POSI Test 2 Review

Jeopardizing incumbents chances

#1 reason is scandal

Which of the following statements about mid term elections are generally true?

1. 21 out of last 25, the presidents party has lost house seats. 2. Lower turnout than presidential elections 3. Voters who vote in mid terms vote along party lines 4. Treated as a referendum to presidents performance. 5. Less media coverage.

Steps for a bill to become a law

1. A member of the House or Senate formally proposes the bill. 2. The bill is submitted to a committee for consideration. 3. A majority of members in the House and Senate approve the bill. 4. The president signs the bill.

What are threats to incumbency?

1. Disruptive Issues 2. Personal Misconduct 3. Turnout Swings 4. Strong Challengers

Which of the following statements are true of bills that are killed in committee?

1. Most bills die in committee because they are poorly conceived or of little interest 2. Some aren't even supported by those who introduce them to appease a powerful constituent group 3. 90% of bills are killed by committee

When does a bill become a law?

1. When the President signs it. 2. When Congress overrides a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote.

When is congressional oversight exercised vigorously?

1. when members are intending to modify an agency program 2. when members are annoyed with an agency

republican or democrat?

2/3 identify as one or the other

President appoint how many ambassadors?

200

End Fillibuster

60 senators must agree to invoke cloture and end the debate

Joint Committee

A committee composed of members of both chambers of congress

Theodore Roosevelt

Adopted, what he called the stewardship theory of the presidency

Article 1 vs Article 2

Article 2 is worded more broadly

Who is empowered by the constitution to establish the lower federal courts?

Congress

The line between proper and improper judicial decision making is very clear

FALSE

Greatest expansion of presidential Authority

Franklin Roosevelt

Democratic Presidents

Have appointed more women and minorities to the federal bench

What makes a challenger to a senate incumbent more likely to be successful?

High Ranking Politician 1. Voter base 2. Campaign Organization 3. Fundraising ability 4. Public recognition 5. Credentials to mount a strong campaign

Budget

House members get identical amounts Senators receive varying amounts depending on population

senatorial courtesy

If the president fails to consult with the senator from the state where a judicial appointment is made, the senator can request that confirmation be denied.

Justices meet in complete privacy and secrecy to discuss and vote on the case

Judicial conference

Major Bills

Majority Leader will shape broad content and direct floor debate after the bill leaves committee

Majority Opinion

Majority Opinion

Would not call hearings on 2016, Obama Nominee,

Merrick Garland

White House Office

Office of the Counsel to the President (Legislative Affairs) Communications Office Office of the Press Secretary

Open Rule/Closed Rule

Open Rule- allows members to propose amendments that relevant to any section of the bill A closed rule- no amendments will be permitted

Presidential Description

Operates in a system of divided powers Degree of leadership can depend on circumstance The formal powers of the presidency are modest

Cast ballots for popular vote winner

Part convention, primary, and open caucus

Republicans vs. Democrats

Parties differ philosophically and politically

Misleading papers about vietnam

Pentagon Papers (L. Johnson and R. Nixon)

Presidents remembered for rising to challenges (benefiting from circumstances)

Reagan Franklin Roosevelt Lyndon Johnson

Functions of Congress

Representation Law Making (Main Responsibility) Oversight

Presidential Cabinet

Selected by president and subject to approval by senate, made up of heads of executive departments, members are important figures in an administration

Momentum

Strong showing in early caucuses and primaries

Why do justices write concurring opinions?

The agree with the court's decision but disagree with the legal arguments made by the justices in the majority

Supreme Court will review a case if

US governemtn is a party in the case legal issue raised is being handled inconsistently by the lower courts

Turf War

a fight or an argument to decide who controls an area or an activity and party leaders will decide the committee assignment

seniority system

a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee

Justices tend to vote

according to their political attitudes

Congressmen

are more likely to anger leadership and vote the way their donors and voters would want

The US Congress is a __________ legislature with two chambers, the House and the Senate.

bicameral

Congress's structure makes it easier to

block legislation than enact it

Interest groups that rely on judicial strategy to advance their cause are careful in their choice of

cases that have a chance of success

Rally Around the Flag

causes presidents approval rating to increase with a foreign crisis

US district courts

chief trial courts of the federal system Lowest district court only federal court decided by jury

President influence on courts

choosing to enforce decisions influencing the cases that come before the court

Presidents campaign in

competitive states and the largest states

Congress has difficulty taking on broad issues because

conflicting views on national policy made up of two chambers so they will not often agree on issues

Original System, who or what chose nominees

congressional caucuses

Supreme Court issues a

decision and one or more opinions after hearing a case

A key to understanding the power of the presidency is a recognition that presidential power...

depends on the occupant of the office

Public View of Congress

dissatisfied

Most of the bills congress passes are __________ in nature, which means they provide benefits to a particular group in society while spreading the costs across the taxpaying public as a whole.

distributive

Since the truman admin, the number of bureaucratic agencies has

doubled (a little more)

Presidents are most powerful

during their first months in office

Oversight

ensuring laws are being administered by the executive branch in the way intended by congress is an important function of congress

Checks on judicial power held by congress

exercising the authority to confirm supreme court justices rewriting legislation

Federal courts do not intervene into state court matters unless a

federal issue or law is invloved

Donald Trump appointments

fewer than 10% minority

When members wish to delay or halt the passage of a bill a

fillibuster may take place

Shift from party organizations to state primaries and caucuses has

given voters a larger voice in the selection of the president Reduced the power of party elites in selecting candidates

precedents are important because..

gives predictability to the law so poeple know what is legal

President is better suited for nation issues because...

he has sole executive authority

Framers of the constitution anticipated that presidents would

hold limited legislative power

Vice President

holds separate elective office from that of the president typically forms part of the presidential team assigned different roles by the president

Appellate courts review which aspect of lower court decisions?

how the lower court applied the law

Criteria for average american to evaluate the presidential leadership

if he is a strong leader unafraid to exercise power and communicate a vision for the nation if he prioritizes many of the same issues that concern the public

Party Conventions

in the past there were heated debates Today, candidates and running mates are usually chosen before the convention begins

Since the 1970's, the power of the presidency has evolved owing to the

increased involvement of the presidency in a range of policy areas

Judicial Review

increased power of federal government Increased Power of the Courts by creating new powers

ACLU

interest group protecting individual rights

Nationalization

lawmakers vote in the same way as their fellow partisans, regardless of constituency differences

Public opinion on Supreme Court decisions

less responsive than elected gov. officials aware of public opinion so as to not create outright defiance of its decisions

The practice in which members of Congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague's vote on another bill is called ___________.

logrolling

Each of the 50 states

maintains its own court system

Circumstances that create a powerful president

major national problem decisive election victory

The party that controls the rules and has the most powerful leadership position in the house is the ____________ party.

majority

Congressional Committees

make it possible for high volume of bills they specialize in certain areas

The framers of the Constitution granted Congress the power to _________, the greatest of all powers of the government.

make laws

Presidential Control Problems concerning low level appointees

many of them are politically inexperienced president rarely sees them, if ever

In 'Insecure Majorities', Frances Lee noted that, in the currently closely matched parties, members of Congress are engaged in "_________" rather than "governing".

messaging

Ranking members

minority party committee and sub committee leaders

Presidents power to act on their own

most in foreign policy

Appeals to the Supreme Court

must involve federal constitutional question or federal law

Two features of the presidency that enable the claim to leadership on national policy

national election singular authority

Open seat elections are elections in which

no incumbent is running

Distributive Policy

one that confers a benefit on a particular group while spreading the cost across taxpaying public

Supreme Court Jurisdiction

original and appellate

Indicator of Judges vote

political background

Richard Neustadt

political scientist who says that a sign of presidential weakness is the veto and presidential power is to persuade

Legislative Power the president possesses...

power to veto to propose legislation to congress

America's recent wars have been waged on the basis of a

presidential directive

It is easier for a president to pursue initiatives when...

public approval is high

Internet has greatly increased the ability of presidential candidates to

raise money "get out the vote"

Redistricting

redrawing congressional district boundaries within a state

Members of Congress give various interests a voice in the legislative process as part of Congress's ____________ function.

representative

The trend toward party unity in Congress can clearly be seen in voting records of members of congress when their votes are officially recorded during a _______________.

roll call vote

In the 2018 midterm elections, how many House and Senate races received money from super PACs?

several dozen

A permanent committee in Congress is known as a

standing committee

Incumbents have __________ over challengers.

substantial advantages

Donald Trumps use of bully pulpit

taken it to unprecedented levels

The most powerful party leadership position in the Senate is ___________.

the Majority Leader

Recent supreme court appointees have overwhelmingly come from

the appellate courts

Limits on Judicial Power

the law itself the facts of the case

Best opportunity presidents have to get congress to pass policy initiatives is when

their party controls both houses of congress

Presidential role as chief diplomat is

to negotiate treaties with other nations and appoint ambassadors

Doctrine of Judicial Activism

use the law in ways that expand the protection of basic rights, such as liberty and equality

As of 2018, most presidents have been

white male former public servants protestant

President typically nominate people to lower court judgeships

who share the same political party as they do