1.2 The key features of the US Constitution and an evaluation of their effectiveness today.

Question 1

Federalism

Answer 1

A key principle of US democracy where power is delegated to individual states
Policies implemented under Republican presidents like Reagan Separation of powers and checks and balances

Question 2

Bipartisanship

Answer 2

years.
The overriding of President Trump’s veto of the NDAA (National Defense Authorisation Act) in January 2021 was a bipartisan attempt, with an 81-13 vote result in the Senate.
There is a difference between Bipartisan Rhetoric and Bipartisan Action - Ted Cruz blamed the 2013 government shutdown on Senate Democrats refusing to accept a “bipartisan bill” from the House that defunded the Affordable Care Act, despite this bill having no Democratic support.
The government shutdown of Dec 2018 - Jan 2019 over funding for Trump’s wall could be perceived as a result of partisanship, as Democrat opposition led to gridlock and a 37 day shutdown.
Electoral Reform Act of 2022 - Aimed to clarify election processes, in order to avoid manipulation as previously seen in Trump’s attempts to make VP Mike Pence delay the vote count. The VP’s role of counting was heralded as solely ceremonial from this act, and it was created by 16 senators (9 Democrats, 7 Republicans).

Question 3

Limited Government

Answer 3

• Only 3% of the bills will be passed and reached to the president
• All the 50 states have their autonomy on legislation and independent judiciary, e.g. DeSantis’ transgender bill which attempts to block puberty blockers and hormones for transgender people is struck down by the federal judge in Florida, demonstrates that the state judiciary limits legislation to protect Americans’ positive freedom from being restricted by state laws.
• Bills die easily during the committee stage in the House Rules Committee because the members intentionally timetable the bills to delay legislation and voting on the bill. Therefore, bills are usually dead before they reach the debates, e.g. 27th Amendment had waited for over 200 years since the initial debate on adjusting the salary rate of congresspeople was in 1789. The debate was reintroduced in 1982 and the constitution was amended in 1992. This shows that the complex process of constitutional amendment prevents the government overpowering by amending the constitution so often when the US sovereignty lies on the constitution.

Question 4

Separation of powers and Checks and Balances

Answer 4

• The constitution has mentioned in Article I, II and III that the election cycles of the Congress and the president (executive) are different, and the judiciary is protected by life tenure and fixed salary rate to prevent threats on tenure and salary to make political verdicts.
  -Congress can control the president’s Supreme Court nominees by holding confirmation hearings. For example, the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee in 2016 refused to hold hearings for Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, effectively blocking his appointment.
  The President can veto legislation passed by Congress, preventing it from becoming law unless Congress overrides the veto with a two-thirds vote.
  The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) exercises judicial review, allowing it to strike down laws deemed unconstitutional. For instance, in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Court struck down parts of the McCain-Feingold Act (2002), ruling that corporate spending on political campaigns is a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment. This decision allowed corporations to donate to super PACs, significantly influencing presidential and congressional campaigns.