Final exam Flashcards
How many people in the House of reps
435, 2 year terms
How many in the senate
100, 6 year terms
Congressional district
geographic district where one official represents for the House
Reapportionment
reapportion how many representatives each state gets every ten years after cencus
Malapportionment
voting power of its citizens is different than voting power of another district = unfair
senate is very very malapportioned
One person, one vote rule
each person’s vote should have the same amount of power = no malapportionment
Redistricting
drawing districts so each district is the same size (in terms of population)
Gerrymandering
redistricting so your party benefits
minority- majority district
gerrymander a district where you can maximize the voting power of the minority
descriptive representation
how much the member of congress looks like (same demographic) the people who are representing
Substantive representation
member of congress represents the same policy issues as the people in their district
trustee
member of congress doesn’t just think about their demographic but does what is right
instructed delegate
will only vote for what their district wants/ what benefits the district
Rules committee
committee in the just the house that decides the rules to consider and debate for a specific bill
fillibuster
tactic used by senators to block a bill to hold the floor and speak- if there isn’t cloture
To prevent a decision being made
cloture
limiting the amount of time a person can speak and how long you can spend on a bill- must pass with 3/5 majority of the senate
limits each person to one hour and a total of 100 hours for the bill to be discussed after cloture is invoked
16 senators sign a petition for cloture and then 3/5 of senate must agree
conference committee
when theres a disagreement between the house and the senate in passing a bill
veto override
both house and senate disapprove with 2/3 majority vote in both chambers
difficult because only about half of each party occupies the senate
Why we hate congress but like our member
Congress never actually gets anything done. We like our member though because they represent us and they push for us
Earmarks
adding spending that only benefit a certain amount of people
instructed delegate could do this to benefit their district
Rucho vs common cause
courts concluded that courts cannot fix gerrymandering issues
President- chief executive
appointment of power
cabinet
executive orders
take care clause
take care clause
president shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed
Why does trump have lots of executive orders?
because his supporters want results on easy issues and to fulfill what he said he was going to do for his campaign
President- chief legislator
veto power- has help from offices for policy advice
hard to get anything passed by government- power to pursuade
President- political party leader
most powerful party official
has staff in charge of regulating political standing (approval rating)
Commander in chief and restraints
in charge of army and navy
constraint- only congress can declare war, congress determines defense spending
Trump and bombing
has bombed a lot more than other presidents
Head of state and restraints
main negotiator/ talker to other countries
restraint- senate must ratify treaties and sets department budget
Characteristics of populism
charismatic outsider, appeals to nationalism, outreach to working class, uses media
Executive order
president says he wants executive branch to carry out a certain law
can be taken away by next president
Executive office of the President (EOP)
group of policy related offices that serves the president
White House office
an EOP- handle’s president’s political needs
press secretary, chief of staff, media
Formal/ constitutional powers
powers expressed in the constitution for the president- mostly in article 2
Pardon
president can pardon someone for a national crime
governor can pardon for a state crime
Treaty
agreement between countries- president can negotiate and sign but senate has to pass
Problem with president appointing officials
senate has to approve the appointments
State of the Union
allows the president to shape legislative process- to persuade congress
President and going public
helps the president to use the people to persuade congress
often doesn’t work because citizens like to ignore the president
opposition can go public too
Executive departments (bureaucracy)
cabinet (political appointees)-
state, treasury, defense
Independent agencies
not under direction of executive branch- difficult for president to remove
established by congress
CIA, NASA, USPS
Government corporations
provide a public service and produce revenue
AMTRAK, FDIC
Implementation
all of the agencies/ corporations do their jobs to enforce the laws and do their jobs
Interpretation
laws are vague and leave some points inresolved
Code of federal regulations (CFR)
gives details of implementation
Discretion
departments of bureaucracy have freedom in how to interpret policy
Why is the DMV so bad?
No incentives, budget cuts if there is money leftover, hard to fire someone in the DMV
Spoils system
Ended 1883- president could employ friends which would fund political parties
Rendleton act
modern civil service system we know today
need to protect government agents cus if you try to fire them its under the assumption that its political
hatch act
prohibits political activity by civil servants
can’t run for office or fund people running for office
Two things yo need to bring a case to the supreme court
Must have a standing (well defined injury)
Must be a justiciable controversy - means that it is the Supreme Court’s job
Appeals courts
If you lose in a district court, you have the right to go to appeals court
If you lose in appeals court, you can appeal to go to supreme court but can’t just go to supreme court
District courts
the court you first go to
State court system
state court different than federal court
judicial review
The power by supreme court to declare acts or laws of legislative or executive branches unconstitutional
Marbury vs Madison
Power of judicial review
Power to determine constitutionality
Legal model of decision
Facts+ law = decision
non political
Stare decisis
idea that judges must follow the precedent
Precedent
court decision that is followed if there is a case with the same grounds
Attitudinal model
Facts+ law = inconclusive
other factors have influence- judges own attitudes have an effect`
Judicial restraint
court should let elected branches make decisions, should rarely intervene
try to remain outside of political questions
Judicial activism
court should use powers to check the legislative and executive branches
necessary to protect injustices
Strict construction/ original intent
Just look at the actual words of the constitution and follow that for decision making
Broad construction/ modernism
interpret constitution as a living and adapting document
consider the spirit of the law/ its intent
Jurisdiction
when a court has the power to “speak the law”
or to rule in the court
a state court has jurisdictional power to over all residents within the state
Writ a certiori
Supreme Court orders a record of the case that happened in the lower court
Iron triangle
Congress(make laws), interest groups (push for laws), executive agencies (enforce laws)
whistleblowers
people who point out misbehavior of agencies/ corporations in the bureaucracy
Minority leader and majority leader
Nancy pelosi and Paul Ryan
