US and UK comparative Flashcards

Question

How is the US allowed to have super PACs?

Answer 1

- Citizens United v FEC 2010 - Undermined the BCRA, overturning regulations on outside spending and allowing for the creation of Super PACs

Answer 2

- The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002: Tried to close some of FECA's loopholes by limiting outside expenditure from interest groups during election campaigns - Federal Election Campaign Act 1974: Introduced maximum donations, expenditure by presidential candidates and federal fundin

Answer 3

- Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014: Regulated the expenditure of outside groups, any pressure group spending £10,000+ during an election campaign must register with the Electoral Commission - The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000:Required all parties to register with the Electoral Commission and put controls on donation

Answer 4

Typically resisted or opposed extension and protection of civil rights and both parties opposed these acts in their respective countries

Answer 5

Adopt a liberal approach to civil rights, Labour Party created the Human Rights Act and Democratic Party crafted the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act

Answer 6

See government intervention in the economy as a risk to personal freedom, favour reduction in public expenditure, especially on welfare, champion the reduction of taxation, and have resisted the introduction and increase in the national minimum wag

Answer 7

Favour an active role for government, using economic policy to promote social justice, favour higher government expenditure, especially on the provision of health, education and benefits, Brown and Obama attempted to stimulate the economy and protect jobs through the increase of government expenditure

Answer 8

Tend to favour a reduction in the role of the state, critical of big government, stress personal responsibility, with the Tories introducing major welfare cuts since 2010 and Republicans opposing the ACA and supporting cuts to food stamps

Answer 9

Typically champion the cause of social justice, view the system as unfair, the provision of greater health care, access to education and benefits are central to the ideology, Labour are the founders of the NHS, and the Democrats the ACA

Answer 10

UK has stronger third-party presence than the US, and is arguably a multi-party system, whereas the two main UK parties fall well below the near 100% of seats held by Dems and the GOP, and in the UK the two party system is characterised by a pendulum effect, with power swinging between the two, whereas in the US both parties often have power at the same time

Answer 11

Two dominant parties, with only politicians from these two main parties heading the executive in recent years and third parties having some power at regional level

Answer 12

Sovereign Constitution allows US courts to overturn the actions of any institution, including Congress, if it restricts civil liberties, which UK courts cannot and because the US has an entrenched Constitution, court rulings cannot be easily overturned by other political bodies

Answer 13

The UK Human Rights Act provides extensive legal protection of civil liberties, and Parliament is unlikely to reject decisions made by the court that have protected civil rights

Answer 14

Both are dominant political figures, both act as a driving force for the policy agenda, both are subject to constraints by the legislature and are subject to limits from public opinion

Answer 15

Imperial Presidency suggests that Presidents can bypass some of the checks intended by the Founding Father using executive orders etc, some PMs also find it difficult to dominate the rest of the executive and can be heavily curtailed by parliament if they have a small majority

Answer 16

Easier to pass legislation through parliament, can use patronage to encourage backbenchers to stay loyal and vote for government bills, and the government dominates parliament, so a PM will be very powerful if they can dominate the rest of the executive branch

Answer 17

In both countries, the head of the executive branch has assumed a major role in the legislative process, arguably acting as the dominant force, in the UK, this is based on the PMs position as the head of the party with the majority, in the US, the President has been able to use their national mandate and superior resources to become known was the chief legislator

Answer 18

US Constitution gives this role to the President, allowing them. great deal of control over military matters, through royal prerogative, the PM effectively has this role, and can order military action and lack of absolute clarity in both countries over who has the final say - Congress and Parliament can assert some control

Answer 19

Both President and PM are main negotiators with other countries, taking a lead in international relation, and in both countries this power is limited by the legislatures

Answer 20

This role is held by the President in the US, the presidency combines a larger set of roles and responsibilities than the position of PM, this role is held by the monarch in the UK, not the PM, and gives the President a stronger ceremonial role in the US and arguably greater authority as a symbol of their nation

Answer 21

- Has limited power to check government because it cannot overturn legislative proposals or insist on amendments - Has limited legislative power with no power to block legislation, amendments can be overturned by Commons and limited by Salisbury convention in blocking bills - Unelected and unaccountable, Lords lack democratic legitimacy

Answer 22

- 6 Year terms are arguably too long, 2 senators per state leads to over representation of small states - Use of filibuster can be seen as undemocratic and leads to ineffective government

Answer 23

- Insufficient checks on the government due to government majority/ whip system and patronage, only one chamber with significant checking power - Is mainly a reactive body considering government proposals with limited significant initiation of bills, has a fairly limited ability and willingness to challenge government proposals - Use of FPTP elections leads to lack of voter choice and safe seats in the UK, as well as disproportionality between votes and seats, and the party with the most votes does not necessarily get the most seats

Answer 24

- Provides excessive checks leading to weak government, for example through legislative gridlock and partisanship in Congress has led to unacceptably high levels of checks under divided government - Power is shared in Congress, making it extremely difficult to pass legislation, some legislative procedures such as 'pork barrel legislation' are undesirable - Use of FPTP elections leads to lack of voter choice and safe seats, the party with the most votes does not necessarily get the most seats

Answer 25

- Expertise gives authority in scrutinising government actions and policies, limits to checks (cannot block bills) and ensures scrutiny but not weak government - Lords have influence over legislation via their ability to amend and delay bills, their expertise gives Lords authority over legislative matters - Serves the interests of the people because it can use its own judgment, not strongly affected by the government/ patronage/ whips and therefore can represent the people if the government is carrying out unpopular policies

Answer 26

- Specialist function of removal from office after impeachment - Representative due to separation of powers, 6 year term allows Senators to take a more rational/ long term view of public interests

Answer 27

Elected chamber with a tradition of MPs

Answer 28

- Specialist function of impeachment - 2 year terms and separation of powers leads to high sensitivity to public opinion

Answer 29

- Effective checks of the executive through voting on legislation, select committees and question time, can remove a failing government through a vote of no confidence and checks are not excessive, allowing for strong effective government - Has the power to scrutinise and block bills, providing quality legislation, government majority and influence in Parliament ensure an efficient process in which bills can be passed and are agreed in timely fashion - Elected Commons is responsive to public opinion with a mandate from the people, complementary representation in which the Commons can respond to the wishes of the people and the Lords can take a more reasoned views and consider the interests of the people

Answer 30

- Very high level os checks on the executive due to the separation of powers and checks and balances, important roles given such as declaring war, removing a President from office and ratifying treaties and appointments - Powerful legislative body that is able and willing to restrict executive proposals, proactive in initiating its own legislation, high quality legislation due to detailed scrutiny of bills - Highly representative due to the separation of powers, with both chambers elected separately from the executive, complementary representation of 2 years and 6 years

Answer 31

Location of Sovereignty, Imperial Presidency and Bicameralism

Answer 32

Separation and Fusion of Power, Checks and Balances and Power of Second Chambers

Answer 33

1) more power, can strike down laws e.g bush v gore 2000 go to decide an election 2) more power through constitution, clear enumerated powers through checks and balances. judges serve for life

Answer 34

1) no politicisation by media unlike usa. e.g Clarence Thomas 1991 'feeding frenzy' (although R(Miller) v sec of state for exiting eu in 2019 did articles on wether a remainer or not, but still way less than usa) 2) better appointments system= ensure judicial neutrality. usa uses litmus test on wether 'liberal' or 'conservative'. e.g bill Clinton and RBG abortion. need to be confirmed by senate e.g Robert broke, fully qualified but nom. by pres Reagan a republican in 1987, rejected 42-58. whereas UK judges are selected by an independent body, judicial appointments commission. also cannot be affiliated w any political party whereas in usa are based off that

Answer 35

1) disconnected from other branches of gov due to clear separation of powers. enumerated powers laid out by const whereas uk has parl sov. uk can only say incompatible w HRS 1998 and can't 'strike down' laws, parl ultimately gets to decide e.g client earth v uk in April 2015- called air pollution laws 'unlawful' but parl ignored. 2) US sc is more diverse. 9 justices in scouts, 6 men and 3 women (rip rbg). one AA man and one latin/hispanic female. uk 11 men and 1 woman (as of October 2014), variety of backgrounds. white and 75% oxbridge

Answer 36

1) us sc in media too much. RBG on late show w Stephen Colbert 2 years ago showing her workout routine. in uk media rarely comments on sc judges. Clarence Thomas etc 2)appointments more political in usa. litmus test, etc vs judicial appointments commission

Answer 37

- less politicised, more neutral so more legitimate - can declare something unlawful

Answer 38

- can strike down laws - more public and known about

Answer 39

- role of opp - role of committees - elections + media - vote of no confidence

Answer 40

- leader of the party so indirectly elected

Answer 41

- directly elected so arguably has a better mandate - can be impeached

Answer 42

- arguably has more power? - veto etc

Answer 43

1) protects rights via 1998 HRA e.g right to life and a fair trial. judicial review, precedent

Answer 44

1) codified in the bill of rights. 19th right to vote for women, 26th lower voting age to 18. rights not entrenched in uk, conservative gov announced plans to replace HRA with a BR bill of rights when uk leaves eu in 2015 2) congress passes bills to protect Cr's such as CRA 1965 and lilly Ledbetter fair pay act 2009

Answer 45

UK - nullity of marriage act 1971 - 2004 civil partnership act - challenger in Wilkinson v Kizinger 2006 high court case Canadians sort to have their marriage viewed as valid in uk and argued civil partership was a second best option - high court said full marriage is not applicable - galvanised lGBT groups e.g Equal Love - George Osborne, shad chancellor in 2010 said Torys would consider. - Lib Dems had committed in 2009 to ending the ban - came into affect in 2014 - marriage (same sex couples) act 2013 2004=- 52% in favor of 2009= 615 2010= 71%

Answer 46

by contrast more ambiguous - defense of marriage act 1996 said up to states - massachustetes stands out as a forerunner on this issue - 2001 GLAD civil rights - goodridge v dept of public health - us v Windsor

Answer 47

In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled, 4 to 3, that same-sex couples are entitled to marry

Answer 48

Overturned DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act )based on due process. 2013

Answer 49

2016,a gunman in Florida killed 49 people in a nightclub in Florida. This was the biggest in along line of massacres committed in the USA. Each time, calls for greater gun control fail to result in changes to legislation. In1996, a gunman in Dunblane, Scotland, killed 16 school children and their teacher. Following this, the UK government quickly passed legislation to tighten restrictions on handguns and introduce a ban on many of them.

Answer 50

- In every state of the Union address 2010-15, Obama asked to pass immigration reform. - Of GWB's 12 vetoes, 4 were overridden and attempts were made to override 6 more. - In January 2018, the US government shut down since it lacked money due to a dispute with Trump over Obama's DACA immigration policy. - Since 1942, Congress has mainly used AUMFs to authorise the use of troops. Bush, Obama and Trump have used the AUMF against 9/11 in 14 countries since 2001. - Three presidents have been impeached and all of them found 'not guilty'

Answer 51

- (Ratifying treaties) START 2010 passed the Senate vote by 71-26. START went back to the Senate in 2016, it never received a ratification vote. (Ratify Appointments) - The senate rejected John Tower as secretary of defence after alcoholism and womanising allegations in 1989. - Andrew Puzder was nominated as secretary of labour in 2017, but withdrew after the Senate told Trump that he didn't have the votes to ratify his appointment.

Answer 52

In 1913, the 16th amendment was adopted, allowing for federal income tax to be levied, after the Supreme court had ruled to deny this. Samuel Chase was impeached, although found not guilty of being partisan.

Answer 53

- Trump asked Congress for more money for border security in 2018, in line with his promise to 'build a wall'. - Bush and Obama used the veto 12 times during their presidency. The threat of a veto can be enough to stop Congress from passing a bill, or to make them amend it.

Answer 54

- (Power of pardon) On his last day in office, Obama granted 330 commutations to non-violent drug offenders. He also pardoned Chelsea Manning, who had served 7 years for selling state secrets. - The President appoints justices. Had Obama gotten Garland in, the court would have become more Liberal.

Answer 55

The 13th Amendment (1865) abolished Slavery; The 14th Amendment (1868) gave former slaves full citizenship. Ensures SOP, does not allow short term trends to change its nature.

Answer 56

Clinton polled more votes than Trump but lost the election. Former Justice Stevens identified six areas of constitution needed reforming: campaign finance, death penalty, gun control. There is one senator for 300,000 people in Wyoming, compared to one person for 20 million in California (70 times the effective representation)- Wyoming has the same influence as California in selecting the President.

Answer 57

- The Patriot Act - Medicare - Arizona v US - Obergefell v Hodges

Answer 58

Expanded surveillance abilities of police, including by tapping domestic/international phones. The Patriot Act gives the attorney general unprecedented new power to determine the fate of immigrants.

Answer 59

Established that states may not implement their own immigration laws. State law enforcement officers are authorised to inquire about a resident's legal status during lawful encounters.

Answer 60

It established Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for people with limited income. Government became more involved in healthcare, and played a more active role in everyones' lives.

Answer 61

The SC ruled that the fundamental right to marry was guaranteed to same sex couples under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.

Answer 62

- NCLB - California Senate Bill 54 (Stops state/local law enforcement from using facilities to arrest people for federal immigration purposes.) - DACA - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Answer 63

NCLB effectively scaled up the role in holding schools accountable for student outcomes. States had a responsibility to make sure a better education was received by the extra educational assistance they provided.

Answer 64

Stops state/local law enforcement from using facilities to arrest people for federal immigration purposes. Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from Sanctuary cities.

Answer 65

Stimulus of $787bn on infrastructure and education, health and welfare; $245bn on grants to state and local governments. Federal power increased here because state governments managed the issue of funding.

Answer 66

DACA is a policy that allows people with unlawful presence in the US after being brought to the country as children to receive a renewable two-year period from deportation.

Answer 67

In 2012 the Senate voted to reject the UN convention on Rights of Disabled People.

Answer 68

$13 billion in congressional appropriation bills for the fiscal year 2022 by the U.S. government was led by Joe Biden.

Answer 69

Decided that independent expenditures on political campaigns are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law.

Answer 70

The Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional for congress to enact most of the elements of Obamacare. This included the requirement for Americans to have health insurance by 2014.

Answer 71

The court came to the decision that the constitution does not mention or state anything related to the right of abortion, therefore ultimately overriding the decision made in Roe Vs Wade in 1973

Answer 72

Speech on a public sidewalk, about a public issue, is protected, even if the speech is found to be "outrageous" and causes emotional distress.

Answer 73

Struck down a Washington DC ordinance that banned handguns. The Supreme Court voted in favour of the appeal court's decision to allow Dick Heller to own a handgun and did not require the firearm be disassembled or locked to prevent firing.

Answer 74

Struck down Section 4 of Voting Rights Act which required federal pre-clearance of voting law changes for states with a history of voter discrimination

Answer 75

The court upheld a race-conscious program used to admit students to the University of Texas at Austin, it was determined to be legal under equal protection principles.

Answer 76

Senate - Trump x2

Answer 77

Senate - In 2012 the Senate voted to reject the UN convention on Rights of Disabled People.

Answer 78

WCTU leaders like Frances Willard and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper argued that the way to break the power of the “liquor traffic” was for women to win the right to vote and enact alcohol prohibition and other reforms to “protect the home.”

Answer 79

When obama became president in 2008, he had to step down from the senate

Answer 80

1) - yes, no branch has too much power, therefore protecting democracy against tyranny - Trump was impeached for his involvement in the insurecction in 2020 2) - forces other branches to work together so promoting bipartisanship

Answer 81

1) seperation of powers and checks and balances require bipartisanship and thefore could lead to gridlock if theres a divided governement (e.g. imigration reform bill)

Answer 82

- trump - Obama - Biden

Answer 83

1) -A divided government leads to better scrutiny of the executive including treaties and nominations - The house judiciary committee played a key role in the investigation in the watergate scandal and the complicity of president Richard Nixon which led to his impeachement 2) - when there unified governement there is less scrutiny - During the iraq war and war on terror, George Bush Presidency recieved little scrutiny - The senate hasnt rejected a treaty from a president of its own party since 1935 but ubder divided govt. there have been 4

Answer 84

1) - It could be argued that bipartisanship and divided governement isnt effective as forcing parties to work together leads to gridlock - In the past few years there has been little succes on imigration reform and climate change, despite both being a pressing issue - A key example would be the DREAM act under the obama adminstartation which would allow citizenship for immigrants brought to the united states as children

Answer 85

- The Obama adminstration intended to deliver key changes to domestic policy resulted in the federal govt playing a much bigger role - Obama forced medicaid unto states and if they refused they would lose out on federal funding - increase in federal power

Answer 86

- trump saw to gradually take away states power whilst others he sought to grant more power back to the states - In repsonse to the black lives matter protests, Trump deployed federal troops to tackle the protest despite several states opposing it and policing being generally controlled by states - He rolled back a lot of Obama enviromental policies which gave more power back to the states - he did give back a large amount of power back to the states during COVID 19

Answer 87

1) - There is significant variation in lawas and policy on a wide range of issues - E.g. COVID 19 responses and sanctuary cities 2) - Across states there is also big variation in culture and ideology - The deep south including texas are more conservative and are more likely to support the republican party and NYC is more liberal and is more likely to support the democrats

Answer 88

1) - the ability for states to experiment with new policies and solutions means that eventual federal govenement laws are first tried on states - This can be seen with the affordable care act 2010, which was modelled on the healthcare reform act in massachusetts in 2008

Answer 89

- some areas of policy are controlled exclusively by states or by the federal govt. This leads to administartion of certain policy to be complicates - The tax sytem is used at both federal and state level

Answer 90

1) - The 10th amendment ensures that the power of the states is protected form federal overreach - 2017, trumps executive order was struck down withholding federal grants from sanctuary cities was struck down by the courts 2) - States are able to to take a different approach to the federal government when they disagree - Certain democrats controlled states have introduced sanctuary cities which intefere with implimentations of federal govt laws

Answer 91

1) - It can be argued that due to the expansion of federal power in the 20th century, the us is no longer federal today - Mahor federal deals such as New deal and obamacare can be seen as having enroached on policy areas historically controlled by the states such as helathcare and employement

Answer 92

1) - parties in congress arent as unified as they are in the Uk house of commons. Traditionally, voting along party lines is less common than it is compared to the uk, with only aorund half of all votes in the first few years of the 21st century being party votes (could be because of the lack of powers of patronage to incentivise or punish members compared to the Uk) 2) - In the last few years, US political parties are far more partisan and divided then ever before

Answer 93

The congressional black caucus played an important role in pushing for the George Floyd justice in policing act 2021

Answer 94

1. Caucus 2. Interest groups and Lobbyist 3. Party

Answer 95

1. Election to congress are done very frequently with the whole house of REP and 1/3 of the senate being relected every 2 years - thsi leads to greater accountability 2. - The fact that congress is elected separetly from the president means that they can behave indepnedlty from the government even when being from the same party

Answer 96

1) - the succes of incumbents can be used to say that congressional elections have little democracy is weak 2) - The republican and democrats dominate congress and are becoming increasingly cohesive, leaving little room for 3rd parties with differring views

Answer 97

Bicameral: House of Representatives and Senate House of Representatives -lower house of congress -435 congressmen/women -serve 2 year terms so significant portion campaigning -ALL seats are contested in election period Senate -upper house of congress -100 senators -serve 6 year terms, means they can focus on getting things done. this also acts as some protection towards volatile swings in public opinion, as only 1/3 senators are up for re-election each year. -every state has 2 senators -congressional elections are held every 2 years -1/3 seats are contested every election and one senator from each state has to NOT be up for election (at the same time as the other one)

Answer 98

Passing legislation -as a legislative body of the USA, congress has the task to make new federal laws Representing the people -members of congress need to represent the interests of their constituents. overseeing the executive -congress has a number of powers that allows it to scrutinise and sometimes check the executive

Answer 99

Overriding a presidential veto power of the purse declaring war

Answer 100

+president cannot reject this veto, is it the ruling factor -it needs a 2/3rds majority from congress trumps veto was overridden on the defence spending bill January 2021

Answer 101

Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money +only congress can raise revenue for the federal government, which allows for a clear separation of powers and creates a limited government -government shutdowns can happen, and this is due to the fact that when neither the executive or the executive is willing to compromise. the 2018-19 shutdown during trumps administration lasted 35 days, longest in history. government shutdowns can be unpopular due to their length and the fact that in a full shutdown, the government is forced to close its 'non essential' functions e.g environments and food inspections

Answer 102

Congress has the power to declare war. +both houses must vote on a declaration of war (power hasnt been used since 1941) -modern presidents avoid asking congress for a formal declaration of war (Congress authorized troop deployment in Vietnam, but, because it did not issue a declaration of war on North Vietnam or the Viet Cong, the Vietnam War is, technically speaking, not considered a war in the United States, as it was a PROXY war)