Review Slideshow Thing

Policymaking

STEP ONE: People have an issue that needs to be solved

STEP TWO: They use linkage institutions (political parties, interest groups, mass media, elections) to access the gov’t

STEP THREE: issues are made into policy agenda (list of issues that gets the gov’t’s attention and deemed important enough to solve)

STEP FOUR: policies are made by institutions (Congress, president, bureaucracy, courts)

STEP FIVE: policies are enforced and affect people

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

FEDERALISTSStrong national gov’t (w/weak state gov’ts)Constitution already protected rightsGov’t rule by the experienced, educated, wealthy (fear of common rule)Indirect election of officials for longer terms

ANTI-FEDERALISTSWeak national gov’t (w/strong state gov’ts)wanted written Bill of Rights to protect individuals’ rightsGov’t rule by the common people (fear of elite)Direct election of officials for shorter terms

Types of Gov’t Powers

Enumerated (expressed) powers - powers directly mentioned in Constitution

Implied powers - powers hinted at in the Constitution (found in the Necessary and Proper Clause (aka the Elastic Clause)

Inherent powers - powers gov’t has because all gov’ts have that power (ex: acquiring land, regulating immigration, etc.)

*FEDERALISM*

The sharing of powers between the national and state level governmentsDual federalism - national and state level gov’ts have their own responsibilities (“layer cake”)Cooperative federalism - national and state level gov’ts share responsibilities (“marble cake”)Fiscal federalism - when national gov’t gives grants/money to state gov’ts to implement policies

Devolution

Transfer of responsibilities from the national gov’t to state gov’ts

Types of Grants

Categorical - money can only be used for very specific things (ex: school lunches)– Project - given to best applicant (ex: research)

– Formula - given according to legislation (ex: welfare)

Block - money can be used for a broader policy area (states have more choice) (ex: healthcare)

Mandates

Orders by the national government (by law or regulation) for the state gov’ts to implement programs

Unfunded mandate - national gov’t orders states to implement a program, but doesn’t provide funding for them to do so

The Bill of Rights

1st - religion, speech, press, assembly, petition2nd - bear arms3rd - quartering troops4th - unreasonable searches and seizures5th - due process (for national gov’t), self-incrimination, double jeopardy

6th - right to unbiased jury, speedy and public trial, counsel7th - juries and civil cases8th - cruel and unusual punishment, excessive bails/fines9th - rights may exist that are not mentioned in Constitution10th - powers not given to national gov’t and not denied to states are reserved to states

Other Important Amendments

13th - abolished slavery

14th – due process (for states), equal protection clause

15th - no discrimination of voting based on race

19th - women get the right to vote

22nd - 2-term limit on presidency

25th - presidential succession

26th - 18 years+ can vote

Congress: House vs. Senate

HOUSE

Closer to the people (more easily influenced by individual citizens); focused on district matters

SENATE

Farther away from people (not as easily influenced by individual citizens); focused on entire state/international matters

HOUSElower chamber (less prestigious)More formal rules, time limits on debate and amendments, stronger leadership, more organized

SENATE

upper chamber (more prestigious)

Less formal rules, no time limits on debate, weaker leadership, less organized

HOUSEbills of revenue (spending bills) must start in Houseonly House impeacheshas Rules Committeecannot filibusterIndividual reps have less influenceAlways elected directly by people

SENATE

approve presidential appointments, treatiesOnly convicts in impeachment trialno Rules Committeecan filibusterIndividual senators have more influenceElected by state legislatures before 17th Amendment

HOUSE

435 members

2 year term, 25 years old, 7 years a citizen, resident of state

SENATE

100 members

6 year term, 9 years a citizen, 30 years old, resident of state

Congress Terms

pork barrel - projects or grants that directly benefit a Congressperson’s district or state

casework - intervention/services members of Congress provide their individual constituents

logrolling - vote-trading between members of Congress; one member promises to vote on another’s legislation if the other votes on his/hers

senatorial courtesy - when the President seeks the consent of Senators of a state from which his appointee comes from

authorization bill - a bill that authorizes a program and describes how it will be run and paid for

appropriations bill - a bill that officially funds an authorization bill

franking privilege - congressional mail sent to constituents (paid by taxpayers)

cloture - rule voted on by at least 60 senators that ends a filibuster/limits debate; caps action on measure to 30 hours; each senator can debate for only an hour

A bit on gerrymandering…

*packing - technique where voters of one party are packed into one district (can only win1 district, other party wins the rest)

*cracking - technique where voters of one partyare spread out to prevent them from getting a

majority(other party gets majority in as many districts as

possible)

********Congressional oversight******* the power of Congress to monitor the executive branch’s implementation of laws and to hold hearings in committees to investigate problems

Types of Committees

standing committee - permanent; reviews bills having to do with the committee’s specialized policy areaselect committee - most are temporary; formed to investigate issuesconference committee - formed as needed; when House and Senate pass two different versions of a bill, this committee must make ONE compromise bill; has members of both House and Senatejoint committee - permanent; based on a few policy areas; have members of both House and Senate

REMEMBER:

Incumbents ALWAYS have a huge advantage over challengers (record in office, est. funding, etc.)

ONLY House has districts; 1 person elected/district

Single-member districts encourage the two party system because third parties can’t win more votes (plurality) than the two main parties

Plurality - winning more votes than the other person(s), but NOT the majority (Bob gets 38 votes, Bubba gets 32 votes, Steve gets 30 votes)

Majority- winning over 50% of the votes (Bob gets 55 votes, Bubba gets 32 votes, Steve gets 13 votes)

Initiative - voters want to change their state laws and petition to put it on the ballot/send to state legislature– VOTERS start the process with petitions

Referendum - state legislature sends a measure/possible law for voter feedback/approval on ballotRecall - lets voters remove/replace a gov’t official before they finish their term in office

party realignment - majority party in power is ousted by the minority party– Voting coalitions/people change from

voting for one party to the other in a given election

– This occurs during critical elections

party dealignment - people disengaging from both parties (lower party identification)

U.S. political party organization is decentralized (power moved from one national authority to several local authorities)

broken up across national, state, and local levels (NO CENTRAL PARTY AUTHORITY)

Interest Groups

interest group - organization of people who have policy goals and try to influence policymakers to accomplish these goals

Can affect public policymaking through:– lobbying

– electioneering– litigation– gaining public support

Lobbying

interest groups try to influence policymakers to carry out their group’s goals

Can be considered experts within their given field of policy --> are important sources of information about a policy (especially to members of Congress)

Electioneering

group involvement in the electoral process through campaign contributions (PACs), advocating for a particular candidate, and getting people out to vote for said candidate

Interest groups often create/donate to PACs to support a candidate whose views align with the group’s goals

Litigation

influencing the court system to hand down rulings favorable to an interest group’s goals

File amicus curiae briefs and class action lawsuits (group of people with the same complaint file one suit together in court)

Public Support

Interest groups work to create a positive image of themselves to the American public

Use public opinion to their advantage to get their policies on the political agenda

White House Staff vs. Cabinet

White House Staff: primary job is to advise/serve president loyally and run daily White House activities (closest to president); part of EOP (also includes OMB, national security council, council of econ. Advisors)

Cabinet: primary job is to run 15 executive departments as secretaries; advising president is SECONDARY job (not as close to president)

Those Pesky Latin Phrases

amicus curiae brief - “friend of the court” - submitted by groups to influence the SC to rule in favor of their interestsstare decisis - “let the decision stand” - SC rules according to previous cases (precedent)writ of certiorari - “to be certain” - when the SC orders a lower court to send up details of a case before they hear itwrit of habeas corpus - “to have the body” - officer must prove to a judge they have evidence to arrest and hold you (you must be told why you’re being arrested)

Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint

Judicial activism - justices actively overturn previous cases or laws and create bold, new precedents/policies in the process

Take into consideration future implications of case/change in public opinion over time

do not defer as much to elected officials

Judicial restraint - justices rule according to precedent and refrain from bold policymaking decisions

defer to elected officials to do the policymaking

Going Through the SC

SC chooses cases by Rule of Four (4/9 justices needed to approve hearing a case)SC issues writ of certiorari to lower courtPuts case on docketEach side writes their briefs1 hour oral argumentJustices conferenceJustices write opinions (majority, concurring, dissenting)

And lastly…

Separation of Powers - each branch of gov’t (legislative, executive, judicial) is mostly independent so one branch cannot control the rest (but still share powers)Checks and Balances - system where the branches must approve the actions of the others to balance power and keep all branches equal– REMEMBER HOW EACH BRANCH CHECKS

THE OTHERS!!