Test 2 Course Worksheets Flashcards
The US congress possesses the ______ power, which is the power to make laws.
legislative
Examples of things that Congress has the authority to do
- tax and spend
- coin and regulate money
- borrow money/control budgets
- declare war
Two main ways congressional power is divided
- institutionally between the 2 houses
2. Among its many members
Congress is a _______ institution whose members are elected to speak and act on behalf of their own constituents, but it is also a _______ institution charged with making laws for the entire nation.
Lawmaking; representative
Types of representation of MCs:
Descriptive- mirroring politically relevant characteristics: age, sex, race, education
Substantive- representing interest groups
Roles that Mc’s could fill when deciding how to act in Congress:
Instructed Delegate: mirror preferences of constituents
Trustee: use own judgement to make policy in constituents be interest
Politico: between delegate and trustee
Three electorally minded activities in which MC’s engage
- Advertising themselves (visible to constituents)
- Credit Claiming (casework)
- Position taking (grow your brand)
Congressional candidates who are _______ have a great advantage in winning elections
incumbents
Three reasons why incumbents have such an electoral advantage
- Visibility/name recognition
- Fundraising and spending
- Scare away competent rivals
The most competitive Congressional elections occur when someone has vacated their position or is not running for reelection. This is called:
open seat
term for remedying the dilution of minority votes
gerrymandering
3 ways state governments might gerrymander
- Create “safe seats” for a party
- Force incumbents of rival party to compete
- Racial gerrymandering
What is the so-called “distributive tendency” in Congress?
Tendency of Congress to spread the benefits of a policy over a wide range of members’ districts
The most powerful committee in Congress
Standing Committee
What does a standing committee do
Considers legislation within its designated subject area; the basic unit of deliberation in the House and Senate
Most powerful leader in the House of Representatives and Congress as a whole
Speaker of the House
What are powers the Speaker of the House possess
- Presides over House
- Represents majority party
- Agenda-setting
- Substantial control over {appointing committee heads, desirable committee assignments, which committee has jurisdiction}
Most of the real work of Congress goes on not on the House or Senate floor, but in the _______
committees
Three things Committees do:
- Legislative gatekeepers
- Research reports, hearings, “mark-up”
- Legislative oversight {monitoring bureaucracy}
Congress has many informal groups called _______ that help like-minded members coordinate
Caucueses
What do Caucuses do?
- Ideological - Blue dog democrats
- Racial or Ethnic - Congressional Black Caucus
- Organized groups - most common type
As enduring political organizations, _______ are key to the aforementioned ways in which Congress is organized to make laws
political parties
What does it mean that these organizations have become polarized in recent years?
- Parties ideological views clustered around 2 poles
- Few moderates
- little overlap
Federalist 70, Publius characterizes energetic executive in four ways:
- Unity
- Duration
- Support: separate base of power
- Competent powers
