AP Government Review Lecture

Unit 2: Interactions Between Branches

• Unit 2 accounts for 25-36% of the AP Government test.

The Legislative Branch

• Congress vs. Parliaments

  • Many governments use unitary systems where the prime minister is chosen by the party in power.

  • This makes individual members of Congress more powerful.

  • Congress is bicameral: The House is intended to be more democratic, and the Senate checks the passions of the people.

  • Fiscal bills originate in the House.

  • Senators were not directly elected by the people until 1913, with the 17th Amendment.

Congress: The First Branch or the Broken Branch?

• Constitutionally, Congress is the first branch, as described in Article I.

  • However, partisanship has made it ineffective.

• Views of how members act:

  • Representational view: Represent voters.

  • Organizational view: Represent parties/interest groups.

  • Attitudinal view: Follow their own agenda.

Powers of Congress

• Power of the Purse: Congress can raise taxes, borrow money, and spend it.

• Regulating Commerce: Congress has expanded its power to regulate interstate and intrastate commerce.

• Foreign Affairs: The Senate confirms treaties, budgets for foreign aid, and exercises oversight.

• Military Affairs: Only Congress can declare war, draft soldiers, and fund the military.

• Implied powers, checks, and oversight of the Executive and Judiciary branches.

Structure of Congress

• The Speaker of the House is the most powerful figure in the House, while the Majority Leader has the most power in the Senate.

  • They set agendas, dictate speaking, and control committee assignments.

  • They are supported by whips who run vote counts.

• The Vice President is the President of the Senate and can break ties.

• Informal collections and partisan groups are called caucuses.

Committees

• Much of the real work of Congress is done in committees.

• Standing committees: permanent bodies that meet every Congress

  • Important ones include Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Foreign Relations

  • Committee chairs are almost always based on seniority.

• Select committees: short-term committees that meet for a specific purpose

• Joint Committees: committees that contain members of both houses

  • Important example: conference committees, which resolve differences between House and Senate versions of bills.

• Committee assignments provide significant power to members of Congress.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

• Overview of the Legislative Process:

  • Introduction & Referral of Bills

  • Committee Consideration

  • Calendars & Scheduling

  • House Floor

  • Senate Floor

  • Resolving Differences

  • Presidential Actions

  • Public Law

How Members Get Elected

• Senators are elected for six-year terms and represent whole states.

  • One-third of the body is elected every two years.

• Representatives are elected for two-year terms and represent districts inside their states.

  • Every member is elected every two years.

• Districts go through reapportionment every ten years based on Census data.

  • District lines are redrawn to be equal in population inside states.

Reapportionment Shenanigans

• Gerrymandering occurs when districts are drawn to promote the interests of a candidate/party.

  • It is illegal to gerrymander based on race but legal to do so for partisan purposes.

• Types of Gerrymandering:

  • Packing

  • Cracking

• District Requirements:

  • Be contiguous

  • Meet the standard of "one person, one vote."

• Only about 40-50 seats are competitive in a given year.

Landmark Cases: Baker v. Carr

• In Baker v. Carr (1962), the Supreme Court ruled that state legislative districts also had to follow the "one person, one vote" principle.

• Many states had not adjusted representation for decades, so rural counties had disproportionate representation.

• The Court applied the 14th Amendment and argued that the court could intervene in districting to preserve the Equal Protection Clause.

• The dissent argued that the 14th Amendment was limited to questions of discrimination.

Landmark Cases: Shaw v. Reno

• In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the Supreme Court ruled that a North Carolina district was constructed to disenfranchise Black voters.

• The Court held that the court could block districts that were racially gerrymandered for violations of the Equal Protection Clause.

• Those dissenting argued that:

  • People of the same race often share views.

  • Some race-based gerrymandering is inevitable.

• Today, some are challenging states that create majority-minority districts using Shaw as precedent.

The Budget

• Setting the nation's budget is perhaps the most important function of Congress.

  • The budget is divided into two major categories:

    • Mandatory spending: comprises over 60% of the federal budget and includes Social Security, entitlement programs, and interest on the debt.

    • Discretionary spending: is where the fighting happens; it's everything else.

• The deficit represents the annual difference between what the government takes in and what it spends.

  • The deficit in 2020 was $2.807$ trillion.

• The current U.S. national debt is over $30$ trillion.

The Filibuster

• The filibuster is a rule that says 60 votes are needed to pass legislation in the Senate, other than budget reconciliation.

  • Arguments for and against the filibuster are debated.

  • Half of the filibusters ever done in the Senate have been in the last 12 years.

Who is in Congress?

• Members of Congress are disproportionately older, whiter, richer, and more male than the US population.

  • 96% have a college education.

  • The average member of the House is 58, the average Senator 64.

• On the other hand, the 2021 Congress is the most diverse in history.

Weird Congressional Vocabulary

• A caucus is a group of like-minded members (e.g., Black Congressional Caucus, Freedom Caucus).

• Double tracking is a process by which the Senate can move on to other business while a filibuster delays the body.

• Franking is the privilege members of Congress enjoy that lets them mail to their constituents.

• A hold is a measure that allows a single member of the Senate to stall debate on a bill.

The Executive Branch

• Who can be President?

  • 35+ years old

  • A natural-born citizen

  • Lived in the US for 14 years

• Presidents are elected for four-year terms and, after the 22nd Amendment, can only be elected twice or serve ten years.

• The VP can replace the President if the Cabinet agrees (25th Amendment).

  • Succession order: VP, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Secretary of State

Primary Roles of the President

• Head of State: Leads American foreign policy.

• Chief Executive: Implementer/enforcer of federal policy.

• Commander-in-Chief: Leader of the military.

• Chief Legislator: Source of the primary policy agenda.

• Party Leader: Leader of the political party.

• Moral Leader: Leader of the nation's moral vision.

• Crisis Manager: First responder to national/international crises.

Enumerated Powers of the President

• The enumerated powers of the President are found in Article 2:

  • Enforcement of the laws

  • Pardons/Commutations

  • Nominate justices/judges

  • Commander-in-Chief

  • In charge of foreign policy

  • Veto

  • Pocket Veto (can be overridden by Congress)

Informal Powers

• Four broad areas of informal power give the modern Presidency more authority:

  • Executive orders: written directions for federal action (e.g., Civil Rights Enforcement/Emancipation Proclamation)

  • Executive actions: a directive signaling how/whether to enforce a law.

  • Signing statements: Presidential statements about the meaning of laws Presidents sign.

  • Executive privilege: the ability to keep advice/secrets free from scrutiny.

Formal Checks on Power

• Congress makes laws

• Impeachment

• Congressional oversight

• Judicial review

• Senate approval of cabinets/justices/appointees

• Electoral college

• Filibuster

Informal Checks on Power

• Public opinion

• The media

• Partisan politics

• Interest groups

• Money

• Divided Government

The Cabinet

• Today, the President has a 15-person cabinet (Washington had four).

• They oversee agencies as large as 3.1 million people (Defense) to as small as 5,000 (Education).

• As the role of the federal government has grown, so has the Cabinet.

  • Seven were added between 1953-2002.

• The most important members are the Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of the Treasury.

Executive Office of the President

• The President also has a policy body that makes direct policy, the Executive Office of the President.

  • Office of Budget and Management

  • National Security Council

  • Council of Economic Advisors

  • National Economic Council

The West Wing

• The President also has an Executive Staff that is directly responsible to him.

• They work in the West Wing of the White House:

  • Chief of Staff: in some administrations, can be considered almost a co-President.

  • Press Secretary

  • White House Counsel

How Presidents Get Things Done

• Three ways that Presidents organize their administrations:

  • Pyramid structure: The President's team reports to him through a formal chain of command.

  • Circular structure: The President has a team of close advisors who report to him.

  • Ad hoc structure: Several Cabinet members, EOP members, and committees report to the President directly.

Presidential Agenda

• Political scientists and the media talk about the President's agenda, his plan for the nation.

• Some Presidents, like Reagan and Trump, rest their agenda on implementation of a political philosophy.

• Others, like President Clinton and Obama, rest their agenda on a lengthy set of policy proposals.

  • Political and pragmatic benefits and drawbacks of each.

Limits on Presidential Power

• Time and attention span: The demands of the modern Presidency are almost unimaginable:

  • Congress, public events, political obligations, foreign affairs, and more lead to 90+ hour work weeks.

  • Unexpected crises can dominate the President's attention and distract him from his agenda.

• The static nature of federal programs and budgets limits the amount of change a President can make.

The Vice President

• The Vice President only has two official jobs:

  • To succeed the President in the case of death or incapacitation.

    • The 25th Amendment clarified that the VP succeeds the President and established a mechanism for the President to give up power temporarily and for the Cabinet to remove the President.

  • To serve as the President of the Senate.

    • That role is less important today, as the VP is typically only in the Senate to break tie votes.

    • Many Vice Presidents have called the position irrelevant.

The Judicial Branch

• The power of the courts is defined in Article III, which mentions only the Supreme Court.

• Federal judges are appointed for life.

• The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases between states.

• Almost all of the cases it hears are appellate jurisdiction.

• The US federal court system is three-tiered:

  • 94 US District Courts

  • 13 Circuit Courts of Appeal

  • The Supreme Court

Landmark Cases: Marbury v. Madison

• Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review—the idea that the courts can determine whether a law is constitutional.

• The Court ruled that the Jefferson Administration was wrong not to deliver commissions to John Adams's midnight judges.

• The Court ruled that its review was a new power—so the judges did not need to get their jobs—but established its power and the idea that the Constitution was law, not principle.

• The decision was 4-0.

Supreme Court Rulings

• The Court takes cases from state and federal courts.

• A petition for certiorari is a request to review a lower court decision.

• After considering oral and written arguments and considering amicus briefs, the court will rule.

• The majority decision comes from winning justices.

• The dissent is written by the losing justices.

• Concurrences are written by those who agree with the decision or dissent but have a different view on some point of law.

Precedent and Legitimacy

• Precedent is established when the court rules, and the concept of stare decisis means that courts should be hesitant to overturn precedent.

• Binding precedent means lower courts must honor the Supreme Court decisions.

• Critics argue that the Court is swayed by partisan politics and not precedent.

• Some accuse justices of judicial activism when they go beyond the law and the text of the Constitution.

Judicial Philosophy

• Strict constructionists argue that the Court should follow the Constitution as it was written and intended at ratification.

  • Some critics argue that this originalism relies on misleading interpretation of Founder intent and outdated moral/legal values.

  • Some are textualists, who claim to rely on the written text only.

• Liberal constructionists interpret the Constitution as a living document that reflects changes in society.

  • Some critics argue this ideology leads to dangerous judicial activism, where justices make, rather than interpret, law.

Judicial Philosophy, Part 2

• Judicial minimalists believe the Court should rule on narrow questions of law and rarely change Constitutional understanding

• Maximalist or judicial activist philosophy argues that the Courts should lead social change and make broad rulings.

  • The era of the Warren Court exemplifies this approach.

• Some legal scholars argue all these philosophical differences are merely cosmetic and that justices make broad social policy no matter the philosophy they espouse.

Eras of the Court

• The court was very conservative through the Progressive Era-New Deal.

• The Warren Court dramatically expanded civil liberties and civil rights.

• The current Court is very conservative, with a 6-3 ideological bent.

Checks on Judicial Power

• Lack of enforcement power.

• Senate confirmation.

• Senatorial courtesy/blue notes.

• Impeachment.

• Congress has the power to determine which courts hear certain cases (Article III).

The Bureaucracy

• A bureaucracy is "a large, complex organization composed of appointed officials."

• In the US, both the legislative and executive branches exercise authority over the bureaucracy.

• Much of the US runs on government by proxy—where Congress passes laws, and the bureaucrats and those they hire do the work.

Evolution of the Bureaucracy

• The Constitution does not describe a bureaucracy.

• A system of patronage led to a growth in the bureaucracy through the 19th century.

• Until the Progressive Era, the bureaucracy primarily served businesses rather than regulating them.

• The New Deal, World War II, and the Great Society led to the growth of a large, unionized, professional federal bureaucracy.

• Much of the work of the bureaucracy today is outsourced to private contractors.

• 3% of the bureaucracy today is reserved for the President to fill with partisans who share his agenda.

Power of the Bureaucracy

• The Civil Service—the federal civilian workforce is 2 million people today, but 13 million more work at state, local, and private agencies.

• The key to their power is discretionary authority—the power to choose actions and make policy not spelled out in the law.

  • The three main applications:

    • Paying subsidies to particular groups

    • Transferring money in grants to states and local government

    • Devising regulations.

SNAP Example

• A major anti-poverty program in the US is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

• SNAP is administered by the Department of Agriculture under the Food and Nutrition Service.

• Benefits, though, are distributed by the individual states, who are overseen by the Division of Social Services in the Department of Health and Human Services.

• States can ask for waivers to implement differences in the program.

• Bureaucratic work is important to get people enrolled, prevent fraud and abuse, and ensure funding.

• The multi-layered bureaucracy allows interest groups to influence the process, adds expense, and complexity.

Who is the Bureaucracy?

• In addition to the cabinet-level departments, the bureaucracy includes:

  • Government corporations: businesses created by Congress like the Post Office and Amtrak

    • They compete with private industry and charge for their services but are subject to direct govt. oversight.

  • Independent agencies: small organizations with very narrow agendas, like NASA

    • Not really independent from Presidential authority but independent from cabinet agencies.

  • Regulatory agencies: watchdog organizations like the Securities Exchange Commission, Federal Elections Commission.

    • 5-11 members, appointed by the President, who cannot remove them before the end of their term.

Problems with Bureaucracy

• The most common complaint about the bureaucracy is that it generates red tape, complex rules, and procedures needed to get things done.

• Bureaucratic imperialism—overreach of agencies—most often occurs when Congress fails to define clear parameters.

• Conflict

• Duplication

• Waste and cost overruns are often the result of legal requirements to buy American or other restrictions.

The Iron/Issue Triangle

• The relationship between agencies, Congressional committees, and interest groups that leads to policy benefiting those in power.

  • Interest Group -> Congress:

    • Electoral Support, friendly legislation and oversight.

  • Congress -> Bureaucracy

    • Funding and political support and execution

  • Bureaucracy -> Interest Group

    • Policy choices, low regulation, special favors

Limits on Bureaucratic Power

1. Congress can hold oversight hearings and limit the money appropriated for a bureaucratic policy.

2. Citizens and states can challenge bureaucratic rules on constitutional grounds in the courts.

3. Specific legislative limits include:

   • Freedom of Information Act (1966)

   • National Environmental Policy Act (1969)

   • Privacy Act (1974)

   • Open Meeting Law (1976)

Unit 5: Political Participation

• 20%-27% of the AP Government test.

Voting & Participation

• Over time suffrage, or qualifications for voting, expanded.

  • Fifteenth Amendment (1870): African-American men

  • Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Women

  • Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Ended the poll tax

  • Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): 18-year-olds

• Voters must register to become voters in their local areas.

Voter Turnout Over Time

• US voter turnout is low compared to other democracies.

  • In 2016, the US ranked 30 of 35 nations.

• Who votes more often?

  • Women over men

  • Older Americans over younger

  • Whiter Americans over POC

  • Educated over less-educated

  • Wealthy over less wealthy

Why are Voting Rates Low?

• Voters claim they are too busy, their vote doesn't count, that the parties don't represent them.

• There are systemic obstacles to voting, too:

  • Historical racist practices: poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clause, white primary

  • Contemporary voter suppression: end to Voting Rights Act preclearance, Voter ID, limited polling stations, felons disenfranchisement.

2000 Election

• In 1993, the National Voter Registration Act encouraged voter registration, most notably with motor voter.

• The contested 2000 election between George Bush and Al Gore spurred reforms.

• Most notable was the HAVA (Help America Vote Act), which:

  • Required upgrades to state voting systems

  • Required verification of identity (not ID, though)

  • Funded upgrades

• Democrats are currently advancing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, but it is stalled in the Senate.

• One-in-four Americans think voter fraud has been a major problem with voting by mail, contrary to evidence.

Voting Mechanics

• Most voters in the US are registered in a precinct (up to 1000 voters).

  • At a typical polling place, voters from many precincts will vote.

• Before voting, voters must register.

  • Nearly 40 states permit online voter registration, and 19 states plus the District of Columbia permit same-day registration.

• Elections in the US use the Australian ballot.

  • Ballots must show all candidates and be voted in private.

• More Americans use absentee ballots.

  • These used to be reserved for special circumstances, but many states now encourage them.

• If there is a question about a voter, her vote is a provisional ballot, subject to later verification.

Electing the President: Before the Election

• Before a candidate decides to run, she faces the invisible primary:

  • The somewhat bizarre process by which a combination of media coverage and fundraising determine whether a candidate is viable.

• Incumbents have a series of advantages:

  • Bully pulpit

  • Network of campaign donors/staff

  • Four years of experience

• Incumbent success rests most often on approval rating.

Primary Season: Primaries & Caucuses

• The race to be elected in both parties is a series of contests at the state level.

• Primaries are elections for registered voters.

  • Difference between an open, closed, and blanket/jungle primary?

• Caucuses are meetings where people give speeches, persuade, and negotiate for candidate support.

  • These are very time-consuming and tend to represent the views of more partisan voters.

Primary Season: Iowa and New Hampshire

• Iowa is the first caucus every four years.

• New Hampshire is, by state law, the first primary every four years.

• Other states have moved their primaries up in the calendar, too, a front-loading that often sees primary season wrap up very early.

• Super Tuesday is an important early date when a lot of states hold their votes.

General Election

• Much of the energy is focused on swing states, states that could either vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate.

  • Most advertising revenue and campaigning are spent in these states.

General Election: Electoral College

• The prize, of course, is 270 votes in the Electoral College.

  • Review: How did the 12th Amendment change this?

  • How did the 23rd Amendment?

• In all but two states, electoral votes are winner-takes all.

• Five Presidents have been elected after winning the Electoral Vote and losing the popular vote.

Congressional Elections: General Information

• Every member of the House has to face re-election every two years.

• 1/3 of the Senators face re-election every two years, ensuring more continuity in the body.

• Senators must win election across the whole state; members of the House represent districts inside their states.

• Gerrymandering has created a situation where over 75% of House seats are considered safe seats, where either a D or R win is almost assured.

Congressional Elections: Incumbent Advantages

• House incumbents regularly win 94% of their races; Senate incumbents win 86% of the time.

  • Name recognition

  • PAC contributions break 12:1 for incumbents

  • Franking privilege

  • Media coverage

• Incumbents are more vulnerable during mid-term elections when they share the President's party.

Campaigns

• Candidates generally seek to define themselves and their opponents.

• Negativity has become the dominant characteristic of general elections, with as many as 3/4 of ads appealing to anger.

• The dominant factor in many campaigns is advertising on social media and television, with Senate races costing as much as $30$ million per candidate.

• The impact of advertising is debated.

Campaign Finance Reform: 1970s

• In 1971, Congress passed the Federal Elections Campaign Act, which increased disclosure/reporting requirements and attempted to restrict spending.

• In 1974, Congress also created the Federal Election Commission, entrusted with overseeing election spending.

• For more than a decade, the bipartisan structure of the FEC Commission has made it totally ineffective, with almost 40% of votes ending in a 3-3 deadlock.

• Buckley v. Valeo (1976) upheld most of the FEC.

Campaign Finance Reform: Hard and Soft Money

• While the law could restrict hard money—direct donations to candidates—it could do little against soft money—donations to parties and interest groups.

• The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) was a bipartisan effort to control spending.

  • It increased the individual donation limit but reduced PAC spending and increased disclosure requirements.

Landmark Cases: Citizens United v. FEC

• In a 5-4 decision, The Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC (2010) that:

  • The First Amendment prohibits restrictions on political speech.

  • In effect, corporations and unions, among others, are regarded as holders of individual rights.

• The result of Citizens United has been an explosion in spending on dark money in American elections.

Campaign Finance Reform: Impact of Citizens United

• Lack of transparency: elections have been flooded by dark money: unlimited, anonymous donations to soft-money groups.

• The Brennan Center claims that Citizens United threatens the impartiality of state judges, permits foreign spending in American elections, and gives disproportionate voice to the rich.

Campaign Finance Reform: PACs

• Political action committees (PACS) come in four varieties, but we'll review two:

  • Connected PACS are PACS connected to organizations like businesses and unions. They are separate funds, not from the budgets of the orgs. [Strict donation limits]

  • Super PACs are the dominant player post-Citizens United. They can raise and spend unlimited funds but cannot coordinate with candidates. [No donation limits]

Function of Parties: National Party Structure

• The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are the major political organizations of each party.

• Each party also has Congressional campaign committees for the House and Senate.

Function of Parties: Elections

• While parties are playing an ever-larger role in raising money for elections, modern elections are seeing a rise in candidate-centered campaigns. Why?

  • TV, social media, extremely wealthy candidates

• Parties also play an important role in building coalitions, collections of voters with different interests.

  • These can be incredibly complicated to maintain and balance the interests of competing interests.

Third Parties

• Third parties have had very limited success in the US.

  • Ideological parties (e.g., Greens and Libertarians) attract a very small, dedicated #.

  • Single-issue parties form around one defining issue (e.g., Prohibition, taxes).

  • Splinter parties form when large groups of voters leave a party (e.g., Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party and Wallace's segregationist party).

Barriers to Third Party Success

• Five main barriers to third-party success in the US:

  • Money

  • Ballot Access: many states have heavy restrictions keeping candidates off the ballot.

  • Media Coverage tends to ignore them.

  • Winner-take-all elections make people afraid to "waste" their ballot.

  • Major parties co-opt the ideas of third parties when they become too popular.

The Media

• Linkage institutions are structures in society that connect people to the government.

  • Examples: the media, political parties, and interest groups.

• In the idealized form, they inform the public about what the government is doing and let the government know what the public wants.

• Others argue that the media fails to cover complex issues and plays a more important role in agenda setting than in reflecting the public's opinion.

Types of Media and News Reporting

• The credible press today rests on the idea of an adversarial press that challenges power.

  • Investigative journalism: (i.e., from the muckrakers through Watergate through reporting about Afghanistan today).

  • Watchdog reporting: when the media acts as a check on powerful interests like the government and corporations.

  • Political analysis:

    • Horse race journalism

  • Hard news reporting: rooted in the idea of objectivity, but some argue that it leads to dangerous “both sides" coverage.

Polarized Media

• The Fairness Doctrine (1949) required that those holding radio and TV broadcast licenses devote equal time to controversial issues.

  • It was abolished by the FCC in 1987, leading to the rise of conservative talk radio and advocacy cable news.

  • The impacts of polarized media have been profound:

    • It has hardened partisan identity, w/ people on either side seeing politics as a matter of life and death.

Impact of Social Media

• The increasing dominance of sources like Facebook and Google to dominate advertising revenue presents an “existential threat” to local media outlets.

  • Global newspaper ad revenue has fallen by half between 2016-2021.

Interest Groups

• Interest groups are organized groups who seek to influence public policy.

• Many interest groups arise from social movements, but these movements are hard to sustain.

• Political scientists say they rely on:

  • Material incentives (AARP)

  • Solidarity incentives (Sierra Club)

  • Purposive incentives (NARAL)

Activities of Interest Groups

• Interest groups issue ratings of politicians that can be really powerful.

• The most important function of interest groups is lobbying.

• While there are certainly abuses, most lobbying comes in the form of providing information—specialized, detailed information about political cues and policy implications,

• Most lobbying is small, with one or two lobbyists working on niche policy implications.

Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

• 15-22% of Test

Foundations

*The government envisioned by the founders is a *representative democracy*, one in which voters choose those who represent them.
*The US, as a result, is a democratic republic.
*Most were adamantly opposed to the idea of a direct democracy, because they feared the rule of the mob.

The Character of American Democracy

*5 VIEWS OF POLITICAL POWER IN THE UNITED STATES

The Class View: American government is driven by the interests of the wealthy.
The Power Elite View: The US system is dominated by powerful interest groups (business, labor, military, etc.)
The Bureaucratic View: Government officials and workers themselves run the government, despite the intentions of elected officials/public.
The Pluralist View holds that a multitude of groups, not individuals hold power in the US.
The Creedal Passion View maintains that the most important changes from morally impassioned elites who put aside economic interest.

How do Decisions Get Made?

*POLICY AGENDA

*Broadly, the political agenda refers to the issues that we believe are appropriate for governmental action.
*Has evolved greatly over American history.
*Primary drivers for the policy agenda today are interest groups, government institutions, the media, and the states.
*Political debates often settled by perception of costs versus perception of benefits.

How Do Decisions Get Made?

*4 TYPES OF POLITICS

Majoritarian Politics involve making appeals to a broad group.
Interest Group Politics tend to be fought out by small groups, in which some benefit and some bear costs from the change.
Client Politics occur in policy changes in which one group will benefit and the costs are widely distributed to others. This can lead to pork-barrel projects and logrolling to get passage.
Entrepreneurial Politics occur when a large number of people benefit and a small group bears a substantial cost.

The Constitution

*The founders were inspired by the thinkers of the Enlightenment:

*Belief in natural rights and reason
*Social contract theory
*Rejection of divine right of kings
*Right to life, liberty and property
*Checks and balances
*Limited Government
*Republicanism

Foundations

*THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

*Thomas Jefferson was the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence, which:

Identified the violations of liberty by King George III as justifications for rebellion.

Established the argument that certain rights are unalienable.
*Asserted the legitimacy and act of independence from Britain.
*Argued government depended