American Goverment: Campaign Finance, Road to the White House, and Executive Branch

The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses how to temporarily or permanently transfer presidential powers if the president is incapacitated, dies or no longer fit to hold the office.

The Supreme Court sided with Nixon in U.S. v. Nixon, because they agreed that all presidential communications must be kept private to ensure that his advisors are free to give him the best advice and explore all options to address situation.

One formal qualification for the presidency is that an individual live in the U.S. for 14 years before they serve.

Chief Economic Planner: Works with Congress to help make sure the economy runs smoothly.

Chief Diplomat: One way the president helps to maintain the U.S.'s role as world leader is by appointing ambassadors to represent the U.S. in foreign countries.

Chief Executive: In this role the president performs his main job which is to "faithfully execute the laws".

Head of State: The president performs ceremonial tasks (like giving medals of honor) and provides inspiration for the American people.

Commander in Chief: The president makes major decisions on where and when troops will be deployed (or sent into combat), who will lead them, and how the U.S. will use its weapons.

Legislative Leader: The president can influence legislation by proposing, vetoing, and signing bills, as well as delivering the annual State of the Union address to Congress.

Party Leader: The president helps get members of his party elected to state and federal offices by campaigning for them and fundraising.

What is the POTUS line of sucession? (Who is next in line after the president?)

Vice President

Speaker of the House

President Pro Tempore

Secretary of State

Secretary of Treasury

Formal Powers of POTUS:

negotiate treaties

appoint cabinet members, ambassadors, and judges

grant pardons and reprieves

commander in chief

give state of the union address

Informal or Inherent Powers of POTUS:

executive agreement

executive privilege

executive order

The steps on the road to the White House:

A candidate must ANNOUNCE they are running for President

The candidate must win as many state Primaries and Caucuses as possible

At the NATIONAL CONVENTION the party officially nominates their candidate

Now that each party has a candidate they need to CAMPAIGN and get their message out to all voters

The GENERAL ELECTION takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

The ELECTORAL COLLEGE votes are cast and certified in each state.

Congress CERTIFIES (or counts) the Electoral Votes on January 6th

The INAUGURATION of the newly elected President

In summary: announce they are running, get nominated, campaign, general election, electoral college, votes are counted, president is inagurated.

The Supreme Court rulings in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and in Citizen's United v. the F.E.C. (2010) indicated that campaign contributions are considered an extension of one's freedom of speech. To summarize: Buckley v. Valeo ruled that campaign contributions ARE an extension of freedom of speech.

Powers that are written in the constitution: expressed powers

When you are forgiven (hint: synonym for sorry/excused") of a crime you were convicted of: pardon

Postponement of punishment: reprieve

Powers that are considered a logical or natural extension of constitutionally granted powers: inherent powers

An agreement that is negotiated by the president with another country and requires approval by the Senate: treaty

One formal qualification for the presidency is that an individual must be a…

natural born citizen

Sort the arguments presented to the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Nixon based on whether you think they would support the postion of the United States government or President Nixon.

The president has absolute executive privilege. This means that the decision to withhold or reveal certain information is based only on the president’s discretion - Nixon

In this case, the judiciary has a very important goal: providing a fair trial with full factual disclosure - US Gov’t

Incorrect answer:

Executive privilege is not absolute. There must be a balance between a president’s need for confidentiality and the judicial system’s need to function during criminal cases - US Gov’t

If the Court decides that the president’s executive privilege is absolute, then their power would be unchecked by the judicial branch. This would also undermine the rule of law concept that no person—even a president—is above the law - US Gov’t

Executive privilege should extend to conversations between the president and their aides, even when national security is not at stake. In order for aides to give good advice and to truly explore various alternatives, they have to be able to be candid. If they are going to offer frank opinions, they need to know that what they say is going to be kept confidential Nixon

Sort the Presidential Powers into the correct category.

Executive Powers:

enforce the law

appoint cabinet members and other goverment officials

issue executive orders

seek advice of cabinet members

Foreign Policy (things POTUS does that influences relations with other countries):

commander in chief

negotiate treaties

recognize foreign countries

negotiate executive agreements

appoint ambassadors and diplomats

Legislative powers:

signing and vetoing laws

calling special sessions of congress

give annual state of the union address

adjourning congress

Judicial Powers:

grant pardons and reprieves

appoint supereme court justices and judges

Inherent/Informal powers and their descriptions

Executive agreement: What do we call a deal or pact that is made between heads of countries like a trade deal between the President of the U.S. and the Priminister of Canada?

Executive order: What is a directive from POTUS that has the force of a law?

Executive privliege: What could a president claim if he/she does not want to share information with Congress or the courts?

Election Terms

Cacus: A closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party to select candidates

Platform: A set of principles, goals, and strategies designed to address pressing political issues

Closed Primary: Registered voters with a given party can vote in the primary of that party to help narrow down the field of candidates running in an election

Delegate: Individuals chosen to represent their state at their party's national nominating convention.

Open Primary: Registered voters of any affiliation may vote in the primary of any party to help narrow down the field of candidates running in an election

One formal qualification for the presidency is that an individual must be at least 35 years old.

What was the main issue in the supreme court case U.S. v. Nixon?

Do all of a president’s communications have the privilege of confidentiality?

Which of the following are common campaign expenditures?

All of the above

Salaries

Administrative costs, such as office space, travel and accounting services

Media, including phone banks and ads (TV, print and internet)

Answer: All of the above

Think about the main role of each of the cabinet (federal) departments and then place them in the category that best relates to its main purpose.

Department dealing with…

Economics

labor

commerce

education

transportation

treasury

energy

Foreign relations and national security

state

defense

homeland security

Health and welfare of the people

health and human services

veteran’s affairs

agriculture

housing and urban development

Maintaining order within the country

justice

interior

What does Article II of the Constitution tell us about the presidency?

Process of electing the president

How to remove a president

Former powers of the president

All of the above

Answer: all of the above

Can the president have anyone he wants in his cabinet? No, he needs Congress approval.

Match the description with the type of funding.

Limited to $3,300 per candidate in direct campaign contributions: individual donor

Can spend unlimited amounts on their own campaign: candidate

This committee is prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates, but can raise unlimited sums of money and spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates: super PAC

Organizations representing interest groups, labor or businesses formed for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates: PAC - political action committee

An independent government agency that makes and enforces rules to make federal elections fair: FEC - federal election committee