Analyse de documents:épreuve orale

Civilisation Américaine-Le pouvoir politique et ses

représentations

Lecture 1:- Méthodologie

- First set of documents:Obamacare

Conseils• Gérez le temps• Entraînez-vous devant une audience• Apprenez à communiquer• Faites des fiches thématiques et de vocabulaire• Ne faites pas un commentaire pour chaque œuvre, il

s’agit de les mettre en relation=problématique• Adoptez une stratégie transférable et n’en changez plus• Ex: 1) lecture des docs 2) 1 ou 2 fils conducteurs/plan en

2/3 parties 3) présentation: courts résumés de chaquedoc/mise en contexte/annonce de laproblématique/annonce du plan/dévelopement incluantdes retours fréquents à tous les documents

• !! Attention aux grosses erreurs d’anglais, n’hésitez pas àvous reprendre si vous vous apercevez de votre erreur.

First set of documents:Obamacare

• Document A : Excerpt from the firstpresidential debate, Oct. 3 2012

• Document B : Article by Rand Paul fromthe National Review June 28, 2012

• Document C : three anti-obamacareposters

• Step 1: using the documents• Introducing doc A:• Document A is an excerpt from the first

presidential debate between Mit Romney theRepublican candidate and the incumbentpresident, Barack Obama.

• The passage focuses on Barack O ‘s answerto his oponent’s criticisms of his healthcarereform plan the Affordable Care Act alsocalled « obamacare ».

• Selecting relevant information in doc A:• Small businesses=cost skyrocket = a job-killer• Obama’s answer=families are affraid• = businesses against families/capitalist argument

against socialist argument/ romney is a richcaptain of industry/Obama is from a modestfamily…

• =traditional discrepancy between the Republicansand the Democrats

• Important notion : preexisting condition = peoplewho won’t be covered even if they subscribe to aninsurance

• Argument against the insurancecompanies=private vs public regulation

• =federalism

• Explain «get their premiums »• Working on the reglation of insurance policies

doesn’t mean ignoring the problem of jobs• Emphasis on middle class families• The 5 arguments=typical of Obama’s rhetoric (a

communication strategy aimed at « simplepeople »

• 1- you keep your old insurance but the state willimpose fair regulations

• 2- group plan=group rates=what GOP identifiesas « socialised medicine »

• Humor is also part of his rhetoric

• His idea was applied by Romney inMassachussets where he served asgovernor = states level vs state level(another bone of contention betweenthe 2 parties = power of the federalstate)

• Introducing document B• The second document is an article written by

Randal « Rand » Paul, senator for Kentucky,published on June 28 2012 in the NationalReview, a traditionally conservative magazine.

• It is a harsh criticism of obamacare by its mostradical oponents the libertarians and the TeaParty embodied by their well knownrepresentative, also the first senator to representthe Tea Party movt in Senate, Rand Paul.

• He wrote this text just after the ACA was declaredconstitunional by the SC, its aim is to prove it isnot.

• Selecting relevant information from doc B• Tea party=definition/liberty-minded=libertarians=

who are they in the American politicallandscape? = 3rd parties

• Date: obamacare upheld by the SupremeCourt=explain the process of law making

• The executive can propose a law, Congressexamines it and votes, the president signs orvetoes it, the SC determine whether it isconstitutional.

• Obamacare has reached the last step of this longprocess but SCOTUS is divided=4v.5(composition of the SC=before 2010 mostjustices had been appointed by rep.Presidents) but the dem are taking over

The principle of checks and balances

The judicial Branch and the supreme court

• 9 justices nominated by thepresident

• Rule over the U.S. legalsystem, manage federalcourts

• They have to interpret theconstitution

• They perform judicial reviewover actions of otherbranches and the states

• Rule over 150 cases a year• Roe vs Wade, 1973, the right

to have an abortion

• « compelled to purchase a product — healthinsurance — or pay a penalty »= againstpersonal liberties/taxes (but contradicted byObama)

• Parallel with the Stamp Act = british oppression=goes beyond the mere anti-federalist criticismof the GOP

• Quoting chief justice Roberts recalling the sc dutyto remain politically « neutral »= (neverthlessKagan and Sottomayor were pro healthcarereform)

• much like Obama himself, Obamacare wasdeceptively sold to the American people= areference to the mid-term distrust of O’s policy

• Destroying jobs=GOP=denied by O• Middle class=each party seems to be targetting this

category of people• Explain « Commerce Clause and the Necessary

and Proper Clause »• Constitution Article 1 Section 8 clause 3: the United

States Congress shall have power "To regulateCommerce with foreign Nations, and among theseveral States, and with the Indian Tribes." =taxes

• Necessary and Proper Clause: Art1, Sec 8 clause18 = Congress makes a law in order to apply its fullpowers (denounces the use of this « elastic »clause)

• Explain individual mandate

What is an individual mandate?

• It requires every citizen to buyinsurance, even healthy people, tomake the prices drop to an affordableamount = health insurance mandate(2014) social policy

• European system, rejected by the USfor decades

The libertarian party• Founded in 1971• The largest, fastest-growing

third party• Favors personal liberties• Limited intervention of the

federal state• Not to be confused with

movements like the Tea Partywhich are more conservativewhen it comes to abortion orsame sex marriage…

• Socially liberal but fiscallyconservative : agaisnt a federalregulation of trade

Ron and Rand Paul…• Ron PaulRepresentative

for Texas• Republican/former

libertarian• Presidential candidate in

2012• His son Randal• A Libertarian who is also a

supporter of theTea Party• He now belongs to the

Republican party

Controversy over constitutionality

• Republicans massively oppose it =unconstitutional

• Originally, it was a conservative bill,proposed by the Heritage Foundation in1989 (used by Romney in Mass.)

• What is the difference between Romneyand Obama regarding that issue?

• Romney would keep it at a state level.• Otherwise, it is the same, thus the C1

caricature…

Document C 1,2,3

Introducing document C

• Document C is a series of three anti-obamacare posters that might have beenproduced by supporters of the Tea Partyor libertarian supporters.

• They all include Pdt Obama’s face and his2012 campaign logo, they all seek todenounce the dangers of the ACA.

• Selecting relevant information provided bythose posters

• The first one criticizes both candidates thesame way, mingling their two names toemphasize that, as clearly stated in doc A,Romney had the idea first and O tried to apply itfederally. = made by a third party

• It is a campaign poster, aiming to convincepeople that a third way might be a goodsolution for those who reject universal healthcoverage and the individual mandate

• The campaign logo is used to mock the officialcampaign posters

• Document C2 is more aggressive the red« forbidden » sign superimposed on Obama’spicture combined with the skull and crossed boneslogo is a threatening message.

• The president is protrayed as a doctor= heassumes someone else’s role=he is out of his fieldof competence thus not to be trusted regardinghealth issues; this idea is reinforced by the piracylogo.

• The red color is also related to communism and thered sentence evokes the « red scare » echoed bythe hammer and sickle embedded in the wordobamacare = it alludes to the way the Pdt’soponents criticize his reform as being a form ofsocialized medicine, with a strong intervention ofthe federal state = link with doc A and B

• Document C3 portrays the president as a soldiertesting a poisonous drink which may refer to theradioactive water that used to be tested on soldiersafter the second world war.

• It implies that B Obama indents to contaminate theAmerican people willingly, knowing that he isleading a potentially harmful policy.=ref. to King GIII doc B/contradicted by B Obama docA

• The caption is yet another allusion to communismwith the reference to « rationing and fair share »

• = doc b: « stripped Americans of their personalliberties and freedoms »

• =doc a: regulating insurance companies

• Introduction• Short description of the documents• Context:• 2012 is an election year, the stakes are high for

the incumbent president Barack Obama.• The Patient protection and Affordable Care Act or

Obamacare is a major reform of the Americanhealthcare system he signed into law in 2010. Itreinforces the two existing programs implementedsince 1965, Medicare (for elderly people) andMedicaid (for poor people).

• The question of universal coverage has alwaysbeen a controversial issue since it implies morefederal control and less individual power.

• To what extent does obamacarerepresent a threat to personal libertiesand why is it such an unpopularmeasure?

• This set of documents addresses at leastthree aspects of the question: the firstone is institutional, the second politicaland the third ideological.

• Conclusion• A risky initiative• An innovation• The power of the Supreme Court• The rise of third parties• Changing mentalities is a long-term undertaking• The law is now effective but the various

programs are implemented progressively• Csq: Obama was reelected in spite of the

reform

Vocabulary

• Uphold/overhaul• Overrule/repeal• Implement• To be effective• To be ruled

constitutional• Sign a bill into law• Universal health

coverage• Insurance premium• Pre-existing conditions

• Medicare/Medicaid• The Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act (PPACA)• Individual mandate• Libertarian party• Tea Party• Third parties• Federalism• Supreme Court/justices• Judicial review