The Big List of Topics

The Big List of Topics

Constitution

· Concurrent/denied/reserved powers/implied powers

· Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation; Achievements of AoC government; Shays’ Rebellion

· Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, natural rights, consent of the government; Declaration of Independence

· Constitutional Convention

o Virginia, NJ, Plans, Great Compromise

o Elements of Constitution that addressed weaknesses of A of C; addressing problems of decentralization

o Separation of power – powers divided among 3 separate and coequal branches

o Checks and balances – among 3 branches of gov’tt – know all the checks

o Limited government – listing powers of fed gov’tt, reserving powers to the states

o Compromises on slavery: 3/5 Clause, Fugitive Slavery Law, ending international slave trade in 1808

o Compromises on presidency: length of term, number of terms, Electoral College

o Fear of tyranny of majority

· Clauses: Supremacy, Full Faith and Credit

· Privileges and Immunities

· Ways of amending the Constitution formally and informally

· What in the Constitution limits the power of government

· Fight for ratification; Federalists v. Antifederalists, Federalist Papers, Federalist #10 and 51

Federalism

· Unitary, Confederal, federal systems

· Advantages and disadvantages of federalism

· Powers enumerated for fed gov’t/reserved to state gov’t, concurrent

· Constitutional basis of federalism: Supremacy Clause, 10th Amendment, Elastic Clause, Full Faith and Credit Clause, Extradition, Privileges and immunities clause, Commerce clause

· McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, Barron v. Baltimore

· Dual Fed

· Cooperative Fed

· Fiscal Fed – using mandates and other requirements to get the states to do what the fed government wants

· Devolution

· Limitations on states

· Interstate obligations and rights – Article IV: Full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, extradition interstate compacts

· Federalism in Politics: Senators rep states, House members, Court system, Senatorial courtesy, in politics: primaries, parties organized along quasi-federal lines

· Grants

o Categorical grants – earmarked for specific purposes, 90% of all fed grants

o Block grants – general use in broad area

· Mandates, unfunded mandates: Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, impact of federal mandates

· Motor Voter, Welfare Reform, Americans with Disabilities Act,

· Federalism in current policy debates: (Ex: DOMA, Clean Air and Water Acts, Brady Bill, No Child Left Behind)

· Examples of Recent rulings on federalism - U.S. v. Lopez

· How powers of federal gov’t have increased relative to the power of the states: which provisions of the Constitution have been used: power to tax and spend, Elastic clause, Commerce clause

Political Opinion and Participation

· Who votes – variables, factors

· Conservative vs. liberal ideologies

· Political socialization

· Participation: conventional/unconventional

· Who turns out to vote: demographic variables affecting who turns out to vote

· Motor Voter Act and its effects

· Political efficacy (Internal v. External), civic duty

· How people vote: what they evaluate candidates on

· Why more vote in presidential elections than in off-year elections

· Institutional obstacles to voting

· Retrospective and prospective voting

· Sources of political information

· Factors that influence people’s political beliefs

· Types of polls and problems with polling

· Factors that cause cleavages in public opinion

· Conventional and unconventional types of political participation

· Gender gap

· Reasons for decline in trust and confidence in government, consequences of that decline

Political Parties

· Purposes of parties/ What do they do? Be aware of the role of the parties in politics and their role in government

· Party as linkage institution: how do they link people & gov’t?

· Factors that contribute to the continuation of the two-party electoral system

· Trends in party identification: demographic groups that lean to one party or the other, geographic areas, rural/urban, ideological

· Current coalitions for each party

· Trend towards ticket-splitting and increase in independents – why?

· Organization of the parties: Decentralized party structure: local, state, and national party organizations

o National committee, national chairman, national convention, congressional campaign committees

· Party machines

· The roles of party in government

· Party eras in American history

· Party dealignment and realignment – Critical Election Theory

· Changes that have led to a weakening of political parties

· Consequences of having weakened parties

· Reforms that weakened parties: civil service reform, ballot reform, primaries, campaign finance reform

· Restructuring of the Democratic Party in 1968 and McGovern-Fraser Commission, superdelegates

· 3rd or Minor Parties

o Types of 3rd parties

o Why 3rd parties have trouble breaking through

o What roles 3rd parties play in our system

o Consequences of two-party system

· Winner-take-all system vs. proportional representation

· Candidates distancing themselves from party – candidate-centered elections

Elections

· Amendments that deal with voting

o 15th, 17th, 24th, 26th

· Electoral College

o Advantages & disadvantages

o 12th Amendment

o Reform proposals?

· 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) – impact

o FEC – what it does

o Buckley v. Valeo

o Public funding of presidential campaigns

· Soft vs. hard money

· Raising money; invisible primary

· 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (McCain-Feingold)

o McConnell v. FEC

o Citizens United v. FEC

· Growth of independent groups – PACS, SuperPacs, 527s, 501(c)(4)s

· Focus on candidate-centered campaigns: role of media

· Types of elections: primary and general

· Types of primaries: closed, open, blanket

o Effect of front-loading of primaries

o Crossover voting

o Iowa caucuses and NH primary

o Super Tuesday

· Role of the media in elections; role of “new” media/internet

· GOP: winner-take-all primaries. Democrats: proportional rep in primaries, plurality elections – results of those differences, e.g. 2008 election

· Coattail effect – declining?

· Differences in presidential and congressional elections

· Who votes in primaries vs. general election?

· What has been the effect of having primaries and caucuses determine the nominee vs. a convention?

· What are the effects of frontloading in the nomination process?

· How conventions have changed – the role of conventions today

· Party platforms

· What goes into running a campaign?

· Impact of campaign on voters: what determines how people vote?

· Effect of advertising?

· Propositions: initiative and referendum

· Advantages that incumbents have

o Why House incumbents have higher reelection rates than Senate incumbents

o Trends towards higher reelection rates for incumbents

Media

· How presidents can use the media

· Role of media in election campaigns, impact on campaigns

· Roles of media

· Changes in role of media, evolution of mass media, results of internet and new media

· Laws affecting the media

o Equal access rule

o Equal time rule

o Right-of-rebuttal rule

o Role of FCC

· How candidates use the media

· Focus on candidate over issues

· Effects of the new media, internet, blogs, YouTube, Email, Twitter, Facebook

· Media as linkage institution – How does it connect people & gov’t?

· Setting the agenda

· Sound bites

· Bias in the media

· Rules in reporting: off/on the record, on background, deep background

· Supreme Court cases affecting the media: prior restraint: US v. NY Times (Pentagon Papers)

· Horserace journalism, scorekeeper, gatekeeper, watch dog function

Interest Groups

· Types of IGs

· How they can influence policy-makers: which methods various groups prefer to use

· Theories of roles of IGs: pluralist, elite, hyperpluralist

· Roles of IGs in elections

· Which policymaking institutions do IGs target

· Role of lobbyists

· Effect of campaign finance reform on IGs: 1974 and 2002

· Use of litigation: briefs and class action lawsuits, amicus curiae brief

· IGs as linkage institutions

· Iron Triangles/issue networks – sub-governments

· What makes an IG successful

§ Free Rider Problem?

§ Collective v. selective goods

· Differences from parties

· Why people join IGs - incentives

· Where IGs get their money

· The revolving door

· Grassroots lobbying

Congress

· Demographics in general of Congressmen & women

· Article I: delegated powers, qualifications for serving in House and Senate

· Why a bicameral legislature?

· Differences between House and Senate

· Powers of the Senate and House

· Advise and Consent by the Senate

· Non-legislative tasks of Congress: oversight, education, representing constituents within government

o Delegate vs. trustee vs. politico model

· Filibuster, cloture

· Types of Committees in Cong: standing, joint, select, conference

o Standing – only ones to write legislation and conduct oversight

· How GOP changed House rules

· Job of Speaker, Majority/Minority Leader/ Pro-tem, what do Whips do? How can party leadership affect legislative process

· House Ways and Means/Senate Finance > taxes

· Appropriations > how money is apportioned to federal agencies

· Non-legislative tasks of Congress

· Legislative veto – line item veto: what do these terms mean and what has the Supreme Court said about them?

· How a bill becomes a law and where a bill can be killed

· Resolutions: simple and concurrent

· Important Committees: House Rules – what can it do, House Ways and Means, Senate Finance, Appropriations Committee

· Mark up

· Franking privilege

· Advantages of incumbents: credit claiming, constituent service

· What affects how congressmen vote? Pressures on them to vote

o Logrolling

o PACS, IGs

o Constituents

o Ideology

o Party Affiliation – most important factor

o Public Opinion

· Role of lobbyists and IGs

· Committee system, role of subcommittees

· Legislative veto

· Pork barrel legislation, earmarks

· Redistricting

o Impact of having maj-min districts

o What has the Supreme Court said about race as a factor? Principles in districting, Shaw v. Reno

· Reapportionment and redistricting – what is the difference?

o Census, apportionment, malapportionment, gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering

o Baker v. Carr and Wesberry v. Sanders

· Who becomes chair of committees, how committee assignments are determined; majority party has majority on committees

· Seniority system

· Congressional caucuses: party and other caucuses

· Term limits debate: arguments on each side

· Changes made after 1994 election by Gingrich Republicans in House

· Role of the parties in Congress

· Specialization in Congress

· How Congress reasserted its powers after Nixon

· War Powers Act

· Budget and Impoundment Control Act

· How impeachment works

Presidency

· Formal powers of President – Know Article II

· Informal powers of president

o Executive privilege

o Executive orders

o Executive agreements

o Bully pulpit – “going public”/power to persuade

· How the Constitution forces the president and Congress to work together and why conflicts are natural – different constituencies

· How they can pursue their own policy agendas

· Act as chief legislator

§ B/c of a veto can have a good deal of influence over shaping of a bill

· Rely on party support

§ Shared priorities with those of same party

§ If popular president – reflects well on those who support him

§ Must rely on members of Congress to introduce legislation

§ Tools of President as Party leader

· Bargaining

· Appeals to party members

· Assistance in fund-raising

· Help in electioneering

· Dispensing of perks

· PERSUASION

§ Public Support

· If a president is popular – gives him more power in talking to reps

· If weak – hard to garner support

· More likely to get things passed early in his term

§ Legislative skills

· Presidents can bargain with reps to offer support on legislation or joint public appearances

· Offer more during honeymoon period

· Try to focus attention of Congress on their agenda

· Advantages over Congress in making foreign policy

§ Executive Orders

· Diplomatic powers of President

§ Formal recognition of other gov’ts

§ Negotiating treaties

§ Executive agreements are administrative in nature

· Military powers

§ Authorize military actions

§ Send troops to specific areas of conflict

§ War Powers Act

§ Must inform Congress within 48 hours

§ Troop commitment is for 60 days unless Cong agrees to a longer deployment (90 day total)

§ Congress may end commitment at any time through a concurrent resolution

· Power from the People: Public Presidency – voter’s approval determined

o Whether voter identifies with the political party of pres

o How effective a public speaker the president is

o Whether he appeals to the public directly

o How media interpret the actions of the pres

o Tools Pres uses to garner support

· Sources of informal powers of presidents

o From precedents by past president (GW using Cabinet for advie)

o From actions of Congress giving president power – Gulf of Tonkin

· Limits on pres power

o System of checks and balances

§ Appointments

§ Override veto

§ Judicial review

o Acts of Congress to limit what pres does

§ Impoundment?

o Decisions of federal courts affecting programs and policies

o Ineffectiveness of bureaucracy

· White House Staff

o Top-level aides such as chief of staff, national security advisor, press sect

o How presidents organize staff

· Executive Office of pres

o Must be confirmed by the Senate

o OMB, CIA, National Eco Council, Office of Personnel Mgt, and Office of the US Trade Executive, Drug Control policy

o OMB – develop budget, review legislation and proposals from depts. And oversees how depts. Spend their money

o NSC – pres, VP, sect of state, defense, chairman of JCS, CIA, NS advisor

o Indep regulatory agencies, gov’t corporations, and ind. exec agencies

· How a pocket veto works

· More leeway in foreign policy and military affairs than domestic

· Line item veto – Clinton v. NYC

· Executive Privilege – US v. Nixon

o Also disallowed as shield against civil suits of the pres

o Ordered executive branch personnel to appear before grand juries – not covered by immunity

o Impoundment

· VP

o Only 2 formal duties – vote to break a tie and to help decide pres disability

o 12th Amendment

o Only jobs are what pres gives

o Criteria for choosing a VP – “balance the ticket”

· Approval rating – rallying effect in foreign crises, loss of Congressional seats by Pres’s party in midterm elections

· Chief of staff runs day-to-day ops

· Political patronage

· Effects of divided government

· What affects presidential approval ratings?

Bureaucracy

· No guidance in Constitution on bureaucracy

· How Administrators (officials and agencies of executive branch) can influence policy: delaying implementation of policy, writing rules and regs, enforcing such rules, regs, and laws, adjudicating conflicting interests

· Cabinet – criteria for pres choosing cabinet members

· Independent Agency – operate outside the executive departments, but are part of the executive branch

· Independent executive agencies

· Independent regulatory agencies or commissions

· Government corporations

· History of growth of federal bureaucracy

· How are members of bur. recruited – Office of Personnel Mgt, competitive service (2/3) of official

· Pendleton Act 1883

· Spoils system/Patronage

· Hatch Act 1939

· Iron Triangles/Issue Networks/sub governments

· Congressional Checks: authorization legislation for funding, rewriting legis

· Congressional Oversight

· Bureaucratic pathologies

· Attempts to reform bureaucracy

· Revolving Door

· Policy-making functions of federal agencies: regulations, enforcement, interpreting vague laws (e.g. Title IX)

Judiciary

· Judicial review – Marbury v. Madison

· Original jurisdiction: 2 states, ambassador

· Appellate jurisdiction