs (e.g. driver's licenses), whereas others do not (e.g. Social Security cards). This answer has a nice graph that shows that over recent years, not only ...
5
votes
1answer
162 views
Are voters in the US generally aware of how and when their congressional representatives are being whipped?
I'm aware that in each house of the US congress there is a majority and minority whip tasked with, as far as I can tell from Wikipedia, voting as they are told rather than how they would choose to ...
3
votes
2answers
554 views
Why was 2020 a depolarization election?
A lot of attention was given to the fact that Trump did better with Democratic leaning groups especially Hispanics, while Biden did better with Republican leaning groups like married men and ...
5
votes
1answer
335 views
Why are Republicans not against forcing employers to cover Viagra?
In my continued attempt to understand American politics, I am now writing another question that will probably spiral out of control soon. I do apologize for any mistakes in my framing of this question....
2
votes
1answer
326 views
Why is NPR's audience so heavily "White" demographically especially given its ideological positions?
I came across an article titled "The Unbearable Whiteness Of Being NPR." It said this:
First the facts: NPR is very, very white: At about 77 percent white, its newsroom is significantly ...
-1
votes
1answer
251 views
Why are Democrats relatively strong with rural areas in Michigan and Wisconsin?
People have wondered why Democrats are generally so strong in Vermont despite the state's history and having hostile demographics for Democrats. I found something interesting though less extreme, and ...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
How can Congress end a war over the objections of the President
The Constitution seems to indicate that Congress should control war making, since it has the sole power to declare war. However, as the Commander in Chief, the President is given very broad powers ...
-2
votes
1answer
196 views
When was the Democratic Party Flag Created?
When was the Democrat Party Flag Created below, with the Donkey Symbol? Wikipedia does not say
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
2
votes
3answers
477 views
Why is Biden losing the support of non-white American Democrats?
Recently, I've read an article on Reuters (emphasis mine):
However, a growing number of Americans disapprove of Biden's leadership on the economy, gun violence and taxation, with the biggest decline ...
27
votes
8answers
6k views
Why is there no push towards an American ID card?
There has been a debate in the US regarding voter ID. Republicans seem to not trust voters who do not have them, and Democrats argue that IDs should not be necessary to vote since there are several ...
22
votes
7answers
6k views
What is the conservative argument against modern contraception?
I am asking this in the context of the Republican Party in the US being against contraception. That seems odd to me since even the anti-abortion Christian party in the country I live are for handing ...
3
votes
1answer
115 views
Is there a deescalation protocol or procedure between the U.S. and China?
Is there a deescalation protocol or procedure between the U.S. and China? I am wondering if there's a protocol or procedure agreed upon by the U.S. and China for preventing an all-out war between the ...
1
vote
1answer
220 views
"Shut out" districts in 2021's NYC Republican mayoral primary -- how did they vote in the Democratic primary and 2020 presidential race combined?
Looking at the 2021 mayoral election, I have seen more shut-out precincts in the NYC mayoral primary than in other elections in this city. I understand there are caveats to talking about the shut out ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Why aren't state and federal prisons forced to allow prison inmates to vote at least in federal elections?
Someone claimed that current prisoners are allowed to run for federal offices like the House of Representatives and fact checkers said that was true. We are not talking about people released but ...
1
vote
1answer
188 views
How can POTUS legally prevent/change state National Guard movements/actions?
According to some news from the Texas-Mexico border, some other states, including Texas and South Dakota, are sending their troops to the Texas border to support border patrol agents.
I don't think ...