Untitled Flashcards Set

📘 CONGRESS

Q: What is partisanship?
A: Loyalty to a political party, often leading members to vote with their party over bipartisan cooperation.

Q: What is polarization in Congress?
A: The increasing ideological distance between political parties, leading to legislative gridlock.

Q: What are key powers of Congress?
A: Lawmaking, taxation, regulating commerce, declaring war, approving treaties (Senate), and oversight of the executive.

Q: What is redistricting?
A: Redrawing congressional district boundaries after each census to reflect population shifts.

Q: What is gerrymandering?
A: Manipulating district boundaries to favor one party or group.

Q: Who are the main party leaders in Congress?
A: Speaker of the House, Majority/Minority Leaders, and Whips.

Q: What is the role of committees in Congress?
A: Committees draft and revise legislation, oversee the executive, and handle specialized topics.

Q: What is the textbook legislative process?
A: Bill introduction → Committee review → Floor debate → Vote → Other chamber → Conference committee → President.

Q: What is unorthodox lawmaking?
A: Legislative strategies that bypass the textbook process, e.g., omnibus bills, fast-tracking, or using budget reconciliation.

Q: How are the House and Senate different?
A: House: 435 members, rules committee, shorter terms. Senate: 100 members, filibuster, more individual power.

Q: What is the electoral connection?
A: The theory that legislators’ actions are motivated by reelection, policy goals, and influence in Congress.

Q: What is the incumbent advantage?
A: Incumbents have higher reelection rates due to name recognition, fundraising, and constituent services.

Q: What are collective action problems in Congress?
A: Individual members may not want to contribute to public goods like oversight, leading to free-rider issues.

Q: How do parties in Congress try to solve collective action problems?
A: Through party discipline, incentives, leadership control of committees, and agenda setting.

Q: What are some rules and norms in Congress?
A: Institutional rules (e.g., filibuster, germaneness) and informal norms (e.g., seniority, reciprocity).

Q: What influences legislative decision-making?
A: Constituents, party leaders, interest groups, personal beliefs, and staff.

Q: What is congressional oversight?
A: Congress monitoring the executive branch through hearings, investigations, and funding control.

🏛 THE PRESIDENCY

Q: What are constitutional powers of the president?
A: Commander-in-chief, veto, pardon, appointments, treaties (with Senate), convene Congress.

Q: What is the traditional presidency?
A: A limited role focused on executing laws and national defense.

Q: What is the modern presidency?
A: Expanded role including legislative leadership, economic management, and mass communication.

Q: What is presidential style?
A: A president’s way of presenting themselves and governing, e.g., Reagan’s optimism, Obama’s calm intellectualism.

Q: What is the Executive Office of the President (EOP)?
A: Agencies like the NSC and OMB that help the president manage the executive branch.

Q: What is the cabinet?
A: Heads of federal departments who advise the president but may have divided loyalties.

Q: How is the Vice President’s role defined?
A: Historically ceremonial, now more active in advising and policy (e.g., foreign policy, Congress).

Q: What is impeachment?
A: A process to remove presidents for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” requiring House accusation and Senate trial.

Q: How does unified government differ from divided government?
A: Unified: same party controls presidency and Congress. Divided: different parties. Quasi-divided: internal divisions within majority party.

Q: What advantages does the president have over Congress?
A: Speed, unified leadership, media access, national constituency.

Q: How have presidential powers evolved?
A: From a limited constitutional role to a powerful central figure in policymaking.

Q: What are strategic presidents?
A: Presidents who choose battles wisely and use political capital effectively (e.g., agenda timing, bargaining).

🏢 BUREAUCRACY

Q: What is a bureaucracy?
A: A system of organized, hierarchical agencies that implement laws and public policy.

Q: What was the spoils system?
A: The practice of giving government jobs to political supporters, replaced by civil service reform.

Q: Difference between departments and independent agencies?
A: Departments: major administrative units (e.g., Defense). Agencies: narrower focus, more independence (e.g., EPA).

Q: What are the roles of the federal bureaucracy?
A: Implementation, regulation, and administration of federal laws.

Q: What is bureaucratic discretion?
A: The ability of bureaucrats to interpret and apply laws as they see fit within limits.

Q: What is the civil service system?
A: A merit-based system that promotes political neutrality and job security for bureaucrats.

Q: Who are whistleblowers?
A: Employees who report misconduct or inefficiency within the bureaucracy.

Q: What is the role of inspectors general?
A: Internal watchdogs who investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in agencies.

Q: What are problems of bureaucracy?
A: Inefficiency, red tape, lack of accountability, resistance to change.

Q: What are external bureaucratic politics?
A: Influence from Congress, interest groups, and the president on bureaucratic behavior.

Q: How does Congress control the bureaucracy?
A: Funding, oversight hearings, confirming appointments, and rewriting laws.

Q: What is police patrol oversight?
A: Active, regular monitoring of bureaucracy by Congress.

Q: What is fire alarm oversight?
A: Reactive oversight triggered by complaints, scandals, or media attention.