Linkage Institutions

  Voting in America is at an all-time low, and it's not looking any brighter in the near future.  This is due to the lack of education, lack of interest in politics, and the lack of exposure to politics.  Instead of watching a convention or a Q & A session with candidates, Americans are tuning into Modern Family and Biggest Loser instead.  Teens today are the future of American and they need to be exposed and educated in politics.  Even though it's going to start arguments among friends, and rivalries in History class, it's needed to have a successful nation. 
  In the United States, people who vote are old.  Young people have much more fun things to be doing than driving to a building, filling out tons of paperwork to register to vote, and then filling out a paper to vote for president or even city measures.  This is the future.  And it's not looking so good.  Schools need to educate their students on politics, along with their families.  Besides media, school plays a huge role in educating young people about politics in America.  Teenagers should be informed about current issues in their country and all around the world.  If not, then America is going to drown in uneducated and uninterested teens. 
  Media is a huge linkage institution and is easily leading the rest of them in the power to educate Americans about politics.  In relation to citizens, it is everywhere.  Almost every single household in the U.S. has a T.V., computer, and/or radio with AM, and by simply flipping to FOX or Nightly News, or googling "u.s. president" anyone can quickly become up to date with politics in the United States of America and beyond.  National, state, and a local elections and bill/measure campaigns are all shown on T.V., and it is simple to learn about what's going on with the simple click of a button. 
  Americans are in desperate need of education of American politics.  Without educating our youth, American has really no potential in bring the number of voters and the knowledge of voters up.  It's inevitable that without political participation, America will suffer, and even though we have on of the lowest voter turnouts of any country in the world, our democratic system could fail, and we could be in deep trouble. 

Interest Groups

  Interest groups choose from a variety of tactics to achieve their goals.  Some of which are litigation, campaign contributions, and grassroots lobbying/mass mobilization. The number of interest groups in America has increased quickly within the last years; especially from 1959 to 2001 when the number of groups went up by 16,000.  Trade groups use to dominate, but now there are so many groups that most of them are similar in how big/popular they are. 
  Litigation is used when an interest group is unable to get a piece of legislation passed in Congress, and enter into a court.  Suits against federal agencies by the public scare interest groups, and they know that to avoid these, they have to give their all and even if that means going to court to try to pass a law, they will do it.  It has become such a regular thing they do that going to court is their main objective in order to avoid lawsuits from citizens. 
  Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy you a voice in the American political system.  Campaign contributions are vital to a groups success.  Whether knowingly or not, money will ensure success when trying to achieve a goal/going to court.  Millions of dollars are spent each year by interest groups, but only wealthy people are heard in the system because money gives them a voice. 
  Lobbying used to be the name of a person who waited in a lobby outside a building where Congress was meeting in hopes of talking to a member on their way out.  Nowadays they are political persuaders who represent political groups.  They are very important because they have lots of knowledge about politics, but are seen as ordinary people to some.  They are able to "sneak" around and gather information about everything, and can even from allies.
  For some groups such as the NAACP, litigation is in their best interest to achieve a goal.  Looking back to the victory with Brown vs. Board in 1954 desegregating schools, they have gone to Congress numerous times and have won.  Ratifying constitutional amendments, creating new laws, and arguing rights with Congress have made them successful in being able to have a voice in the political system.

Senator Wyden

   Senator Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden was born May 3, 1949 in Kansas, and at the age of 46 became the united States Senator for Oregon representing the Democratic Party.  Both of his parents grew up Jewish and feld Nazi Germany.  Growing up in California, he attended University of California, Santa Barbara, then transferred to Stanford, and in 1974 received his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Oregon. He founded the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers, and led it from 1974 to 1980, which supported same-sex marriage, legalization of abortions, and the legalization of marijuana.  
   In March of 2013, he was part of a filibuster, in which he joined forces with Republican Senator Rand Paul to block the election of John. O. Brennan as the director of the CIA, questioning the use of drones.  He stated to President Obama, "Mr. President, what it comes down to is every American has the right to know when their government believes that it is allowed to kill them."  On December 16, 2010, Wyden was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and after a sugary on December 20th, he was back in Congress the following month.  He has five kids with his ex-wife and current wife, who now live in Portland, Oregon.  

Committees:

• Committee on the Budget

• Committee on Finance

• Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure

• Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight

• Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness (Chairman)

• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Chairman)

• As Chairman, Senator Wyden is an ex-officio member on all subcommittees.

• Select Committee on Intelligence

• Special Committee on Aging

• Joint Committee On Taxation

Background/Discussion on 1-2 issues
(2-3 paragraphs)  It would be great to research some of the bills he's sponsored, or his position on the issues. You can find these pretty easily on his website, under priorities. 

Sex Trafficking: Ron Wyden led a campaign to put domestic sex-trrafficking of children on the national agenda with Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) was passed as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act in 2013. The VAWA provided 4 block grants worth $1.5 to $2 million to ares of the country with the most sex trafficking taking place.  He is currently working on a fund to help victims become survivors of sex-trafficking and to address it in the child welfare system. 

Veterans:  In 2008, Senator Wyden questioned 2 Pentagon officials and in his follow up with the secretary of defense, 39,000 cases of unprocessed concurrent retirement and disability claims were diacovered and Asa. Result, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service quadrupled the number of staff processing claims in order to reimburse every veteran and accommodate for the tens of thousands of claims they receive. 

Questions for the Senator?
A. In regards to foreign countries paying for college for students, is the u.s., more specifically Oregon, looking into funding college through taxes or reducing the price for people? 

B.  What are your thoughts on marijuana legalization in oregon, and what do you think of Colorado's decisions?

C.  Looking back to 2008, did that incident change your view of the government? And do you wonder if there are more things the government is covering up either on purpose of accident?