33
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
Because local elections are about policy, national elections are about identity.
I don't know how those stand in terms of people's priorities, but one sure is a whole lot easier to parse than the ...
- 8,187
26
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
I'll quote this verbatim from an answer I wrote on History.SE. The explanation is by Bill Clinton - American president during the expansion.
American President Bill Clinton, who was President during ...
- 24.1k
24
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
Because those elections get almost no coverage and unless people are paying attention it can be easy to miss them. The presidential elections get years of coverage so everyone knows when they are ...
- 9,016
22
votes
Can the US government outlaw the buying, selling and manufacture of arms?
Keep in mind that prior to District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 US 570 (2008), the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was basically a dead letter with no enforceable effect, in substantial part ...
- 51.5k
19
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
So no real threat from Russia was expected at that time.
Governments can change. This issue was mentioned as such in this regard by [then Deputy Secretary of State] Strobe Talbott, in 1995:
among ...
- 102k
14
votes
Can the US government outlaw the buying, selling and manufacture of arms?
In McDonald v. Chicago, SCOTUS found that state governments could not ban the sale of handguns.
In Heller v. DC, SCOTUS found that the Federal government could not ban the sale of handguns.
Any other ...
- 7,398
11
votes
Why aren't (tax exempt) churches allowed to be political, and why not tax all churches?
Why aren't tax exempt church organizations allowed to be political?
Every organization is given tax exempt status based on what it does. That's because we want to give tax exemption for some ...
- 11.5k
10
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
Frankly, I think the answer is that many, if not most, people would simply disagree with the assertion that state and local elections are more influential than federal ones or that Congressional ...
- 7,296
9
votes
How often do US Presidents sign laws while abroad?
It seems to only happen fairly infrequently in urgent cases; if the bill isn’t urgent, the President either waits out the 10-day veto period, or just revokes the White House legislative clerks’ ...
CDJB♦
- 80.3k
7
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
There are two different components of influence here. The local government may have a lot more influence on your daily life than the federal government. But the different between having person A or ...
- 2,743
7
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
An often neglected reason for the fundamental change in the NATO-Russian relationship is the civil war in Yugoslavia. Before that, there were ideas to create a pan-European security system that would ...
- 171
6
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
So at the begin of the 90s the Cold War was officially over no Warsaw Pact and even no USSR was there to threaten NATO. The new Russian government was relative pro-western, the most pro-western ...
- 613
5
votes
Can the US government outlaw the buying, selling and manufacture of arms?
Such laws would be struck down as unconstitutional
TLDR: The current interpretation of the 2nd amendment is that it provides an individual right to gun ownership, and that the right cannot be ...
- 2,016
5
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
Media
Both Mass Media and Social Media in the USA are national/international stages. Talking about the most powerful individual (president) gets more eyeballs and is easier than talking about many ...
- 1,366
5
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
I think calling it extending still shapes the question in a somewhat wrong light. NATO has a charter with rules that regulate how new members can join. Countries can decide on their own if they want ...
- 2,743
5
votes
Why aren't (tax exempt) churches allowed to be political, and why not tax all churches?
Why do churches have a tax incentive to not specifically support partisan causes or endorse political candidates?
Almost all religious organizations are chartered as 501(c)(3) organizations. All 501(...
- 8,165
4
votes
Why aren't (tax exempt) churches allowed to be political, and why not tax all churches?
Why not tax churches? That is a political decision of the US government, to support religion. A standard way for the government to promote something that it thinks is "Good" is to give it ...
- 92.1k
4
votes
In the U.S., why isn't turnout and activism proportional to the impact the powers of the position has on the voter?
Power is where you believe it is, meaning that a lot of people have so little faith in the influence of their local government that they don't bother to vote because the e things that are truly ...
- 1,591
3
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
Not the only reason by any means, but one can't ignore how the behind-the-scenes lobbying in Washington went at the time:
The arms makers quickly latched onto the idea and over time helped the ...
- 186
3
votes
What was the reason for extending NATO in the 90s?
Active intervention in case of attacks
One of the underlying principles of NATO is that a military attack on one country is an attack on all, and will be responded to militarily. Since the total ...
- 7,162
3
votes
What congressional committees' jurisdiction US entertainment industry, e.g. Hollywood, falls under?
Can you clarify which US congressional committees - both in Senate and House - have jurisdiction over entertainment industry?
There is no specific committee, in either the House or Senate, for which ...
- 27.2k
2
votes
What sort of political discussions are US ancestry data used for?
The main way that the ancestry question is used in the census in a practical matter is to guide redistricting decision making by providing probabilistic estimates of how people will vote based upon ...
- 51.5k
2
votes
Government Oversight Committee
The House Intelligence Committee has particular requirements that do not apply to other House committees and are not mentioned in the Wikipedia articles, United States congressional committee and ...
- 27.2k
2
votes
Does the two-party system influence engagement?
Yes, I would argue that it does and that this is very general.
First of all, the two-party situation is created by a first-past-the-post mechanic, not by a lack of participation.
Secondly, let's say ...
- 21
1
vote
Accepted
California primary early voting turnout?
Political Data is hosting a public primary ballot tracker here, presumably based on data obtained directly from the Board of Elections or a private interface with the VoteCal database. I don’t believe ...
CDJB♦
- 80.3k
1
vote
Why aren't (tax exempt) churches allowed to be political, and why not tax all churches?
Well...
(IRS) Exemption Requirements - Political Organizations
A political organization subject to section 527 is a party, committee, association, fund, or other organization (whether or not ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible