5 mark Flashcards
what is meant by pork barrelling
Pork barrel politics refers to when congressmen appropriate government federal funds in order to create infrastructures or transportation within their own constituencies.
congressmen do this in order to please their constituents and get re-elected as elections are every 2 years.
for example, Tip O’Neill sought federal funds to fund a highway project which cost $15 billion in his constituency.
these projects are added by the appropriations committee.
What is an executive order
The president has the power of executive orders implied in article 2 section 1 meaning that he is also chief executive which allows the president to give directions to the federal bureaucracy telling them how laws should be carried out.
this allows him to faithfully execute laws passed by congress.
even though he cannot create new laws this allows him to have control over the enforcement of legislation
however, this can be undone by the next president.
for example, in 2017 trump gave an executive order over the removal of federal subsidies underpinning obamacare.
what is meant by split ticket voting
This is a process where voters will choose different parties for different offices in elections,
this is whereby several offices are being contested on a single ballot to split a ticket,
voters will vote one party for one office, and a different party for another.
In order to split the ticket, a voter may decide to vote for the republicans in the president race, vote democrat for the senate and republican for the house.
For example, in 2004 in Montana they elected a democrat governor but voted for republican George W bush for president.
This contrasts straight ticket votes whereby voters will vote for one party, for all offices being contested.
what is meant by presidential power of persuasion
In 1960 Richard Neustadt announced that ‘presidential power is merely the power to persuade’.
The president also can’t reward loyal members of their parties with cabinet posts as the US cabinet post is not seen as a reward due to the separation of powers.
The separation of powers means that the Presidents are not in the legislature. They therefore can only hope to persuade congress to vote on their ‘Executive Orders’ and budget etc.
It therefore comes down to charm and personality.
For example, Reagan, was quite successful in passing legislation through a Democrat house due to his charm and popularity. Compared to Trump with democratic members of congress.
what is meant by presidential veto
One way in which the president can overcome constitutional restraints is due to the power to veto legislation passed in congress outlined in article 1 section 7.
This can be done within 10 days congressional days of receiving the bill however, the president must explain why he has vetoed it,
for example Obama used the veto to block Dakota and Keystone XL pipeline.
The president must veto the whole bill not just lines for example Clinton attempted to line-item vote in which he tried to veto certain lines however, the Supreme Court ruled this as unconstitutional in 1998.
The veto can be a threat in order to be a bargaining tool, with presidents having 93% successful vetos of all time.
Congress can override vetos with a 2/3rds majority usually occuring when congress and the president are of differing houses for example, 11 george bush vetos were overridden
lame duck president
The lame duck period is a common term in a president last year in office leading up to an election if the president is not or cannot seek a new term.
Officially however it is seen to be the period after the December election and the inauguration of the new president in January.
Although Obama was elected in November 2008, he did not become president until Jan 2009. George Bush however was finishing his second term.
Many feel however that once primaries were over, and the two candidates were chosen in spring 2008 the lame duck period for Bush had realistically begun as people and congress began to circle around the Democrat and republican nominees.
In 2012 however Obama will be seeking a second term. He will only become a Lame duck President in the period November to January if he loses.
Presidents try to pass remaining legislation and meet congressional leader to negotiate. They also make wide use of the presidential pardon.
electoral college
This is the mechanism that officially elects the president and Vice President of the United States every 4 years, this is laid out in article 2 section 1 of the constitution.
It is statutorily set by the federal government as “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.
The electoral college votes uses a system of First past the post where each states constituency has a relevant number of votes due to population
for example Wyoming has 3 votes compared to California with 55.
This is due to the number of congressmen and senators that represent that state for example Alaska has 2 senators and one congressman therefore, it has 3 electoral college votes.
California, Texas, Florida, and New York have the most electoral college votes.
For example, in the 2016 Hillary Clinton won the popular vote with 2.9 million more votes than trump but, he had won 307 electoral votes meaning he won the 2016 President election.
limited government
The term limited government refers to a political system in which the power and authority of the government is restricted by a constitution or set of laws allowing it to be limited in power to prevent abuses of power to protect peoples rights.
In these governments power is usually enumerated and defined in a constitution and are subjected to checks and balances
for example, in the USA the constitution provides a limited government by separating powers between government and the states by creating a separation of power between the legislative, executive and judicial branch that can create checks and balances for each other.
pigeon holed
This is when a bill is set aside without being acted on meaning it is basically blocked and prevented from moving forward in the legislative process. This can happen through presidents trying to get members of congress to introduce legislation on their behalf or has opposition from pressure groups.
for example obama pigeon holed a bill on gun control issues in 2012 after facing resistance from congress despite their being immense public support.
partisanship
this is opposite to bipartisanship.
partisanship refers to the lack of ability of parties to find common ground on an issue and cannot find compromise due to extreme political opinions and positions causing a lack of co-operation between rival political parties for example, Obamacare in 2010 can be seen to have created partisanship as republicans were against this bill as they felt it would rise healthcare costs and was changed by trump through an executive order in 2016
impeachment
this is where a president can be deemed unconstitutional to the public and can be removed from office if they are found to be acting ultra vires.
for example, in 2021 trump was tried for a second time for the incitement of the Us Capitol attack. However, wasnt found to be guilty. these trials can undermine the legitimacy of a president.
however, no president has officially been impeached but Nixon was nearly impeached but chose to leave office before it was official
