Another term important in discussing legislative politics is "grassroots". The grassroots are ordinary citizens who volunteer their time to participate in politics, by speaking out, by emailing others, by attending political events, by putting bumper stickers on their cars or signs along the roads, by making phone calls urging others to vote, and by expressing their views to public officials on important issues. The grassroots are in contrast with the media, the political insiders, and the corporations; the grassroots care more about social values that affect the future direction of the Nation, for example. The grassroots are those who volunteer to help with and attend large political rallies. The Tea Party movement in recent years has been among the grassroots.
== "All Politics Is Local" Separation of Powers ==
A famous -- and often overlooked -- observation about politics this this: "all politics is local." The media (television, national newspapers, and even unique characteristic of the internet) tend to cover national personalities and issuesAmerican system of government, but it is at a local level (your own town, legislative district, or even state) where the most important political decisions occur. It is at the local level where an individual can have the greatest influence in making the community a better place. The legislature is largely defined as established by local politics, and rightly so. In New Jersey each resident has two Assemblymen and one Senator representing him in the statehouse, and one member of the House of Representatives and two Senators representing him in Congress. Although both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are part of "Congress"Constitution, the term "congressman" typically applies only to members of the House of Representatives. So your "congressman" is the elected official who represents your congressional district in the U.S. House '''''separation of Representativespowers'''''. He is elected every two years on Election DayThe Executive, and you can have an influence on whether he is reelected or defeatedLegislative, and Judicial branches are kept completely separate from either other in his political party's primary (held in early June in New Jersey) or in the general election in early Novembertheir decisionmaking. Due to gerrymandering, most congressional seats in New Jersey ( Each of branches acts as in most states) are an '''''independent''''' "safe seats,check and balance" which means one of against the two major parties has an almost insurmountable advantage on Election Day. In other words, whomever the controlling political party nominates in its primary for the House power of Representatives is likely to win the general election against the other party's candidatebranches. But it may be possible to defeat the candidate in his party's primary election that nominates him in June, although it may take several election cycles before succeeding at thatThe U. Because more than 300 out of 435 Houae of Representatives are "safe seats" controlled by Democrats or Republicans, does S. Supreme Court invalidates laws that mean the "House" is always controlled by the same political party? No, because there are still 50-100 seats that are toss-ups on election day, and that is enough tend to tip blur the majority to one side or distinction between the other. Due to landslide victories by Republicans in 2010 in the "midterm elections" (elections in a year not divisible by four, such that there is no presidential candidate on the ballot), Republicans have a substantial majority in the "House" in 2012. But that control could be lost on Election Daydifferent branches.
== Congress ==
A senator who won due to vote-splitting was conservative James Buckley in [[New York]] in 1970. But victories due to vote-splitting is quite rare.
== "All Politics Is Local" ==
A famous -- and often overlooked -- observation about politics this this: "all politics is local." The media (television, national newspapers, and even the internet) tend to cover national personalities and issues, but it is at a local level (your own town, legislative district, or even state) where the most important political decisions occur. It is at the local level where an individual can have the greatest influence in making the community a better place.
The legislature is largely defined by local politics, and rightly so. In New Jersey each resident has two Assemblymen and one Senator representing him in the statehouse, and one member of the House of Representatives and two Senators representing him in Congress. Although both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are part of "Congress", the term "congressman" typically applies only to members of the House of Representatives. So your "congressman" is the elected official who represents your congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is elected every two years on Election Day, and you can have an influence on whether he is reelected or defeated, either in his political party's primary (held in early June in New Jersey) or in the general election in early November.
Due to gerrymandering, most congressional seats in New Jersey (as in most states) are "safe seats," which means one of the two major parties has an almost insurmountable advantage on Election Day. In other words, whomever the controlling political party nominates in its primary for the House of Representatives is likely to win the general election against the other party's candidate. But it may be possible to defeat the candidate in his party's primary election that nominates him in June, although it may take several election cycles before succeeding at that.
Because more than 300 out of 435 Houae of Representatives are "safe seats" controlled by Democrats or Republicans, does that mean the "House" is always controlled by the same political party? No, because there are still 50-100 seats that are toss-ups on election day, and that is enough to tip the majority to one side or the other. Due to landslide victories by Republicans in 2010 in the "midterm elections" (elections in a year not divisible by four, such that there is no presidential candidate on the ballot), Republicans have a substantial majority in the "House" in 2012. But that control could be lost on Election Day.
== Homework ==