UNCC POLS 1110 Final

Final for UNCC POLS 1110

Restricted Model

presidential powers are restricted to what is specifically mentioned in the Constitution/laws passed by Congress

Stewardship Model

president is steward of the people; there to serve/act on their behalf

Louisiana Purchase

the move made by Jefferson from following the restricted model to following the stewardship model; skipped the required 2/3 vote needed by Congress to approve acquiring land; justification \= his punishment can be no second term

Emancipation Proclamation

the move made by Lincoln from following the restricted model to following the stewardship model; suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War; justification \= he was acting on behalf of the people

Suspension of Habeas Corpus

a person arrested cannot be detained indefinitely; exceptions: rebellion or invasion

Legislator in Chief

President's role in setting forth a legislative agenda, and signing or vetoing bills passed by Congress

Huston Plan

using FBI and CIA operatives to spy on Nixon's political opponents; justification \= if the President does it, it should be legal

the two Presidencies thesis

2 sets of presidential power: foreign policy (advantage) and domestic policy (disadvantage)

Why does the President have an advantage over Congress in foreign policy?

the Constitution gives no clear advantage, but the structure of the office does. One person can quickly and effectively make decisions and the President acts as a CEO, meaning he has an informational advantage

Presidential Legislative Powers

agenda setting, "going public", bargaining/negotiation, power of veto

agenda setting

via campaign, focuses on a set of issues the government should work on, involves the public; best choice with unified Congress

"going public"

using media to rally people behind his ideas/plans

bargaining/negotiation

going directly to members of Congress to negotiate their support; best choice with divided Congress

power of veto

ability to override a bill so it doesn't become a law, gives president leverage to negotiate with Congress, signals political weakness

executive order

orders from the president to subordinates in executive branch about how to execute the law (order must be consistent with the law)

Mayhew's representational activities ("The Electoral Connection")

advertising (franking privilege), credit claiming, position taking

advertising (franking privilege)

using your office to get your name and message out (government pays for your printing/mailing)

credit claiming

finding opportunities to tell voters about the good things that happened while they were in office (case work- favors for individuals, pork barreling - dedicating spending projects to the district)

Kingdon's model of differential intensity

intensity of MC's opinion v. of constituents' opinions (both high/low \= cue-taking, MC high and const. low \= trustee, MC low and const. high \= delegate)

delegate

MC votes with constituent

trustee

entrusted by constituents to do the right thing

cue-taking

MC relies on alternative sources of information to decide how to vote

sources of cues

other MCs, interest groups/lobbyists, pres. if same party, party leaders, staff

how a bill becomes a law

1. bill introduced to house or senate

2. referred to house or senate committee

3. house or senate debate and pass

4. house and senate members confer and compromise

5. house and senate approve compromise (longest)

6. president signs into law

types of rules in Senate/House

1. open rule - any germane amendments allowed, debate time is unlimited

2. closed rule - no amendments allowed, debate time is limited

3. restricted rule - some amendments allowed, debate time is limited

House rules

Majority party wins; germaneness requirement

Senate rules

majority party limited by the powers of individual Senators; no germaneness requirement; filibuster

germaneness requirement

any amendment proposed must be relevant to the legislation being discussed

filibuster

unlimited debate time; often used to kill a vote; keeps majority party from winning

cloture

a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote; 3/5 vote needed

unanimous consent agreement

A unanimous resolution in the Senate restricting debate and limiting amendments to bills on the floor.

inside lobbying

Direct exchange of info between a Group Representative and a Public Official

outside lobbying

Communicating with public officials through their constituents

types of lobbying

policy, political, strategic

policy lobbying

effectiveness of substance of legislation

political lobbying

who likes/dislikes legislation

strategic lobbying

knowledge of legislative process

grassroots lobbying

real communication with real constituents about real concerns for real issues

astroturf lobbying

lobbyist groups make it seem like there are a lot of people who care about the issue (i.e. Sierra Club, save the trees, phone banks)

vote-buying hypothesis

Campaign Contributions buying a MC's vote on legislation

problems with the vote-buying hypothesis

1. casual direction - people donate to someone based on their position, not vice verse

2. alternative explanations - other reasons for donating (i.e. constituents' opinions, party position, own beliefs)

3. contribution limits - $5000 per candidate per election cycle, not worth changing position over

4. often both sides contribute

what do campaign contributions buy?

helps allies win elections, access, effort

conditions of interest group influence

1. membership characteristics (numbers, distribution, intensity)

2. maintaining current policy

3. issues that are less visible to the public

Olson's logic of collective action

1. collective goods and free riders - no one can be excluded from benefitting from a collective good

2. selective goods - only benefit members of an org

3. byproduct theory - political organization is a byproduct of economic organization

social movement theory

people will form political organizations under crisis

relate Montgomery bus boycott and social movement theory

com. networks: churches, NAACP, women's political caucus

co-opts: media, Supreme Court, sympathetic whites

policy making process

1. problem ID

2. policy formulation - campaign bill in Congress

3. policy adoption - Congress passes bill

4. policy implementation - Bureaucracy implemented (can return to 1)

5. policy evaluation (can return to 1)

steps to implementing a bureaucracy

1. organization - decision made by Congress (who is responsible?)

2. rule making/regulation - fill in details of existing law

3. rule application

**think: 9/11 and the Department of Homeland Security**

patronage (spoils) system

who you know, campaign workers; "to the victor goes the spoils"; problem: unqualified workers

civil service system

qualifications; what you know, not who you know

vertical conflict

when new president comes in, appointees and civil servants disagree with his policy; goes down the chain of command

horizontal conflict

any conflict that occurs across the chain of command (think: military branches; story of navy bombing army's meetup location)

why doesn't government run like a business?

1. agency goals - Congress sets your goals

2. revenues - Congress sets your budget

3. pay, personnel, and equipment - Congress has to approve (law, not profit)

why bureaucracies make policy

1. Congress laws can be vague

2. Congress gives contradictory commands (think: airline safety v. money)

most powerful person in Congress

majority party leader in the House

highest federal spending category

entitlements

lowest federal spending category

education

how much federal money is mandatory?

2/3 or 67%

2 types of government policies for increasing/decreasing economic growth

1. fiscal

2. monetary

fiscal policy

using the budget; putting money in/taking money out (Congress and president)

monetary policy

controlling interest rates; increasing/decreasing (Federal Reserve Board)

deficit

in any fiscal year, spending is greater than revenues

debt

total deficits

deficit reduction options

1. cut spending - discretionary v. mandatory entitlements

2. increase revenue

3. cut tax expenditures - tax break, tax loopholes (money you don't have to pay taxes on)

discretionary

you have the choice

mandatory

you don't have the choice (military, education, transportation, etc) - 67% of the federal budget

economic benefits of deficits

think: college

economic costs of deficits

1. impacts current budget - interest payments

2. no flexibility in fiscal policy

3. economic growth - "crowding out"

4. foreign borrowing - China, Saudi Arabia (think: we can't interfere w/their problems because we owe them money)

"crowding out"

federal borrowing increases interest rates