Some thing from AP US Government

Minimum                                                                     Opinions

• Colonial assemblies...taxes and spending                                                           good
• Medicare... Great Society program                                                                   uh not that good 
• Social Security...New Deal program                                                               not working to well
• Progressives...found in both major parties                                                         N/A
• 25th...procedure of succession...vice president...22nd:2 terms                          good to be precise
• Fletcher v. Peck... Judicial review to states                              guess was needed not doing to well now
• EPA... independent                                                                                             N/A
• Fed power...regulate inter-state trade... Gibbons v Ogden                                medium
• Griswold v. Connecticut... martial privacy                                don't know enough but think bad
• Winners...can appeal
• Civil Rights act of 1968 housing discrimination                                              99% good
• Supply-side...low taxes                                                                                         good
• Impoundment Act...restricted the Pres ability to impound*... CBO**                 good
• Cantwell v. Connecticut religious freedom... incorporated***                            good
• Discrimination... gender... important government purpose                                  lousy
• Mandatory death penalties... not allowed                                                             mostly good
• Mandate****...Public support for policy platform.                                              medium
• Salience...Relevance
• Intensity...strength of feeling 
• Latency...underlying views

More in depth                                                               Same

• Colonial assemblies had control over taxes and spending                                   
• Medicare is a  Great Society program enacted by LBJ 
• Social Security is a New Deal program enacted by FDR                                                        
• Progressives ( in the 1900's) fought for work safety standards and were found in both major parties                                                     
• 25th amendment establish the rules and procedure of succession of power to the vice president( etc.) and how to replace the Veep. The 22nd amendment limited the president to 2 terms 22nd:2 terms                      
• Fletcher v. Peck extended the supreme courts power of Judicial review to state laws. First case dealing with judicial review and state laws.                             
• The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent executive agency.                   
• The Supreme court asserted the Federal Governments power to regulate inter-state trade in the case Gibbons v Ogden.                            
• Griswold v. Connecticut said that the Constitution gave the right to martial privacy               
• Winners as well as losers in civil /guilty cases can appeal to higher courts
• The Civil Rights act of 1968 outlawed housing discrimination                                       
• Supply-side economics wants low taxes ( especially on businesses)          
• The Budget and Impoundment Control Act restricted the President's ability to impound*& created the Congressional Budget Office.          
• In Cantwell v. Connecticut religious freedom was incorporated***                        
• Discrimination by gender must serve an important government objective                           
• Mandatory death penalties are not allowed                                                          
• In the context of elections a mandate is a public endorsement of a candidates  policy platform.
• Salience measures relevance/importance of an issue                                
• Intensity measures strength of feeling for an issue
• Latency identifies the underlying views and attitudes about an issue.
•                                                  

Even more in depth

• Colonial assemblies had control over taxes and spending, hence having a lot of power compared to colonial governors. The house now has the power of the purse.
• Medicare is a  Great Society  ( government )program enacted by LBJ that provides financial aid to elderly people for health Insurance. It is also a mandatory entitlement program.     
• Social Security is a New Deal program enacted by FDR, that is in trouble because of the shrinking worker to retiree ratio. It is payed for by Payroll taxes on working Americans. It gives financial aid to retired Americans.                                                      
• Progressives ( in the 1900's) fought for work safety & health standards and were found in both major parties. Former republican President Theodore Roosevelt formed a short lived Progressive party.                                                    
• 25th amendment establish the rules and procedure of succession of power to the vice president( and the line of succession to the Presidency: Vice president,Speaker of the house, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Secretary of the State... etc.) and how to replace the Vice President. The 22nd amendment limited the president to 2 terms. 22nd:2 terms                      
• Fletcher v. Peck extended the supreme courts power of Judicial review ( incorporated Judaical Review)  to state laws. It is the first case that dealt with judicial review and state laws.               
• The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent executive agency that protects the environment and not part of any department.                   
• The Supreme court asserted the Federal Governments power to regulate inter-state trade in the case Gibbons v Ogden.                            
• Griswold v. Connecticut said that the Constitution gave the right to martial privacy               
• Winners as well as losers in civil /guilty cases can appeal to higher courts
• The Civil Rights act of 1968 outlawed housing discrimination                                       
• Supply-side economics wants low taxes ( especially on businesses)          
• The Budget and Impoundment Control Act restricted the President's ability to impound*& created the Congressional Budget Office.          
• In Cantwell v. Connecticut religious freedom was incorporated***                        
• Discrimination by gender must serve an important government objective                           
• Mandatory death penalties are not allowed                                                          
• In the context of elections a mandate is a public endorsement of a candidates  policy platform.
• Salience measures relevance/importance of an issue                                
• Intensity measures strength of feeling for an issue
• Latency identifies the underlying views and attitudes about an issue.
• Compared with political parties in countries with multiparty systems, American political parties are less clearly identified with consistent political ideologies ( the democratic party used to be the pro-slavery party and now it is the civil rights party ). Parties in multiparty systems tend to be smaller and more closely identified with particular ideologies and political goals, they also are more likely to organize around a single issue or goal. Parties in a 2-party system on the other hand present more general platforms in order to win a simple majority of the electorate.
• The Government may censor the press for national and military security purposes and may ban obscene publications.
• Congress power to determine national policy usually decreases as the Presidents popularity increases and vice versa.( like with Pres. Nixon in 1974 )
• In recent years Presidents have come to rely more heavily on the advice of the white house rather than the full cabinet or the Vice President.
• Most third party movements disintegrate when one or both of the major parties adopt the third parties goals
• Shelby v. Holder dealt with the Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Survivors of retirees receive benifits from Social security

*Impoundment means to not spend all the funds given to him.   

*** To Incorporate  means to apply the law/constitutional amendment to not only the federal Govenrment but also the state governments.

I got 73% of the multiple choice questions right and 65% on the Free Response and the estimated AP Score was a 1! This should have been a 4 according to the score conversion chart on the AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS CRASH COURSE book. Also on question 2 of the free response ( that had to do with the relashionship between the executive and leislative branches on making forgien policy )questions the sample essay that would have recived a top score had to do with Presidental Primaries and the Populist movement which is a differnt topic than the one in the question. Answers that are majorly of topic will definelty NOT recive a high score. Also in question 24 the explination says that the correct answer is not the correct answer to the question and in the explination for question 55 uses vulgar language. I would much appreciate it if these errors are fixed. 

sources: Shmoop.  Princeton review book for 2016

The 2016 presidential election

This election is important because the next president will have to face ISIS & Russia, help fix the budget( social security/debt ) and nominate at least a couple of supreme court justices to name a few things.
When it comes to deciding which candidate to vote for and support for president I take three major things into consideration:

1. His or her stance on issues 
2. His or her righteousness & character
3. His or her experience    

I only considered republican candidates because they follow the constitution and let people mostly govern themselves.
Based on these considerations I have decided on Marco Rubio to be president and have made a sign and canvased for him.

Why did I decide on Marco ? Here's why:

Stance on Issues

He Knows that without strong families America will fail "Strong families are the core of American greatness: Without strong families, America’s strong values will not endure, and the American Dream will disappear". This is a lot like the Family a proclamation to the world by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day-Saints ( I am a member of this church ) , here are some excerpts from it: The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society. Marco Rubio will help strengthen the family and promote marriage by:

• Creating a new $2,500 per child tax credit, to allow working parents to keep more of their money and fix the parent tax penalty.
• Ending the marriage tax penalty without penalizing homemakers
• Defending traditional American values and the value of marriage
• Allowing states to use anti-poverty dollars on programs that recognize marriage’s crucial role in lifting families out of poverty

He wants to modernize and strengthen our military."American strength is a means of preventing war, not promoting it. Weakness on the other hand is a friend of danger and an enemy of peace." I agree with this because without a strong military america can be beaten easier and seems less of a world power. 

His foreign policy is based on his Rubio doctrine which has three pillars: American strength, American prosperity and American values. He will increase military & defense spending, modernize our military and extend intelligence community to strengthen America. He will complete The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Trade agreements to increase american prosperity and economic growth through trade. Finally he will reinstate the promotion and defense of human rights and democratic values as a main part of US foreign policy to stand for American values. This is his basic general plan for Foreign policy and I will summarize his foreign policy stance for 4 countries ( Russia, Cuba, China and Iran) and 1 group (ISIS). Russia: He will stand against Russia's expansion and aggression " the longer we wait to stand strong against Putin’s Russia, the higher the price of our inaction will be. Strong American leadership is the only force capable of ensuring that peace and security once again prevail". Cuba: He will fight for human rights and democracy in Cuba, and end diplomatic ties with the communist regime and modernizer sanctions on it. China: He will have a larger military so he can carry a big stick when he speaks with China, He will protect the American economy and will stand for freedom & human rights in and around China. Iran: He will work with congress to put sanctions back on Iran and force them to chose between nuclear weapons and an economy. ISIS: He will work with other countries and send troops from multiple countries ( including US) to Syria and Iraq to fight ISIS and Assad. He will increase airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and give arms to Sunni rebels if Baghdad doesn't. He also counter ISIS propaganda with US victories. To protect the US he will strengthen US intelligence groups and enhance security screening for refugees who come into the US. 

His tax plan would cut taxes, simplify the Tax code and strengthen families.


He will help the american economy by making a National Regulatory Budget which will make regulators need to cut out the same money ( somewhere else ) they use to regulate essentially reducing regulation on businesses. He will also protect innovation from regulators by directing agencies to reject any regulations that hurt and diminish innovation. He will decrease taxes on businesses, fight for accountable regulatory policies ( congress can vote to stop or remove a regulatory agency) and protect internet freedom so innovation can occur. He will also help workers   create more jobs , tap on the links for more info.

He is against abortion and LGBT marriage

He is against Obamacare and will repeal it, replacing it with a market-driven alternative.

He will modernized higher education by simplifying complex tax initiatives, provide info for people wanting higher ed, and make student loans less burdensome. 

He will nominate supreme court justices that will apply the constitution as originally written that are dedicated to

• Restoring the original constitutional structure of separation of powers and federalism;
• Keeping the federal government within its original, limited sphere; and
• Enforcing the rights that actually appear in the constitutional text, rather than inventing rights that do not.( added by me not Rubio :right to gay marriage )

He will fight fro a balanced budget amendment, repeal Obamacare, allow states to use wasteful funds to pay the national debt, and other things to fix the budget, reduce spending and get on the road to paying off national debt.

To help social security and medicare:

He will defend medicare and social security for current and near retiring age seniors, and will gradually raise the retiring age while lowering benefits for high income seniors. 

He will exempt seniors who want to work past 65 from the payroll tax. He will also change medicare to a premium support system where the amount of money seniors get to pay for health insurance is fixed. 

Righteousness and Character 

He is humble, he has married only once and has not divorced, he has good Christian values & He is against abortion and LGBT marriage. He is more righteous than the other G.O.P. candidates, Trump swears, has married 3 times, is against religious freedom, was pro-choice, probably cheated and lied a lot as a large businesses manager, and continues to lie. Ted Cruz either lies a lot or chooses liars/cheats to represent him, ( we can't have a dishonest supreme court/cabinet). John Kasich divorced and has married twice.


Experience

He got a J.D. at the university of Miami school of Law and has been in a political career his whole life. From a City Commissioner , to a State legislature to a U.S. Senator and he is smart and experienced in politics/Law.

Another point I take into consideration is electability and Marco Rubio has a good chance of getting elected and winning swing states in November especially Florida also he is Latino which may make many normally democratic Latinos vote for him.


Marco does have faults ( i.e. drinks alcohol) , but nobodies perfect, and sometimes it is better to vote for somebody who doesn't lie to much and has great ideas and plans for america , then someone ( Trump ) who supposedly doesn't drink , lies a lot, is disrespectful to woman and has terrible plans for America



Marco v Cruz

Marco doesn't really hire people who lie and doesn't lie as much as Cruz. Cruz wants and has written an amendment to US Constitution that would allow the federal and state governments to define marriage as union between one man and one woman, and that nothing in the constitution be used to require marriage to be anything other than one man and one woman.  Rubio on the other hand does not support an amendment to the constitution banning LGBT marriage, but does believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and disagrees with the supreme court decision. He does not support an constitutional amendment because he believes that the Constitution grants the states the power to define marriage and not the federal government. So an amendment would give the federal government the power to regulate marriage which is against the constitution. He basically believes the way to overturn the ruling is have a future supreme court overturn it , and he will elect judges who interpret the Constitution as originally meant ( implying that he would nominate anti-same-sex marriage justices). So Rubio is still against LGBT marriage and the supreme court decision ,but wants to overturn it a different and possibly more likely way than Ted Cruz. An amendment would be great, but if Cruz becomes president he will have no official power over a constitutional amendment, and the unofficial power he would have ( trying to influence congress members to vote for it ) would be pretty weak because senators don't really like Ted Cruz , he being an anti-establishment candidate and all* . By electing Ted Cruz you are essentially are taking away one of the most pro-amendment congresspeople from congress and giving the amendment an even less likely chance to pass congress. So if you disagree with the supreme courts ruling on LGBT marriage and want it overturned (either by a constitutional amendment or by a different supreme court overturning its previous decision)( like me ) , it would be better to vote for Rubio ( a president that would appoint justices who interpret the constitution as originally meant, basically ant-gay marriage defined by federal gov ) and let Cruz help lead the amendment movement in congress.    To read more about Rubio's stance on LGBT marriage click here and here. Also Cruz is a Texan ( not a swing state) which probably makes him less likely to win to win in November.

Marco v Kasich

Kasich is too moderate and been divorced and has married twice , He also supports common core and some parts of Obamacare .
But Kasich doesn't yell and be negative as much as Marco and has probably helped balance the federal budget.

So far is looks like most people are voting for "anti-establishment" candidates, but you need someone who has experience in politics, and Marco Rubio supposedly an " establishment candidates " has ( in the US Senate and Florida legislature)  and probably will ( if elected) walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Recently the president has been democrat and has been lousy not doing as much about ( militaristic) foreign affairs , a republican establishment  candidate will do more about ( militaristic) foreign affairs because it is part of their platform.
Lets be honest I would rather Cruz or Kasich than Trump. Also I don't agree with everything Marco says , thinks , does or believes but I think overall he his the Best candidate.

other sources: Wikipedia

*Cruz could try to use media to try to influence people to support the amendment, thus influencing members of congress to vote for the amendment ( but only if the vote by the instructed delegate model , where members of congress vote for what the majority of their constituents want instead of voting based on their own judgment).