US Politics

Question 1

How is the President imperial? - very powerful

Answer 1

Executive orders- President can pass legislation without consulting Congress- effectively can change any legislation e.g Trump travel ban executive order

Signing statements- President can effectively remove lines of legislation that he deems to be unconstitutional e.g Obama took out a clause of National Defense Authorisation Act which said defense secretary had to notify congressional committees 30 days before moving anyone from Guantanamo Bay

Executive agreements- can bypass Congress when making agreements with other countries e.g 2015 China environment deal negotiated in secret

Unilateral war powers- Presidents can arguably bypass requirements of constitution with military decisions
e.g 2011- Obama ordered airstrikes against Libya

Question 2

How is the President imperilled? - power is limited

Answer 2

Executive orders- President can only enforce/stop existing legislation, not pass new laws

Signing statement- little impact, Congress can force President to follow their decision

Executive agreements- future Presidents can ignore it, agreements are arguably unconstitutional

Unilateral war powers- heavily limited by public opinion

Question 3

How do informal sources of power mean the President is powerful?

Answer 3

Electoral mandate- if President is elected on a strong wave of support they have a strong mandate for their policies- most achieved in first 2 years

Executive orders- can bypass Congress

National events- leadership in times of crisis- can enhance their popularity

Cabinet- appoints people to cabinet, cabinet meets rarely so they don’t have much say

Question 4

How do informal sources of power limit the President?

Answer 4

Electoral mandate- success rate falls as the term progresses, typically lose support in midterms e.g 2018- Democrats gained control of the House

Executive orders- can’t make new laws, can be controversial which damages reputation e.g Travel ban

National events- can damage popularity e.g Hurricane Katrina- Bush Jr was criticised for lack of response

Cabinet- vice President and Secretaries of State also have influence

Question 5

How does Congress have influence over President?

Answer 5

Mandate- Congress elected every 2 years so they can claim a stronger mandate

Patronage- President can’t demote/promote people, legislative and executive are separate branches

Divided govt- common for President to be controlled by one party while at least one chamber of Congress is controlled by another
- this leads to gridlock and limits the President’s agenda

Question 6

How does President have influence over Congress?

Answer 6

Media profile of President- can claim a stronger mandate as he is nationally elected e.g 2016 Trump campaign, his policies still debated from 2017 onwards

Head of State- President is the leader of the USA and has a lot of power and influence over people- can change public opinion

Question 7

How did Clinton achieve his aims?

Answer 7

• planned to reduce budget deficit which occurred every year since 1945
• Dont Ask Dont Tell’ policy advocated to end the ban of lesbian and gay soldiers

Question 8

How did Obama achieve his aims?

Answer 8

• wanted to remove troops from Iraq and increase involvement in Afghanistan- achieved, troops removed and Congress agreed to more troops in Afghanistan
• planned to stimulate the economy- 2009 legislation led to additional spending of $787 bn

Question 9

How did Bush achieve his aims?

Answer 9

• put his budget plan through Congress and reduced taxes

- No Child Left Behind Act- imposed federal standards of education on states

Question 10

How has Trump achieved his aims?

Answer 10

• planned a ban on people from largely Muslim countries entering the USA, received a lot of public backlash but Supreme Court ruled in favour of it
• Dec 2017 Republican tax plan- promise of lower corporate tax largely delivered, was cut to 21%

Question 11

How was Clinton limited?

Answer 11

• failed to get his healthcare priorities passed
• reducing budget deficit largely done by Republicans, Newt Gingrich caused the budget shutdown not Clinton
• Dont Ask Don’t Tell policy received backlash from Republicans but also from gay rights groups because it did not end the ban, just meant a soldier’s sexuality could not be investigated

Question 12

How was Obama limited?

Answer 12

• planned to close Guantanamo detention centre- failed as it still held 41 people at the end of his Presidency
  HOWEVER the number of detainees dropped dramatically, 242 detainees at the start of his Presidency

Question 13

How was Bush limited?

Answer 13

• his attempt to reform social security for the elderly was controversial and failed to make progress in Congress
• his education reform was criticised by other Republicans

Question 14

How has Trump been limited?

Answer 14

• failed to deliver Mexican border wall, plans have been discussed but not achieved- 2018/19 US government shutdown over budget for the wall
• tax cuts were a compromise, Trump promised to cut them to 15%, actually cut to 21%

Question 15

How is Congress representative?

Answer 15

• elections every 2 years- incorporates new public opinion
• accountability- Congresspeople are easily voted out, have strong links with their constituents so may vote with what they want instead of what their party wants
• caucuses- represent minority views e.g Black Congressional Caucus, they cross party lines so are not biased

Question 16

How is Congress not representative?

Answer 16

• pressure groups can pay politicians to vote along with their views and not the views of the people e.g NRA pays Congress to vote against gun control
• Congress isnt actually representative- 9% of Congress is Black compared to 13% of the population, 2.8% of Congress Asian compared to 5.2% of population, 7.2% Hispanic compared to 18% of the population, 20% of Congress female compared to 50% of the population
• Gerrymandering- districts of a state are reorganised to give bias to a particular political party e.g operation REDMAP- Republican voters spread out and Democrat voters in one small district
  ^ means that Democrat voters aren’t getting their views represented

Question 17

How is the legislative process strong?

Answer 17

• checks and balances- no one branch can dominate the process e.g President can veto but Congress can overturn it
• quality policy- law produced is agreed by all 3 branches of government
• protects individual and state rights- a broad spectrum of ideas have gone into the law, individual and state rights have been considered

Question 18

How is the legislative process weak?

Answer 18

• low output of laws due to amount of checks and balances
• high levels of partisanship lead to gridlock- law isn’t passed due to no agreement
• arguably poor quality legislation- lots of people being involved gives weak, diluted legislation e.g Obama era- only 3% of laws reached him which shows the process is long and ineffective

Question 19

How is gridlock good?

Answer 19

• stops the executive having too much power

- government is limited- abides by the constitution

Question 20

How is gridlock bad?

Answer 20

• no legislation is passed- 2013 and 2018 govt shutdown over disagreements
• leads to breakdown in government

Question 21

How does Congress oversee the President?

Answer 21

• Congress can vote against laws initiated/supported by the President
• Congress can determine funding and so by failing to do so they can restrict/cancel Presidential policy e.g 2018- Democrats refuse to give funding to build Mexico border wall
• can overturn Presidential veto with 2/3 vote im Congress e.g Obama’s veto on Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was easily overturned
• President can’t enter into agreements with other countries without approval from the Senate with a 2/3 majority

Question 22

How is Congress’ oversight limited?

Answer 22

• difficult to limit Presidents with a high approval rating or ones who won by a landslide
• election results- if Senate is controlled by same party as President they won’t want to limit him e.g 2018 midterms Senate controlled by Republicans
• Congress won’t want to control/damage the President if they are the same party as him e.g Republican Chairman of Intelligence Devin Nunes was reluctant to investigate Trump

Question 23

Disadvantages of the amendment process

Answer 23

• means it is difficult to remove outdated aspects e.g electoral college
• difficult to incorporate additions to constitution because it is entrenched e.g equal rights amendments failed as recently as 1982 despite modern views on equality
• supreme court has excessive power- 9 people have final say on key issues, they aren’t neutral interpreters they use their own bias
• undemocratic- only 13/50 states have to oppose an amendment for it to be blocked

Question 24

Advantages of the amendment process

Answer 24

• protects key principles, some things should be difficult to remove e.g freedom of speech
• protects state’s rights- entrenchment maintains this and 10th amendment gives rights to states
• long process prevents irrational, short-term amendments

Question 25

Reasons FOR the constitution being past it’s sell-by date (+ example of a judge)

Answer 25

• written in 1787 so contents don’t apply to modern day situations
• vague so it isn’t exactly clear what rules are in place, it’s contents are disputable and judges can interpret it in different ways for different cases
• justice scalia believed in originalism = what the constitution actually says, argued ‘the constitution is dead’ because no one takes it literally any more and it shouldn’t be interpreted

Question 26

Reasons AGAINST the constitution being past it’s sell-by date (+ example of a judge)

Answer 26

• founding fathers intended it to be hard to change because they didn’t want people to change it for personal gain- carries on today and protects the constitution
• founding fathers kept the constitution vague so it could be interpreted and applied to modern situations, therefore it is not past its sell-by date
• justice stephen breyer is an activist- believes constitution is a living document and should be adapted

Question 27

How has the constitution made a positive impact today?

Answer 27

• frequent elections and separation of powers gives a highly representative government
• checks and balances prevent tyranny and means policy is based on different interests
• powerful supreme court leads to high protection of civil rights
• amendment process prevents changing of rules for self-interest

Question 28

How has the constitution made a negative impact today?

Answer 28

• policy-making is difficult and leads to gridlock
• supreme court is too powerful- government might be limited
• long amendment process prevents necessary changes - govt might not respond to needs of modern society

Question 29

How does the constitution protect state power?

Answer 29

• some states have huge policy control which is protected by the constitution e.g different laws on marijuana
• amendments can prevent federal govt imposing legislation that states don’t agree with e.g 1990 Gun Free School Zones act blocked by states who said it went against 2nd amendment
• amendment process means it is impossible to reduce state power without their consent, states can block amendments

Question 30

How does the constitution NOT protect state power?

Answer 30

• constitutional protections largely meaningless- federal govt can take control of virtually any policy
• constitution has clear limits on state power, federal govt has power over money and taxes e.g 16th amendment expanded federal power
• federal mandates which all states have to comply to e.g 2010 Affordable Care Act required everyone to have health insurance

Question 31

How is the membership of the Supreme court democratic?

Answer 31

• congress and president are elected- can challenge supreme court
• justices are confirmed by Senate vote therefore Senate can block appointments
• justices have to have some legal experience- they are qualified to do their job

Question 32

How ISN’T the membership of the Supreme court democratic?

Answer 32

• they are justices for life- unfair that they aren’t replaced and there isn’t any change in opinions
• President appoints them and will choose who is in their best interest e.g a Republican choosing a conservative judge
• can be impeached but no justice has ever been impeached- limits their accountability

Question 33

Weaknesses of the appointment process

Answer 33

• nomination process is politicised- justices are described as liberal/conservative and face criticisms
• ratification process is politicised- Senate sometimes supports/opposes a nomination based on who made it e.g 1980s Scalia passed with no votes against him however 1987 Bork was rejected because Democrats wanted to prevent conservative influence
• ineffective- doesnt have adequate scrutiny of the nominee, justices may avoid being open about their views e.g Gorsuch was appointed because he was very neutral, Bork was open

Question 34

Strengths of the appointment process

Answer 34

• separation of powers means judges don’t feel obligated to a political party or public opinion
• ensures judicial ability- nominations are scrutinised by the senate and have to have legal experience
• ensures political suitability- intensive process ensures there are no historical concerns or character flaws

Question 35

How effective is the Supreme Court in protecting rights?

Answer 35

• it is powerful because the constitution is entrenched, therefore protects rights
• vagueness of the constitution gives personal control to judges
• supreme court has institutionalised civil rights in the Bill of Rights- can’t be overruled
  examples: Roe v Wade decriminalised abortion, Brown v Board ended school segregation

Question 36

How is the Supreme Court limited in protecting rights?

Answer 36

• amendments can overturn Supreme Court rulings, therefore protections can be changed
• judges can interpret the constitution in a manner which may not protect civil liberties, can interpret it differently to argue for/against a case
• there may be competing views on whether or not a right exists in the constitution e.g Liberals will say constitution includes gay rights, Conservatives will say the right to bear arms applies to everyone
• justices and public disagree about which rights are worthy of protecting e.g gun rights

Question 37

How effective have racial rights campaigns been?

Answer 37

• 1965 voting rights act overturned Jim Crow laws and prevented racial discrimination in voting
• election of Barack Obama- due to 1950/60s civil rights act
• number of black voters doubled
• increase in black candidates- focus on minority views

Question 38

How have racial rights campaigns been limited?

Answer 38

• 115th congress had highest representation but still not representative of the population- 9% black people in congress compared to 13% of the population
• still discrimination today- police brutality targeting minorities

Question 39

Arguments for Affirmative Action

Answer 39

• improves socio-economic status of minorities, helps close gaps in education and income of racial groups
• helps reduce racist attitudes, overcoming segregation and prejudice
• it works- where AA has been stopped there has been decline in minority college enrolment

Question 40

Arguments against Affirmative Action

Answer 40

• a form of racial discrimination- gives white people less opportunity, could argue it goes against 14th amendment (no one allowed to cross citizen’s civil liberties)
• has the wrong focus- by the time children get to college/job level they have already been affected by poor education and social surroundings
• hasn’t worked- inequality still persists, there is still a gap in racial groups in top colleges

Question 41

How effective are checks on the Supreme Court’s power?

Answer 41

• membership of the bench is rigorously checked- judges are indebted to other branches
• all 3 branches are still functioning
• court is susceptible to public opinion so cannot get too far out of line with the opinion of the American people

Question 42

How are checks on Supreme Court limited?

Answer 42

• recent constitutional amendments by Congress to negate Supreme Court decisions have failed- legislative isn’t effective in their checks
• President can criticise the Supreme Court but it is unwise for him to criticise legitimacy of the court- they are experts with legal experience

Question 43

How does Constitutional power in foreign policy mean the President is powerful?

Answer 43

• Commander in chief- President has authority over military policy and can use unilateral war powers to bypass Congress e.g Obama 2011 Libya airstrikes
• Head of State- has ability to conduct foreign relations, rather than Congress, can create treaties for co-operation or conflict
• Executive agreements- e.g 2015 US-China Deal, can bypass Congress, President can ignore the requirement for Senate ratification

Question 44

How does Constitutional power in foreign policy mean the President is limited?

Answer 44

• Constitution gives Congress power to declare war- disputes over who has the right to initiate military action
• 1973 War powers act- President can only send troops to countries where there is conflict with Congress approval or if there is national emergency
  HOWEVER has been unsuccessful in limiting the President, Presidents have argued it has no constitutional authority
• Congress can limit President action abroad by denying funding e.g Clinton action in Bosnia was blocked
• Ratification of Treaties- can limit the President if they don’t ratify them e.g Senate defeated the Comprehensive Test Ban on nuclear weapons

Question 45

How does Political power in foreign policy mean the President is powerful?

Answer 45

• Electoral mandate- nationally elected so President has more authority than Congress, US citizens look to the President for foreign policy initiatives not Congress
• Congress often defers to the President- e.g Speaker John Boehner wrote a letter to Obama questioning him about trying to overthrow Gaddafi, he said “I respect your authority as commander in chief”
• When Congressional leaders have tried to take control of foreign policy they have received criticism for taking away the role from the President e.g Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticised for visiting President Assad in Syria in 2007

Question 46

How does Political power in foreign policy mean the President is limited?

Answer 46

• Congress can challenge Presidential policy, likely when govt is divided
• Separation of powers- members of can go against President by voting with constituency views rather than the President
• No demotion/promotion so no accountability to President

Question 47

How does Practical power in foreign policy mean the President is powerful?

Answer 47

• Speed of conflict- war is faster and more deadly so the public and Congress put more faith in the President
• New technology e.g drones, fighter jets, nuclear weapons require decisions to be made with greater speed and expertise
• Use of classified info- EXOP and National Security Council means President holds critical classified info, Congress has to trust the President e.g 2003 Bush sought congressional approval while warning of Saddham Hussein’s ‘weapons of mass destruction’, Congress sceptical but voted for him

Question 48

How does Practical power in foreign policy mean the President is limited?

Answer 48

• Expertise- Congress has expertise in foreign policy which helps them to criticise the President, many senators e.g Joe Biden arguably had greater knowledge than Obama
• Closed sessions- Congressional committees can receive sensitive information in which they can challenge the executive e.g House Intelligence Committee often holds these

Question 49

How do presidential elections work? What are the positives and negatives

Answer 49

stage 1 primaries and caucuses: candidates from the same party compete against eachother in a public vote, this decides who will be the presidential candidate for that party e.g 2016- Clinton vs Sanders vs O’Malley, Trump vs Cruz vs Rubio vs Kasich

stage 2 the presidential election: one candidate from each party stands in order to get elected to the presidency- this is the electoral college, candidates from different parties compete against eachother e.g Trumpp vs Clinton

(positives) - two step process gives extra layer of democracy
- population get to directly vote for the President- direct democracy

(negatives) - long, expensive process
- open vote- people could sabotage this by voting for the worst candidate
- people in same party competing could divide the party e.g in 2016 Sanders and Clinton divided the Democrats

Question 50

What happens in primaries and caucuses?

Answer 50

primaries and caucuses:

• first stage of voting where candidates from same party compete in a public vote, there are separate contests for each state
• candidates compete to win delegates, each state is given a number of delegates which reflects the population, delegates are party activists who go to party conventions and vote for a specific candidate, depending on who voters in that state have voted for
• different states hold their primaries on different days, some choose to hold them on the same day with ‘Super Tuesday’

example: 2016 Republican primaries South Carolina had 50 delegates, Trump won 33% of the vote over other candidates so he got all the delegates, all 50 voted for Trump at the National Party Convention

• Republican primaries use a ‘winner takes all’ system where candidate who comes first gets all the delegates BUT some states now use a proportional system e.g if Trump got 33% of the vote he would get 33% of delegates
• Democrat primaries use a proportional system

example of controversial primary: 2016 Democratic primary in Nevada- held a 3 stage primary, 1st stage was public voting where Clinton won 52.6% of the public vote, 2nd stage was won by Sanders because many Clinton supporters failed to turn out, Sanders was expected to win but in the 3rd stage they changed the rules to disregard the 2nd stage and the chair decertified 64 of Sanders’ delegates, Clinton was given 20 delegates and Sanders given 15

Question 51

Give advantages and disadvantages of the primary and caucus process

Answer 51

advantages:
- raises key issues- ideas are from more than one candidate, political education can come from it, successful polices of losing candidates can be adopted by winning candidates

• electability of candidates- tests ability to overcome personal issues, tests ability to raise funds
• voter choice and democracy- there is increased participation compared to a situation with no primaries, there is choice of competing ideologies/policies within a party

disadvantages:
- timing- early states influence late states, late states can be disenfranchised which makes votes pointless, voting is over a long period of time

• division in parties- exposes divisions in parties, people can lose faith in candidates, negative campaigning in common even within a party, can reduce popularity of winning candidate
• specific procedures- different rules for different states means it isn’t consistent, creates low turnout and excludes certain voters, some states have dubious procedures e.g non-binding elections

Question 52

What happens in invisible primaries?

Answer 52

• they are the period before primaries where candidates attempt to establish their ability to be successful in primaries, candidates spend time raising money to try and show political strength e.g Sanders’ invisible primary performance in 2015 helped him gain funding and support, allowing him to run a fairly close primary race against Clinton
• candidates with high levels of funding and strong support are likely to be seen as potential winners, some candidates drop out due to lack of funding or support
• announcing presidential bids early can capture support of a particular party faction e.g for the 2016 election Ted Cruz announced he was running 9 months before primaries and a year and a half before the presidential election, he appealed to social conservatives and won their votes

why 2015 invisible primaries were important for Republicans: there were a record number of candidates who wanted to run for President, invisible primaries helped narrow down 17 candidates with Rick Perry and Scott Walker dropping out, Jeb Bush also dropped out due to serious lack of support- raised record $114 million but was overtaken by Trump who had media focus and popularity

Question 53

What are roles of the National Party Conventions?

Answer 53

• party presents itself to the public, candidates choose people to speak which can be used to try and show diversity
• delegates vote for their candidate
• partly paid by taxpayers but also by money candidates have raised

significant roles:
selects the presidential and vice presidential candidate for each party- delegates vote to decide this, in order to win a candidate needs 50% of the delegates’ votes, if none achieve this there is a broken convention which requires more voting

decide the policy platform- delegates debate and vote to determine policy of the party for the presidential election, this takes place over several days so there is detailed debate

superficial roles:
gives publicity- winning candidate can sell their message to the public, often by attacking the other party, can get celebrities to endorse them, often held in swing states to influence voters

reunites the party- divisive primary process is put aside, losing candidates can give speeches endorsing the winner- can crate positive publicity and help the party win the election

rallies party activists- activists organise events, contact voters and raise funds, a good convention addresses these people as well as the public to enthuse them

Question 54

Give fact files on the 2016 Republican and Democrat conventions

Answer 54

Republican:
- many prominent Republicans did not attend, Trump gained endorsements from losing candidates e.g Chris Christie and Ben Carson
- Melania Trump gave a speech but was accused of plagiarising Michelle Obama
- Ted Cruz used his speech to snub Trump instead of supporting him
- Peter Thiel gave a speech saying issue of who should use what bathroom should not dominate their thinking- first Republican speaker to refer to trans rights
- Trump’s final speech talked about immigration and his proposed Mexican border wall, pledged to protect LGBT rights from ‘hateful foreign ideology’
final broadcast audience: 34.9 million

Democrats:
- highly supportive speeches from Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton
- made use of pop stars Alicia Keys, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga
- Clinton prioritised job creation which appealed to Trump’s key demographic, as well as climate change and college affordability, she attacked ‘little men’ like Trump
final broadcast audience: 33.7 million

Question 55

How does the electoral college work?

Answer 55

• each state has a value of electoral college votes (ECV)
  based on number of Congresspeople and number of Senators
• candidates compete on a state-by-state basis and the winner receives all the electoral college votes in that state, to win a candidate needs more than 50% of the 270 ECV
• if no candidate wins an absolute majority it is up to the House to decide
• ECV represents number of delegates who are elected- most states require delegates to vote along with state opinion but 21 states have no such rule

Rogue electors: 21 states have no requirement for delegates to follow public voting so some vote against will of the people, has happened in most elections since the 1990s but has never changed a result

criticism of electoral college: undermines popular vote
- isn’t representative of the population

Question 56

How can 3rd parties influence a two-party system?

Answer 56

how America has a two-party system:

• it is more entrenched than the UK’s two-party system
• the two parties are ‘catch all’ and all modern presidents have been either Republican or Democrat, there are no other parties in Congress
• third parties exist but have limited success

how third parties can have influence:

• the spoiler effect- when a third part candidate can prevent a Republican or Democrat from winning e.g in 2000 Ralph Nader from the Green Party may have prevented Al Gore from winning
• can influence policy of Republicans/Democrats e.g Ross Perot’s economic policy of a balanced budget was embraced by Republicans and accepted by Democrats
• arguably Trump is an example of a successful third party candidate- managed to run under the Republicans when they were against him

Question 57

Give advantages of incumbents running for office (presidents running for a second term)

Answer 57

executive experience- means they can bring benefits to key groups or make popular policy shifts before an election e.g Obama announced withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2011- Romney could not do this

media attention- can attract media and sell their message, Rose Garden strategy- president addresses the nation highlights importance of the incumbent’s role e.g Obama’s speech after death of US officials in Benghazi 2012 highlighted his role as commander in chief

electoral resources and experience- incumbents have established campaign teams with a proven track record, incumbents typically outsell their opponents

lack of primary challenge- challengers face a long, bitter and expensive battle but incumbents don’t have this, challenger are often attacked by members of their own party e.g in 2012 Mitt Romney was attacked by his defeated opponent, Ron Paul, at the party convention

Question 58

Give disadvantages of incumbents running for office (presidents running for a second term)

Answer 58

Presidents can be blamed when things go wrong- Obama had to counter accusations of leadership failure over healthcare reform, failing economy under Bush Sr helped his demise

challengers can exploit the media- TV debates allow challengers to impress voters e.g Reagan put Carter in his place in a TV debate by asking the audience if they were better off than they were 4 years ago

• money does not guarantee success e.g Jeb Bush raised record sums in the 2016 Republican primaries but still lost, Clinton outspent Trump and also lost, popularity might raise money rather than money raising popularity e.g Obama might’ve raised more money than Romney because he was popular
• incumbents facing primary challenges- primaries may give a challenger opportunity to show political strength and can take media focus away from the incumbent President e.g 1992 Bush Sr won a primary challenge but lost the election

Question 59

What is the role of campaign finance and how effective has it been?

Answer 59

• campaign finance is any money spent or raised, usually spent on advertising, a campaign team, technology advice and support

PACs (political action committees): they are a body which raises and spends money in order to elect or defeat electoral candidates
- they have a donation of $5,000 per candidate, per election- money can be donated to parties, presidential candidates and super PACs

soft money: money contributed to a political party with no limits attached to the amount that is received

super PACs: they raise and sped unlimited amounts of money to support/oppose political candidates but without directly co-ordinating with these candidates e.g Right to Rise, Rebuilding America Now

regulations on campaign finance:

• 2002 McCain-Feingold Act and 2010 Citizens vs Federal Election Commission regulated money for Presidential elections
• 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) placed limits on campaign contributions- individuals can only donate maximum $2,700 and a group can donate $5000- creates a maximum expenditure limit for each candidate, also meant candidates have to disclose sources of campaign contributions

where regulation has failed:

• soft money creates a loophole where continued donations without regulations are allowed
• 1st amendment makes it hard to restrict donations and expenditure, also hard to amend the Constitution to regulate elections
• lack of legislation on the issue, due to difficulty to pass legislation through Congress and the fact that politicians do not want to regulate themselves

Question 60

What are key ideas of the Republicans?

Answer 60

social and moral:

• Republicans are typically more conservative, resisting changes such as LGBT rights and women’s rights
• Republicans tend to promote traditional values, sometimes linked to religious choice
  examples: two parties clashed over the 1964 Civil Rights Act and have continued conflict over racial issues
• 2003 vote to ban partial-birth abortions was supported almost unanimously by Republicans, a clear majority of Democrats opposed the bill
• 2016 Obama had an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers, an amendment said if employers don’t comply to this they should not receive federal funds- vast majority of Republicans opposed this

economic:

• Republicans have a much more restricted view of govt intervention, emphasise idea of personal responsibility and personal freedom
• Republicans have favoured tax cuts more than Democrats (although both want fairly low taxes) e.g in 2016 election Trump proposed tax cuts on the wealthy

social welfare:

• accept some govt intervention on welfare but feel that it restricts personal freedom
• have accepted need for welfare in some serious cases such as the need for food stamps BUT have a more restricted view e.g they want cuts for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) which gave $45 billion to 43 million Americans in 2016

conservative Presidents: Eisenhower- balanced the budget 3 times, built America’s motorways via private contractors
Nixon- clamped down on CRA with Native Americans and gay rights, continued desegregation of schools, reduced spread of illegal drugs
Reagan- lots of military spending on Cold War, huge tax cuts and deregulation, war on drugs

Question 61

What are key ideas of the Democrats?

Answer 61

social and moral:

• Democrats are more progressive and liberal, support greater protection of rights e.g LGBT, women, minority races, have been very supportive of transgender rights like right to using the bathroom of their choice
  examples: two parties clashed over the 1964 Civil Rights Act and have continued conflict over racial issues
• 2003 vote to ban partial-birth abortions, clear majority of Democrats opposed the bill

economic:

• Democrats call for more state intervention in the economy, mainly to provide social justice e.g bringing benefits to those on lower incomes
• generally see capitalism and the free market as positive but emphasise protection for those who need it
• both parties favour lower taxes than the UK but Democrats have proposed more tax on the rich e.g 2016 Clinton proposed this
• typically support increase in federal minimum wage e.g in 2007 Democratic majority in the House proposed minimum wage rise to $7.25, Republicans opposed it, in 2016 Democrats had a pledge which planned to increase the figure to over $15, Republican Speaker said it ‘would do more harm than good’

social welfare:
Democrats favour govt provision of social welfare, argue govt has responsibility to provide a better life for everyone e.g through more funding for social programmes
- 2010 Affordable Care Act aimed at Americans on low incomes who had no health insurance, was passed by Democrat Congress but rejected by Republicans in the House and Senate

liberal Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt- implemented New Deal which rose taxes, minorities benefited
JFK- attacked poverty, instigated CRA, increased minimum wage
LBJ- Great Society, attacked poverty, CRA and voting rights act

two main parties are weak because:

• lack strong leadership which can create party unity
• tend to have great diversity of views and policies even within the same party

Question 62

What are some Republican party factions and what do they believe?

Answer 62

social conservatives:

• support traditional values as part of the religious right, focus on moral issues linked to religious belief (mainly Protestant and Evangelical Christianity)
• have a negative view of illegal immigration and oppose LGBT rights and abortion
• have grown increasingly dominant e.g 2003 an overwhelming number of Republicans supported ban on late term abortions, 2016 only a few voted for the gay rights legislative amendment

fiscal conservatives:

• have an economic conservative agenda e.g advocating small, laissez-faire govt
• most support abolition of inheritance tax and want tax reductions
• became dominant in the 1990s when Newt Gingrich led a manifesto focusing on economic responsibility and balanced budget
• defeat of moderate conservatives by Tea Party candidates in primaries in 2010, 2012 and 2014 helped push the party to the right, Freedom Caucus set up with approx 40 members of the House has pushed a fiscal conservative agenda, refusing to support Obama’s economic packages or seek compromise in any way

moderates:

• support traditional conservative economic policies e.g low tax and small govt
• BUT are more liberal e.g they support civil rights issues such as LGBT rights and abortion
• moderates will accept higher taxes or more govt programmes to support social harmony
• have had impact e.g George W. Bush horrified conservatives by introducing major increases in govt expenditure
• most moderate are sometimes called RINOs (Republican in Name Only) e.g Senator Susan Collins was one of the only Republicans to support Obama’s 2009 economy stimulus package
• formed a caucus ‘Main Street Partnership’ in 1994 as a reaction to rise of conservative Republicans HOWEVER they have lost influence by refusing to co-operate with moderate Democrats

Question 63

What are some Democrat party factions and what do they believe?

Answer 63

moderates:

• identify with centrism and compromise, moderate Democrats support tax cuts more and want to end or reduce govt sponsored initiatives
• on moral issues they may accept limitations to civil liberties to an extent while liberal Democrats would not
• represent a dominant force in the Democratic Party, many members of Congress have moderate views

liberals:

• more radical, left-wing people in the party- more determined in using federal govt to achieve social justice by providing welfare, health and education for those who are disadvantaged
• support more govt intervention in the economy and increased taxes on the wealthy
• more liberal elements of the party pushed Obama to reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership and reject certain Republican budget agreements in order to protect welfare expenditure, also opposed military intervention and opposed Obama’s plan to arm Syrian rebels

conservative/’blue dog’:

• Democrats were once very conservative, there was a shift in ideology but some Democrats are still conservative
• blue dogs are conservative on moral issues, such as religion and guns but they oppose Republicans’ conservative economic views on tax and trade
• in 2015, 47 House Democrats voted in favour of a Republican-led measure to have additional screening of Iraqi and Syrian refugees despite Obama opposing it

Question 64

What are key voting patterns in the USA?

Answer 64

race:

• some consistent patterns, mainly black voters support the Democrats- emerged in the 1960s where Democrat President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, many see the Republicans as slowing the fight for equality
• hispanic voters tend to vote Democrats due to stronger stance on equality
• white voters are more evenly split although most vote Republican
  e. g white people voted 58% Trump and 37% Clinton, black people voted 88% Clinton and 8% Trump, hispanic people voted 65% Clinton and 29% Trump

religion:

• Jewish voters tend to vote Democrat, although they only make up 2% of the population
• among Christian Protestants there is stronger support for Republicans, Evangelicals identify with social conservatism
  e. g 65% of athiests/agnostics voted for Clinton and 24% voted for Trump, Protestants voted 56% for Trump and 39% for Clinton, white Evangelicals voted 80% Trump and 16% Clinton

gender:

• reasonably split between two main parties where men typically vote Republican and women typically vote Democrat- women may support Democrats more because the party has done more for women’s rights e.g Obama introduced Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay act to attempt to secure equal pay for women
  e. g 2016 women were 13 percentage points more likely to vote Clinton

education:

• the less educated a voter is, the more likely they are to vote Republican
• 2016 Trump won a majority of those without a college degree
  e. g 55% of people with a college degree voted for Clinton and 38% voted for Trump
• similar to 2012 election which shows a pattern, one significant difference is that in 2012 more people without a college degree voted for Obama

Question 65

How are interest groups influential?

Answer 65

access points- easier access to influence Congress at state and federal level, groups will find a sympathetic response somewhere in the system

political parties- can lobby political parties to gain influence, some parties may agree with the group’s ideas so may get support from them

number of elections- frequent elections so more chance to gain influence, wealthy groups are able to influence elections

money- (positive) strong financial resources allow interest groups to run more effective publicity campaigns, money can also be spent on lobbying or can be donated to political campaigns
(negative) costs a lot- might run out of money to fund the interest group

membership- active members can lobby to influence members of Congress, used at election time to contact potential voters to affect electoral outcomes e.g turnout- often target swing constituencies/areas they already have support in

contacts- (positive)- interest groups try to build a network of political contacts by employing professional lobbyists who were former politicians/advisors
(negative)- some groups don’t have these contacts, they are hard to create- may mean they don’t have as much influence

expertise- (positive)- groups establish expertise in their area so they can lobby Congress and appeal to the public with greater authority, interest groups employ legal experts to advise how laws can be changed, provide constitutional lawyers to litigate in support of their cause
(negative)- groups without a lot of money to hire experts may have limited success

Question 66

What tactics do pressure groups use?

Answer 66

publicity:

• can influence public opinion and voting behaviour
• run advertising campaigns in magazines/TV/billboards
• can attract media attraction by publicity stunts e.g NRA used TV ads after Sandy Hook 2012 to stop Obama passing new gun regulations
  (negative) - expensive

grassroots activity:

• email-writing campaigns, demonstrations and direct action- social media makes it easier
  (negative) -not very effective, can be ignored
• have a zip code engine to contact Senators
  (negative) - unlikely that people would contact them

legal methods:

• there may be laws that already support their cause e.g NRA has 2nd amendment, DC v Heller 2008 gave individual rights to own handguns
• litigation- taking cases to court
• amicus briefs- allows interest groups to provide more info in a court case
• can lobby Senate to influence nominations in Supreme Court

electioneering:

• interest groups try to influence electoral outcomes through publicity, donations, canvassing or campaigning for/against candidates
  e. g LVC- funds campaigns of pro-environment politicians

lobbying:
- interest groups contact and persuade those in power to influence legislation or to develop legislation/persuade members of Congress to do
- some are professional lobbyists e.g AIPAC managed to convince Obama to oppose the Iran deal

Question 67

Who are pressure groups most effective at influencing?

Answer 67

President:

• they can lobby President
• can electioneer to change outcomes
• publicise about candidates
• can raise funds for candidates
• have strong ties with the executive

Congress:

• can lobby Congressional members/leaders
• can propose or introduce legislation via a member of Congress
• can electioneer
• write/send emails to Congress
• fund members of Congress

Supreme Court:

• can litigate by taking it to the court
• can lobby the court using an amicus brief influence- ‘friends of the court’- lawyers that can help give influence
• Supreme Court nominations- encourage ones with similar views to them

Question 68

Give examples of key interest groups, their aims and how effective they are

Answer 68

NRA:

• aim to protect rights of Americans to bear arms
• tactics: built rifle ranges and ensure financial support for firearms related activities (success)- Political Victory Fund created, a PAC that contributes money to candidates endorsed by the NRA
• 2008 District of Columbia v Heller affirmed right to own handguns
  (failures) - DC circuit court rejected NRA’s attempts to rollback recent gun control laws e.g mandatory handgun resignation

AARP:

• aim to promote retirement savings with affordable healthcare and appropriate housing for the elderly
• enrols anyone over 50, 39 million members
• tactics: lobby heavily on healthcare reform e.g $49 million spent 2007-09
  (success) - 2017 urged Congress to oppose legislation which would’ve cut health benefits for elderly
  (failure) - failure of veto of bills calling for expansion of Affordable Care Act

ACLU:

• aim to defend rights the Constitution guarantees e.g gay rights
• tactics: works in courts and communities to defend and preserve rights
  (success) - halted 2017 Trump an on transgender people in the military
• won case for legalisation of gay marriage in 2015 with Obergefell v Hodges case
  (failures) - challenged Trump travel ban in 2017 but Supreme Court still approved it

Question 69

Give advantages of the electoral college

Answer 69

• respects the tradition of federalism- founding fathers emphasised importance of state power, smaller states are deliberately over-represented to make sure they are not intimidated by larger states e.g California has 63 times the population of Wyoming but only has 18 times the ECV
• produces a clear winner- winner-takes-all system ensures one candidate receives over 50% of the ECV, this gives the elected president more legitimacy e.g 2012 Obama won 51% of the popular vote but 332 out of 538 ECV
• protects low turnout areas- states are protected because they have a fixed value of votes, in 2016 Hawaii had lowest turnout of 57.7% but its ECV votes of 6 remained intact

Question 70

Give disadvantages of the electoral college

Answer 70

• the loser wins- it is possible for one candidate to win the popular vote but for the other to win the most ECV, this has happened 5 times with Al Gore winning the popular vote but George W. Bush becoming president, and Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but Trump winning the election
• small states are over-represented- regardless of size each state has two Senators and a minimum of one Congressperson, means that small states like Wyoming’s votes have more value than those in California
• swing states are over-represented- candidates concentrate time and money on these states, this gives swing states disproportionate influence in selecting the president and encourages candidates to offer greater political benefits to those states, non-competitive elections in California and Texas means there is little point in voting as the result is already decided, this can depress turnout

Question 71

How are interest groups GOOD for democracy?

Answer 71

participation: get public actively involved in US politics
- raise awareness of issues and govt responses which allows people to understand key issues
- many citizens are fed up of the two party system, viewing themselves as independents- they can use interest groups as a way to be involved in the political process
example of people involved by pressure groups: in 2016 AFL-CIO had 2000 volunteers to contact 6 million voters to deliver an anti-Trump message

checks on govt:

• interest groups can restrict govt and force them to carry out their policy promises- some groups e.g ACLU specialise in rights protection and encourage a liberal democracy
• can be argued that some interest groups are critical to democracy and to protect minorities e.g the NAACP protects voting rights by checking politicians who want to change electoral laws to reduce black people’s ability to vote

representation:

• interest groups represent specific groups in society so can help groups who may otherwise be overlooked, maybe if the group is small or ideologically incompatible with the govt
• interest groups may be more important when one party controls the House and Senate to bring in different views
• interest groups can be used to overcome limited representation in Congress, partly due to electoral college system

Question 72

How are interest groups BAD for democracy?

Answer 72

violent and illegal activity:

• some groups use violence as part of their campaign- breaking the law is a challenge to representative democracy as laws have been passed using a democratic process, violent and illegal activity can restrict rights of others and limit individual freedom
• some groups may attack property or a person e,g the NAACP occupied offices of a senior Republican politician in North Carolina, arguably undermined democracy by disrupting the representative process

restriction of elected govt:

• unlike politicians, interest groups have no elected mandate yet they attempt to stop politicians making decisions- this can be seen as undermining the representative process
• this particularly happens when pressure groups prevent those in office from executing policy promises at election time e.g AARP tried to prevent Obama passing his Affordable Care Act- arguably undermined democracy

inequality of representation:

• contribute to over-representation of minority groups and marginalisation of other groups
• many argue power is based off of money- those with resources dominate decision-making which is not very democratic
• professional lobbyists mean groups that have more expertise and those that already have political influence have more power

extent to which interest groups promote democracy cab be based on whether they:

• promote pluralism, in which all interests in society have political influence and policy is based on compromise between different views
• promote elitism, which is undemocratic, with policy being made in interest of a small, powerful group or an elite