POLS 101 Final Exam

6. open rule

A bill that can be changed on the floor

7. enrolled bills

A bill that has been passed by both the Senate and the House and has been sent to the president for approval.

12. Define superdelegate

A delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is eligible to attend because he or she is an elected party official. The Democrats reserve a special set of delegate slots for party officials.

13. Define political action committees (PACs).

A federally registered fundraising group that pools money from individuals to give to political candidates and parties.

12. Define national party conventions

A gathering of delegates to select a party's presidential and vice presidential ticket and to adopt its national platform.

13. Define public interest lobby.

A group that promotes some conception of the public interest rather than the narrowly defined economic or other special interests of its members.

9. concurring opinion

A justice who has a particular reason for supporting the majority can provide a concurring opinion

7. gridlock

A legislative "traffic jam" often precipitated by divided government. Gridlock occurs when presidents confront the opposition-controlled Congresses with policy preferences and political stakes that are in direct competition with their own and those of their party. Neither side is willing to compromise, the government accomplishes little, and federal operations may even come to a halt.

7. central clearance

A presidential directive requiring that all executive agency proposals, reports, and recommendations to Congress--mostly in the form of annual reports and testimony at authorization and appropriations hearings--be certified by the Office of Management and Budget as consistent with the President's policy.

7. executive orders

A presidential directive to an executive agency establishing new policies or indicating how an existing policy is to be carried out.

7. line-item veto

A procedure, available in 1997 for the first time, permitting a president to cancel amounts of new discretionary appropriations (budget authority), as well as new items of direct spending (entitlements) and certain limited tax benefits, unless Congress disapproves by law within a specified period of time. It was declared unconstitutional in 1998.

7. institutionalized presidency

A set of offices and staff that assist the president.

7. signing statements

A statement issued by the president that is intended to modify implementation or ignore altogether provisions of a new law

7. divided government

A term used to describe government when one political party controls the executive branch and the other political party controls one or both houses of the legislature.

9. soliciter general

Administrative office that lets the Court know which cases are important

7. executive agreements

An agreement between the president and one or more other countries. An executive agreement is similar to a treaty, but unlike a treaty, it does not require the approval of the Senate.

7. gag rule

An executive order prohibiting federal employees from communicating directly with Congress.

8. Limitation riders

Attached to appropriation bills, which forbid an agency to spend any of the money appropriated on activities specified by Congress in the rider (used to block agencies form issuing regulations opposed by Congress, among other things)

11. Why is political party identification, which many Americans discount, still the best single predictor of how people will vote?

Because party identification is related to people's identity and moral values.

6. discharge petition

Brings a bill directly to floor without committee approval

12. Today, national party conventions merely certify the winners of primary elections instead of choosing the presidential nominees, as they did in the past. So, why do the parties continue to hold these gatherings?

Ceremonial

7. Discuss the modern presidency's roles, powers, and challenges.

Challenges: little power to act in divided government Powers: veto and executive orders, executive agreements (with other countries) Roles: figurehead, commander in chief

13. Are interest groups a necessary evil in a political system that allows the freedom of speech and assembly, or do they play a valuable democratic role?

Collective Action Problem: helps voters to make more informed decisions without gathering more information themselves

12. If the first generation of leaders elected under the Constitution rejected political parties on principle, why did they create them anyway?

Collective action problem: it's easier to pick between two parties than many candidates, streamlines information gathering process

6. Describe the requirements and powers of congress and how the congressional electoral system works.

Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a "district". A Senator's term of office is six years and approximately one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every two years. Requirements: There are three, and only three, standing qualifications for U.S. Senator or Representative in Congress which are expressly set out in the U.S. Constitution: age (25 for the House, 30 for the Senate); citizenship (at least seven years for the House, nine years for the Senate); and inhabitancy in the state Powers: General - authority over financial/budgetary matters, pay debts of country, provide for common defense, general welfare, investigate and oversee executive branch, exclusive impeachment; Enumerated - regulate commerce with foreign nations, collect taxes; Implied - necessary and proper clause, commerce clause

11. Define coordinated and independent campaign spending.

Coordinated: spending by the Democratic and Republican Party committees on behalf of individual congressional candidates Independent: spending by a person or organization for or against a political candidate that is not controlled by or coordinated with any candidate's campaign

Principal-Agent Relationship

Delegation: a principal-agent problem Asymmetric information because of agency loss Agency loss is loss that occurs to the principal when agency doesn't fulfill task Fixed by monitoring Principal-agent, then agent has principal-agent with the bureaucracy

12. Define primary elections

Elections held before the general election in which voters decide which of a party's candidates will be the party's nominee for the general election.

9. Since all federal judges are appointed for life and are independent of one another, how can the federal judiciary be expected to dispense justice consistently and equitably?

Federal judges are not accountable to any other person--they are only accountable to the law of the land. They come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives and they can form opinions and make decisions about what is lawful without worrying about personal consequences.

12. Why does a nation as diverse as the United States sustain only two major parties?

Having more would be a coordination problem and the two parties are huge tents so very few ideologies don't fall between one of them.

6. Discuss the racial and ethnic makeup of Congress.

House: 79.8% white, 10.1% black, 7.8% hispanic, 2.3% asian Senate: 94% white, 2% black, 1% asian, 3% hispanic

9. dissenting opinion

If a Justice disagrees with the majority of the Court they can explain why in a dissenting opinion

8. Why do efforts to make government agencies more accountable lead to the proliferation of red tape?

In order to make government agencies more accountable, rules need to be set in place so that government people aren't breaking them. These rules are set by bureaucracies which set down red tape (aka the rules).

13. Most lobbyists are paid advocates of special interests. Why should politicians believe anything they have to say?

Its in the best interest of paid advocates to speak to politicians whose views align with their views. The politicians are already primed to believe.

9. If the Supreme Court "guards" the Constitution, then who guards the guardians?

LACK OF ENFORCEMENT

9. stare decis

Latin for 'let the decision stand" directs lower courts and Supreme Court to follow established precedent in deciding current cases

7. War Powers Act

Law that requires the president to inform Congress within forty-eight hours of committing troops abroad in a military action

13. Define grassroots lobbying.

Lobbying conducted by low-ranking members of an interest group (people who show up, who are interns, volunteers, low-paid workers)

12. Ninety percent of Americans claim they always vote for the person best suited for the job, regardless of party. Why, then, is party-line voting so prevalent, and why are partisans so polarized?

Low-information voters rely on parties to share their values which would mean that the party has picked the best person for the job

6. seniority rule

Majority party members who have seniority generally get committee head positions

7. What happened historically to transform the President from the "chief clerk" of the government (Abraham Lincoln's description) to a formidable politician whose preferences must be taken into account?

Media, evolution of the role and increase in federalism (shift from shared to dual). Expansion of government and population, expansion of the president's office (like the people not the physical place)

13. Are lawmakers who accept campaign contributions from a political action committee "bought and sold" by that interest group?

Money is always influential, but often politicians who receive funding from interest groups would have supported them anyways making it difficult to say the money made the difference.

6. pocket veto

Once a bill is handed to the president they have 10 days to make a decision about it. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up the bill fails because it was subject to pocket veto (the president metaphorically stuck the bill in his pocket and forgot about it)

13. Define interest groups.

Organized groups of people seeking to influence public policy.

6. president pro tempore

Person who presides when vice president is absent

13. Define policy gridlock.

Political paralysis in the face of pressing national problems.

8. Who controls the bureaucracy? The president? Congress? The courts? No one?

President appoints, congress confirms, the courts address illegal acts by the bureaucracy; no one fully controls because bureaucracy is unelected

7. going public

Presidents "go public" when they engage in intensive public relations to promote their policies to the voters and thereby induce cooperation from other elected officeholders in Washington.

7. Explain the dilemma of the president as a strategic actor.

Presidents have gained a larger job description than the Framers intended and yet the Framers restrictions on the Presidential office make it so that the President cannot successfully fulfill their duties.

7. Office of Management and Budget

Previously known as the Bureau of the Budget, OMB is the most important agency in the Executive Office of the President. The budget bureau, created in 1921 to act as a central clearinghouse for all budget requests, was renamed and given increased responsibilities in 1970. OMB advises the president on fiscal and economic policies, creates the annual federal budget, and monitors agency performance, among other duties.

11. If attentive and informed voters are likely to be turned off by negative advertisements, why do campaigns pour so much money into running them?

Prisoner's Dilemma and 501c4 funding

8. How can elected officials design formal and informal mechanisms to oversee the implementation of laws by millions of unelected bureaucrats?

RED TAPE! Also they can fire people (just like the donald)

6. Explain problems of legislative organizations.

Racial gerrymandering Unequal representation in the Senate (one Senator might be representing 30 million people while another might represent 500,000) Underrepresentation of women and minorities in Congress Increased partisanship amongst Congress

7. Brownlow report

Report issued in 1937 by the President's Committee on Administrative Management that likened the president to the CEO of a large corporation and concluded that the president needed a professional staff.

6. unanimous consent agreements

The Senate must agree unanimously so the minority party often has more control

12. Define caucuses

The closed meetings of a political or legislative group to choose candidates for office or to decide issues of policy.

7. Does the growth of the "institutional presidency" risk transforming America's executive into an isolated, imperial office?

The executive branch has more responsibilities now that require more people power. The office is still checked by the Congress and the Supreme Court.

7. National Security Council

The highest advisory body to the president on military and national security issues.

7. chief of staff system

The means by which a chain of command is imposed on the president's staff. The system clarifies responsibilities and shields the president from having to micromanage the staff's routine activities.

6. gerrymandering

The party which holds the legislature may try to re-draw districts so that they can concentrate the opposition's support in a smaller number of districts

9. court of appeals

There are 13 They are administered by 158 active judges If something goes through the court of appeals it get sent to the supreme court

13. Free riding should doom "public interest" lobbies. Why do so many emerge and thrive nonetheless?

There are enough people who care to keep them going. Often times industries that benefit from public interest lobbies are invested which helps.

9. Is the judiciary truly, as Alexander Hamilton argued in The Federalist, "the least dangerous branch" of government?

There can be danger in stare decis (the idea that the Court should rule based off of past rulings) because it doesn't take into account change in social and public opinions and beliefs.

9. In what ways is the judiciary susceptible to the same pressures of politics and national opinion that affect the elected branches?

They are people that have lives and the context of their lives are affected by public opinion and politics. They are also appointed by politicians. They also have personal bias that they bring with them into decisions.

13. As the number of interests represented in Washington has grown, have they become more powerful or less powerful?

Two things are changing: there are more and they are better funded. Interest groups with ample funding are very powerful.

11. Does the American system of campaign finance facilitate or undermine democratic accountability?

Undermine: collusion between 501c4s and campaigns, lack of transparency, accountability

6. filibuster

Used to kill bills. Individuals or small groups can talk endlessly so that no action can be taken

6. Describe what influences public opinion about Congress and its performance.

Voters are short term thinkers and vote in members of opposing parties based off of dis-satisfaction with immediate experience of current government. This is what causes divided government.

11. Define issue voting

Voting for candidates based on their positions on specific issues, as opposed to their party or personal characteristics.

11. If Americans cherish the right to vote, why do so many neglect to exercise it?

Voting is irrational: more effort than effect

9. rule of four

When 4 justices support hearing a case the certiorari petition is granted

7. unitary executive

When a president claims prerogative to modify implementation or ignore altogether provisions of a new law that infringe on the president's constitutional prerogative's as the executive.

9. Should nine unelected justices have the authority to nullify state and national laws enacted by elected representatives?

Yes, because otherwise there is no institutional check on the people creating these laws.

7. All modern presidents seek the public's support for their policies. But does their ability to sway public opinion really help them in dealing with other politicians in Washington, and if so, how?

Yes, public opinion matter greatly for people who need to be re-elected every two years. But also depends on polarization and gridlock. President has more platforms (such as the white house correspondents dinner) to share opinions with the American public. Everyone is invested in the president -- they are the face of our nation.

9. writ of mandamus

an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion

6. quorum

number of members who must be present for the house to act officially (100)

6. proportional representation

parties have a share of seats in Congress based on their share of votes on Election Day

6. conditional party government

the degree of authority delegated to and exercised by congressional party leaders varies with the extent of election-driven ideological consensus among members

6. pork barrel legislation

the use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes.

6. cloture

under senate rules an extraordinary three-fifths majority of the Senate membership is required to invoke cloture which allows up to 30 more hours of debate on a bill before a vote is taken

6. ticket splitting

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices -- on your personal voting ballet