Essay 11

AP Essay #11

(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following 
tasks. (Fig 12.1)
a) identify two patterns displayed in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process

The above graph shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. The red represents Senator incumbents reelection rates and the blue represents House Representative incumbents reelection rates. This data is from the year 1946 to 2002. Normally the incumbent reelection rates follow a similar trend and when one goes up or down, the other goes up or down respectively. This trend seems to hold true for most years. In 1986, however, the trend was reversed. As House Representative reelection rates rose, Senate incumbent reelection rates dropped to an all time low.

Incumbents normally have a large advantage over their fellow competitor. This is because as  an experienced seat holder, they have certain advantages that first time contenders just dont have. One of these such advantages is credit claiming. In credit claiming, incumbents use what they have done as a weapon against their competitor, who has yet to do anything. This technique works as many voters reason the incumbent already did something favorable and is likely to repeat this action where as the new guy hasn't done anything yet and even after getting re-elected, there is no guarantee he ever will. Another benefit incumbents have over first timers is their popularity. They are already known by many Americans and many people are familiar with their name. They may have connections established from throughout the years and have more impact on decisions as they come up. The classic saying goes, the devil you know so better than the devil you don't.

One consequence of incumbency advantage is that because incumbents have money and feel they will always win, no matter how tough their competitor, few actually try hard to win and put forth the effort needed to be a congress person. Many feel as though they don't have to actually do anything, just sit back and look good while their name does all the work. This leads to a congress that gets little done and congressmen that don't follow through on many, if at all on their plans. 

Scoring Rubric: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf

METH-A-DEMIC

Starting on the west coast as a drug used primarily by bikers; Meth has quickly spread across the United States, becoming one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs there is. Methamphetamine, better known as "Meth" or by its street name speed, is a chemically engineered drug that is sweeping the nation. Its made in a factory rather than grown, like most drugs. Pseudoephedrine or Sudafed, is one of the key ingredients in meth. Since only a few factories in the world produce it, shutting down the production of meth was easy, or so they thought. The big players in the meth industry were previously getting their sudaphed from these factories under the table. After the DEA restricted these factories, they thought their Meth problem was gone. They were wrong. Meth producers had found away around this road block. By hiring "Smurfs" they were able to get foot soldiers out to buy small amounts of Sudaped, then use it to make Meth. The drug was back on the streets and the problem was about to begin again.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/

With Pseudoephedrine behind the counters of pharmacies across the U.S., the Meth problem appeared to be over. Unfortunately, with very loose laws in Mexico, meth cooks were buying large amounts of Sudaphed and smuggling it back into the United States. Along with the "Shake and Bake" method, meth users were now also meth cooks. By crushing up Sudaphed and a few other ingredients, mixing that with over the counter chemicals, and shaking everything up in a plastic container, home made meth was being made for personal use. This meth was easy to make but at the same time incredibly dangerous. If mixed incorrectly, the chemicals used could explode and create a real hazard. Meth labs were now popping up all across the nation, and the DEA didn't know what to do.

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/26/226476602/big-pharma-and-meth-cooks-agree-keep-cold-meds-over-the-counter

As the Meth train keeps moving, growing bigger and bigger, and as state officials are trying to stop it the question remains, will meth every be controlled or will it just keep growing until it negatively affects our nation? It seems all the attempted rules and regulations attempting to stop the flow of Sudaphed have failed. As pharmacies and drug manufactures attempt to get psudoephedrine out of the hands of meth heads, it seems the only people being inconvenienced are cold sufferers. In order for the meth epidemic to be stopped, the DEA and federal government has to stay one step ahead of the Meth cooks. As for now, they are one step behind and if it stays this way, Meth will not be stopped.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/02/oregons_cold_medicine_restrict.html