The purpose of this assignment is to understand the influence of money and various special interest groups in US politics and the way in which increased influence may contribute to the blurring of lines between the three branches of government. <\/p>\n
Knowledge: <\/strong>In the US, our Democratic Republic was set up in three distinct branches with the intent of dividing power so that each branch could check and balance the others. In recent years, many political scientists have argued: (1) as campaign finance rules have changed over time, the influence of money has come to play too big a part in who controls Congress (legislative branch); (2) in turn, those people who control congress also get to decide who is confirmed or not confirmed when there is an opening on the US Supreme Court (judicial branch); and (3) the executive branch has attempted to expand influence over the other two branches through recent Presidential actions. As another example, some have recently worried about the executive branch\u2019s influence over the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n In the lesson 5 discussion, you chose a bill to explore and looked at how your representative or senator voted on that bill. Now, let\u2019s follow the money that may have influenced that vote.<\/p>\n The goal here is for you to assess how the money influences our representatives (House of Representatives) or senators (Senate) and in turn, impacts the other branches of government. Be creative here and think outside the box. Remember to support your ideas with valid points, examples from the course readings, or other trusted sources, and to cite those sources.<\/p>\n The Task:<\/strong> <\/span>Write a minimum of 1000 words. The TEMPLATE outline in the Lesson 3 Project may provide helpful guidance (link). For example: Click here <\/span><\/a>to access a student example for this assignment. <\/p>\n\n
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