1.
Bicameralism
–
A bicameral legislature is one in which the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. As of 2015, somewhat less than half of the national legislatures are bicameral. Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected using different methods, which vary from country to country and this can often lead to the two chambers having very different compositions of members. However, in many Westminster system parliaments, the house to which the executive is responsible can overrule the other house, some legislatures lie in between these two positions, with one house only able to overrule the other under certain circumstances. For example, one house would represent the aristocracy, and the other would represent the commoners as was the case in the Kingdom of England. Others, such as France under the Ancien Régime had a legislature known as the Estates General, which consisted of separate chambers for the clergymen, the nobility. The Founding Fathers of the United States also favoured a bicameral legislature, the idea was to have the Senate be wealthier and wiser. Benjamin Rush saw this though, and noted that, this type of dominion is almost always connected with opulence, the Senate was created to be a stabilising force, elected not by mass electors, but selected by the State legislators. Senators would be more knowledgeable and more sort of republican nobility—and a counter to what Madison saw as the fickleness. He noted further that the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceeding with more coolness, with system and with more wisdom. Madisons argument led the Framers to grant the Senate prerogatives in foreign policy, an area where steadiness, discretion, the Senate was chosen by state legislators, and senators had to possess a significant amount of property in order to be deemed worthy and sensible enough for the position. In fact, it was not until the year 1913 that the 17th Amendment was passed, as part of the Great Compromise, they invented a new rationale for bicameralism in which the Senate would have states represented equally, and the House would have them represented by population. Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British three-tier model, nevertheless, the older justification for second chambers—providing opportunities for second thoughts about legislation—has survived. An example of controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the Canadian Senate or the election of the Senate of France. The relationship between the two chambers varies, in cases, they have equal power, while in others. The first tends to be the case in federal systems and those with presidential governments, the latter tends to be the case in unitary states with parliamentary systems. In the United States both houses of the U. S and this is due to their original location in the two-story building that was to house them. In Canada, the country as a whole is divided into a number of Senate Divisions, each with a different number of Senators, Senators in Canada are not elected by the people but are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister
2.
Oregon State Senate
–
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly, there are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state, each with a population of 114,000. The State Senate meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon State Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Oregon Ballot Measure 3, the current Senate President is Peter Courtney of Salem. Instead, a position of Senate President is in place. If the chamber is tied, legislators must devise their own methods of resolving the impasse, in 2002, for example, Oregons state senators entered into a power sharing contract whereby Democratic senators nominated the Senate President while Republican senators chaired key committees. Kathryn Clarke was the first woman to serve in Oregons Senate, women became eligible to run for the Oregon state legislature in 1914 and later that year Clarke was appointed to fill a vacant seat in Douglas county by her cousin, governor Oswald West. Following some controversy concerning whether West had the authority to appoint someone to fill the vacancy and she took office five years before the 19th Amendment to the US constitution protected the right of all US women to vote. In 1982, Mae Yih became the first Chinese American elected to a state senate in the United States, during the 2011 legislative session, the House and Senate passed Senate Bill 989, which implemented new legislative districts for the 2012 elections and beyond
3.
Oregon House of Representatives
–
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, the House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Members of the House serve two-year terms without term limits, in 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old law, Oregon Ballot Measure 3, that had restricted State Representatives to 3 terms on procedural grounds. In the current legislative session, Democrat Tina Kotek from Portland serves as Speaker, after losing several seats in the 2010 elections, resulting in a split control between both parties for one legislative term, Democrats regained their majority in the 2012 elections. Meanwhile, the Oregon State Senate has been under continuous Democratic control since 2005
4.
Peter Courtney
–
Courtney is an American politician, lawyer, and professor who is currently a Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 11th District since 1999. He is currently President of the Senate, serving since 2003 and he was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1981,1983, and from 1989 through 1998. Courtney teaches at Western Oregon University, Courtney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 18,1943. He grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and Virginia, both his parents earned college degrees, with his mother’s degree in Latin. In high school, he played on the football team. Courtney attended college at the University of Rhode Island where he earned a degree in political science in 1965 followed by a master’s in public administration the following year. He graduated from Boston University’s law school, and then moved to Oregon in 1969 to become the law clerk of William S. Fort of the Oregon Court of Appeals, Courtney arrived in Salem and stayed at the YMCA for two years. Courtneys first political office was as a member of the Salem City Council where he served from 1974 until 1980 and he was first elected to the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1980 as a Democrat representing Marion and Polk counties in the Oregon House of Representatives. Courtney gave up his House seat to run for the U. S. House of Representatives, 5th district, Courtney narrowly lost to state senator Ruth McFarland, who had been the 1982 nominee. McFarland again lost to Congressman Denny Smith, Courtney ran for and narrowly lost a state Senate seat in 1986, before taking back his old state House seat in 1988. In the House he served as Democratic leader for eight years and he served as minority leader during the 1997 session. He avoided term limits by moving from the House to the Senate in 1999, in 2002, he had surgery to remove a burst appendix and even received last rites prior to the surgery when survival was unknown. After 13 days at the hospital he recovered and returned to the legislature, in 2003, Courtney was selected as the President of the Oregon State Senate. The Senate was evenly divided between the major parties at the time, with 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Republican Lenn Hannon was chosen as President Pro-tem, the two were recognized as having forged a strong working relationship during the previous legislatures five emergency sessions. Courtney continued to serve as President for the 73rd and 74th Oregon legislatures, Courtney is the most tenured Oregon legislator. Some lobbyists consider him liberal and anti-business, but with a reputation as a respected strategist and his support and advocacy in animal-related measures saw him labeled as a 2011 Top Dog by the Oregon Humane Society. Courtney serves as co-chair of the Legislative Counsel Committee, Courtney teaches speech at Western Oregon University, and serves as an administrator at the Monmouth school
5.
Democratic Party (United States)
–
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
6.
Speaker (politics)
–
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer. The title was first used in 1399 in England, the speakers official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial, the title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, in other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English chairman or president. Many bodies also have a pro tempore, designated to fill in when the speaker is not available. The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the officer of the Australian House of Representatives. The President of the Australian Senate is the officer of the Australian Senate. Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role, in Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. The speaker is a Member of Parliament and is elected at the beginning of new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speakers role in presiding over Canadas House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the Westminster system. The Speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie, by convention, if required to vote, the Speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the officer of the Senate of Canada. The Speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of procedure and parliamentary privilege. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor General of Canada from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the Prime Minister, the Speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails, at the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legislatures is called the Speaker in all provinces except Quebec, where the term President is used. The presiding officer fulfills the role as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the elected to preside over the elected House of Commons
7.
Tina Kotek
–
Tina Kotek is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, she serves as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing a district in Portland and she served as the Democratic House Leader during the 2012 session. Born and raised in York, Pennsylvania, Kotek attended Dallastown Area High School and she moved to Oregon in 1987, taking her undergraduate degree in religious studies at the University of Oregon. She then went on to study at the University of Washington. Before being elected to office, Kotek worked as the Policy Director of Children First for Oregon and she co-chaired the Human Services Coalition of Oregon during the 2002 budget crisis and currently serves as the co-chair of the Governor’s Medicaid Advisory Committee. Kotek, a lesbian, is one of the openly gay member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Her election campaigns have won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, in 2004, she had been an unsuccessful candidate for the 43rd House District. In 2006, she was elected to the House from the 44th District in North and she won a competitive three-way Democratic primary election with over half the vote. In the general election, she faced only nominal Republican opposition and she ran unopposed for re-election in 2008 and, as well as winning the Democratic primary in the 44th district, she also won the Republican primary through write-in votes. She therefore did not face a Republican challenger and was assured of re-election, in 2010, she faced a primary challenge but prevailed with over 85% of the vote. A Republican candidate filed for the post but Kotek won the election with almost 81% of the vote. In June 2011 Kotek was chosen by the House Democratic Caucus as their leader, after Democrats won a majority in the House in the 2012 election, they nominated Kotek for Speaker of the House for the 2013 legislative session. Kotek was elected to the position, and then reelected in 2015, after Governor John Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015, elevating Kate Brown to the governorship, Kotek was named by The Oregonian as a possible successor to Brown as Oregon Secretary of State. Through a spokeswoman, Kotek denied interest in the job
8.
Republican Party (United States)
–
The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, the dominant value during the American Revolution and it was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854. The Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932, there have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one party. The Republican Partys current ideology is American conservatism, which contrasts with the Democrats more progressive platform, further, its platform involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense, deregulation, and restrictions on labor unions. In addition to advocating for economic policies, the Republican Party is socially conservative. As of 2017, the GOP is documented as being at its strongest position politically since 1928, in addition to holding the Presidency, the Republicans control the 115th United States Congress, having majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures, the main cause was opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas. The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil, the first public meeting of the general anti-Nebraska movement where the name Republican was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20,1854, in a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jeffersons Republican Party. The first official party convention was held on July 6,1854, in Jackson and it oversaw the preserving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877. The Republicans initial base was in the Northeast and the upper Midwest, with the realignment of parties and voters in the Third Party System, the strong run of John C. Fremont in the 1856 United States presidential election demonstrated it dominated most northern states, early Republican ideology was reflected in the 1856 slogan free labor, free land, free men, which had been coined by Salmon P. Chase, a Senator from Ohio. Free labor referred to the Republican opposition to labor and belief in independent artisans. Free land referred to Republican opposition to the system whereby slaveowners could buy up all the good farm land. The Party strove to contain the expansion of slavery, which would cause the collapse of the slave power, Lincoln, representing the fast-growing western states, won the Republican nomination in 1860 and subsequently won the presidency. The party took on the mission of preserving the Union, and destroying slavery during the American Civil War, in the election of 1864, it united with War Democrats to nominate Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket. The partys success created factionalism within the party in the 1870s and those who felt that Reconstruction had been accomplished and was continued mostly to promote the large-scale corruption tolerated by President Ulysses S. Grant ran Horace Greeley for the presidency. The Stalwarts defended Grant and the system, the Half-Breeds led by Chester A. Arthur pushed for reform of the civil service in 1883
