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Exam 3 material
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69
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
04/28/2009

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

What dilemmas did the framers confront and what intentions did they have when creating our

institutions of government?

Definition

Concerns of framers were having a democratic government yet insulated from public passions or

a strong but limited government (national) … constrained in violating liberty

They're intentions were to prevent tyranny by seperation of powers

a.       Pre-eminent branch

b.      Most democratic

 

c.       Enumerated power

 

Term
What are the key structural elements of the Congress?
Definition

1. Bicameral

2. Cup and saucer analogy

 i.      Senate = saucer

ii.      House =cup

Term

Does evidence suggest Congress is democratic?

Definition
yes.
Term

What are the three criteria applied to evaluate Congress?

How are they related to government of, by,

and for the people?

Definition
  1. Criteria to judge whether congress is democratic
    1. Representattice equl voice for Americans in govt.
    2. Constitutional requirements

                                                              i.      Equal voce for each state in the senate

                                                            ii.      Equal voice for the house>population

1.      Apportionment: allocating seats to the states based on states

2.      Reapportionment since 1929

3.      Restricting

Term

What are the most important factors influencing legislators’ votes on bills?

Definition
Term

What are the categories of sources of presidential policy influence? Within each category, what are the specific sources?

Definition

1. Constitutional focus

     -convene congress

     -veto: 2/3 vote override pres.

     -appointment: all cabinet level officials and key agencies

     -grand pardons: federal govs prosecution end if pres signs a pardon

     -negotiate treaties

     -executive agreement: don’t need to be ratified by the senate

     - Commander in chief

2. Popular /electoral leverage

     -national constituency

à mandate

     -political socialization

     -public opinion polls

     -“going public” pres makes a direct appeal usually broadcast on TV.

3. Personal Qualities

     -role

          -constructionist view

          - Stewardship view= pres had important care take role

     -persuasive

          -LBJ: Johnson was a bully

         -Reagan: inspiration to people and congress

     -personality

          -effort and enjoyment= MOST successful president

          -active and negative personality= NOT successful prez.

     - Self-distruct through abuse of power

4. Situational factors (pres doesn’t have all power, shared with branches)

     -crisis (9/11)

     -election cycle

     -institutional allies or adversaries

               -congress: unified or divided gov?

               -courts

à expanded source of influence over policy agenda: list of issue (congress respond to pres agenda)

B. GROWTH in the INSTITUTION of the executive branch.

 1. white house staff-increasing sixe and policy orientation

 2. the cabinet-increasing sixe and range policy

 3. executive office of the pres- pres picks people loyal to his agenda

à within his own branch the pres has policy experts to help in policy formation and implementation.

5. there have been serious abuse of power within executive branch ex: Watergate/ Iran contra

C. Presidential reasons for unkept promises:

-longer campaign have led to unkept promises

-the end of the honeymoon period (about 100 days)

-loss of cottail effects in pres election

-negative cottail in midterm election

Term

Why do some believe the president is too powerful? Why do some believe the president is not powerful enough?

Definition

there have been serious abuses of power within the executive branch (e.g. watergate and trancontra scandals) increasing personal and institutional power

Term

Historically, what have been the controversies concerning the Supreme Court?

Definition

Judicual review

a.       Declared by S.C.

b.      Not enumerated

c.       American peculairity

S.C. chooses its own cases (1925)

a.       Rule of four

b.      “special and important reasons”

c.       Writ (document) of certiorari

Term

According to the perspectives on the Court, what arguments/evidence suggest the Court is undemocratic? democratic?

Definition

o   The court is unchecked and undemocratic

§  No term limits

·         Unaccountable

§  Insulated from the people

·         Unresponsive

§  Judicial activism

o   Seeks to shape society

Term

What factors explain the growth of the federal bureaucracy?

 

Definition

A bureaucracy is a large complex organization, where task and roles are structured to achieve a goal.

     -specialization, hierarchy and formal rules all have potential to improve the performance of a bureaucracy. ß but can cause problems.

-spoils system

The bureaucracy does implementation: act of providing org and expertise to put into action any pilcy that becomes a law and Administrative discretion: an agency or even a single bureaucrat has in interpreting and applying laws.

Term

What was the “spoils system” and why and how was it dismantled?

 

Definition

is an informal practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the basis of some measure of merit independent of political activity.

 

ended 1972 and 1983?

Term

How did Congress attempt to create greater political neutrality within the bureaucracy during elections?

 

Definition

The bureaucracy does implementation: act of providing org and expertise to put into action any pilcy that becomes a law and Administrative discretion: an agency or even a single bureaucrat has in interpreting and applying laws.

 

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Term

What are the public’s chief criticisms of the bureaucracy and are they justified?

 

Definition
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Term

"going public"

Definition

president makes a direct appeal usually broadcast on TV

Going public refers to a private company's initial public offering (IPO), thus becoming a publicly traded and owned entity. Businesses usually go public to raise capital in hopes of expanding.
Term

accountability

Definition
the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.
Term
Brownlow Committee
Definition
was a committee that in 1937 recommended sweeping changes to the executive branch of the United States government. The recommendations made by the committee resulted in the creation of the Executive Office of the President.
Term

Civil Service Commission

Definition
a commission appointed by the President, consisting of three members, not more than two of whom may be adherents of the same party, which has the control, through examinations, of appointments and promotions in the classified civil service. created by act of Jan, 16, 1883
Term
congressional committee system
Definition

a legislative sub-organization in Congress that handles a specific duty. Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction.

Term

amicus curiae brief

 

Definition
legal briefs that enable groups or individuals including the national government who are not parties to litigation but have an interest to attempt to influence the outcome of a case; literally “friend of the court” briefs.
Term

appellate jurisdiction

 

Definition

the authority of a court to hear a case on the appeal after it has been argued in and decided by a lower federal or state court.

Term

casework

 

Definition
favors done as service for constituents by those elected to congress.
Term

caucus

 

Definition

meeting of party adherents who gather to discuss, deliberate and give their support to a candidate for president. Then they select delegates who will represent their choices. Their votes are reflected at the national convention itself.

Term

cloture

 

Definition
procedure where a vote of 60 senators can limit a debate and stop a filibuster.
Term

concurring opinion

 

Definition
is a written opinion by some of the judges of a court which agrees with the majority of the court but differ reasoning.
Term

constructionist view

Definition

a view of presidential power exposed by Taft, who believe president could exercise no power unless he could trace of implied from an express grant in either the constitution or act of congress.

Term

delegate

Definition
a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
Term

dissenting opinion

 

Definition
a legal case is an opinion of one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment.
Term

Executive Office of the President

Definition
a group of federal agencies supervised by directors or staffs that work directly with the president or a presidential assistant
Term

executive privilege

 

Definition

is the power claimed by the Pres and other members of executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government. The Supreme Court ruled it to be an element of the separation of powers doctrine, and/or derived from the supremacy of executive branch in its own area of Constitutional activity.

Term

federal bureaucracy

 

Definition

large complex organization, want to achieve a goal.

Term

filibuster

Definition
the use of irregular or obstructive tactics by a member of a legislative assembly to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority.
  an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose.
Term

franking

Definition
the free mailing of newsletters and political brochures to constituents by members of congress.
Term

gerrymandering

Definition

any attempt during state redistricting of congressional voting boundaries to create a safe seat for one party.

attempts to create a electoral advantage

o   To protect incumbents

o   Based on partisanship

o   Based on race

Term
Hunt v. Cromartie
Definition
the Supreme Court ruled that the 12th district of North Carolina as drawn was unconstitutional because it was created for the purpose of placing African-Americans in one district thereby constituting illegal racial gerrymandering.
Term

iron triangle

 

Definition

informal 3 way relationship that develops among key legislative committees, the bureaucracy and interest groups with a vested interest in the polices created by those committees and agencies.

Term

issue networks

 

Definition
political actors in particular policy area including interest groups, bureaucrats and media participants, all of whom interact regularly on an issue
Term

judicial activism

Definition

is a philosophy advocating that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect contemporary conditions and values. Most often, it is associated with (modern) liberalism that believes in broad interpretation of the Constitution which can then be applied to specific issues.

Term

judicial restraint

Definition
is a theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power. It asserts that judges should hesitate to strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional
Term

judicial review

Definition
is the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher normality. Judicial review is an example of the functioning of separation of powers in a modern governmental system (where the judiciary is one of several branches of government).
Term
Judiciary Act of 1789
Definition
was a landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the U.S. federal judiciary. The Congress, decided to establish a system of federal trial courts with broader jurisdiction, thereby creating an arm for enforcement of national laws within each state.
Term

logrolling

Definition
a temporary political alliance between 2 policy actors who agree to support each other’s policy goals.
Term
Marbury vs. Madison
Definition

is a landmark case in United States law. It formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution. is a landmark case in United States law. It formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution.

Term

Miller v. Johnson

 

Definition

1995 Suprene court struck down districting based predominately on races

 

was a United States Supreme Court case concerning "affirmative gerrymandering/racial gerrymandering", where racial minority majority electoral districts are created during redistricting to increase minority Congressional representation.

Term

Office of Management and Budget

Definition
 is a Cabinet-level office, and is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). It is an important conduit by which the White House oversees the activities of federal agencies.
Term

ombudsman

 

Definition

a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some external constituency while representing the broad scope of constituent interests

Term

omnibus bill

 

Definition
a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but contains amendments to a number of other laws or even many entirely new laws.
Term

original jurisdiction

 

Definition
the authority of a court to be the first to hear a case.
Term

oversight

 

Definition

congressional function that involves monitoring the effectiveness of laws by examining the workings of the executive branch.

Term

Pendleton Act

 

Definition

1883 US federal law established the US Civil Service Commission, which placed most federal government employees on the merit system and marked the end of the so-called spoils system.

Term

pocket veto

 

Definition
 is a legislative maneuver in American federal lawmaking that allows the President to indirectly veto a bill. The U.S. Constitution requires the President to sign or veto any legislation placed on his desk within ten days (not including Sundays) while the United States Congress is in session. From the U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 7
Term
politico
Definition
person involved in politics.
Term
Porkbarreling
Definition
policies and programs designed to create special benefits for a members district, such as bridges, dams, highways, all which translate into jobs and money for local economy and improve reelection chances for the incumbent.
Term

precedent

Definition

a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body adopts when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.

Term
reapportionment:
Definition

a process of redrawing voting district lines from time to time and adjusting the number of representatives allotted each state.

Term
redistricting:
Definition
the redrawing of boundary lines of voting districts in accordance with census data or sometimes by order of courts.
Term

Representativeness:

Definition

is a heuristic wherein people assume commonality between objects of similar appearance, or between an object and a group it appears to fit into. While often very useful in everyday life, it can also result in neglect of relevant base rates and other errors.

Term
responsiveness:
Definition
of an interactive system describes how quickly it responds to user input.
Term

rule of four:

Definition

a means determining which cases the supreme court will hear, at least 4 justices must vote to hear a case and grant the petition for a writ of certiorari the for the case to be put on the court’s docket.

Term

salience:

Definition

public opinion, the extent to which people see an issue as having a clear impact on their own lives.

Term

senatorial courtesy:

Definition

a procedure in which a pres submits the name of judicial nominees to senators from the same political party who are also form the nominees home state from their approval prior to formal nomination.

Term

seniority:

Definition

seniority:  unwritten/informal rule of congress that more senior members (those who have served longer) are appointed to committees and as chairperson of committees.

Term
Shaw v. Reno:
Definition
(1993), was a Supreme Court case argued on April 20, 1993. The ruling was significant in the area of redistricting and racial gerrymandering. The court ruled in a 5-4 decision that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the  equal protection clause.
Term

spoils system:

Definition

a system in which government jobs and contracts are awarded on the basis of party loyalty rather than social or economic status or relevant experience.

Term
stare decisis:
Definition
doctrine meaning “let the decision stand” or that judges deciding a case should adhere if at all possible to previously decided cases similar to the one under consideration.
Term

stewardship view:

Definition

an approach to the presidential power articulated by Theodore Roosevelt and based on the presidencies of Lincoln and Jackson, who believed that the president had a moral duty to serve popular interest and did not need specific constitutional or legal authorization to take action.

Term
trustee:
Definition
congress members who feel authorize to sue their best judgment in considering legislation.
Term

unitary executive:

Definition

Pres controls the entire executive branch. The doctrine is based upon Article Two of the Constitution, which vests "the executive power" of the in the Pres

Term

whip:

Definition

congress members charged with counting prospective votes on various issues and making certain members have the information they need for floor action.

Term

writ of certiorari: 

Definition

Latin term meaning “to be made more certain” this write enables the court to accept cases for review only if there are special and impo7rtant reason therefore.

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