structure, distribution of powers Flashcards
define bicameral system
- having two different chambers
define popular sovereignty
the principle that all government authority is derived from the consent of the people being governed who are the source of political power
when did the senate become an elected chamber
- after the 17th amendment in 1913
how long do senators serve for
- 6 years
- 1/3rd of congress is up for reelection every 2years
what is the impact of the short election cycle
- representatives and senators focus more on pleasing their constituents over pay since their constituents need to be won over so they can reelect them
constitutional requirements of house
- over 25
- must live in the state but not necessarily district they want to serve
- lived in US for over 7 years
constitutional requirements of senate
- over 30
- citizen of US for over 9 years
- must be living in the state they are running for
what are powers exclusive to the HoR
- power of the purse
- bringing forth charges of impeachment for president and SC
- choose a president if the EC is in deadlock
what are powers exclusive to the Senate
- ratifying treaties
- confirming appointments
- try cases of impeachment for the president and SC judges
- choose the VP if the EC id in deadlock
what are the concurrent powers of congress
- ones that are shared by both HoR and senate
- create legislation
- override the presidents veto, with a 2/3rds majority
- propose constitutional amendments
- declare war
what is incumbency
- the person who currently holds a political office usually referring to the president, a senator or congress man/woman
explain the graven island bridge as an example of incumbency and pork barrel politics
- the bridge was supposed to connect two islands in Alaska to where the local airport was
- it would have cost $400million but only served a small population
- in 2007 it was cancelled leading to an unfinished, half built bridge and so became known as the bridge to nowhere
what are reasons 4 reasons incumbents do well
- franking privileges
- gerrymandering
- name recognition so raise more money so do better
- some congressional advantages
what are franking privileges
the cost of mailing to constituents is covered by congress
- congress spent $24.8million on this in 2012
what congressional advantages do incumbents get
- constituents can get in contact with them easily as they are given a website to show their policy beliefs and success in the community
define gerrymandering
- the shaping of congressional districts to give one party a political advantage
- both parties do this
how often are congressional districts drawn up
- every 10 years following the census
- so whichever party is the governor of each state can draw up their own boundries
- so if they know the south of a city is democrat and north is republican for example, they will split those, often in odd shapes to ensure the vote is not split, so their desired party can get most possible votes and therefore representatives in the house
example of gerrymandering
2014 Pennsylvania 44% voted for democrat, but 13/18 districts were republican
example of an incumbent
AOC in 2018, she was a waitress in New Yorks 14th congressional district, who had to beat Joe Crowley who was the 4th most powerful democrat at the time
- she won with 78.2% of the vote
what is a filibuster, how can it be stopped and give an example
- a prolonged speech on the floor of the senate aimed at preventing further action being taken on legislation
- closure motion = procedure used to end a filibuster requiring agreement of 60 senators, except for in cases of presidential appointments which just needs 50 senators
- Ted Cruz filibustered for 21 hours against Obamacare, reading ‘green eggs and ham’
