US Politics

• how is direct democracy used in the US

  • ballot initiatives
  • recall elections
  • referendums
• what is the significance of ballot initiatives in the US

  • laws or measures proposed by voters and are placed on the ballot at election time (usually November) (if enough signatures are gotten)
  • are the most widely used form of direct democracy in the US
  • called on a wide range of issues, such as: abortion rights (2022, abortion rights enshrined in CA, MI & VT), voting rights and the legality of marijuana
• what is the significance of recall elections in the US

  • elected state officials can be re-called before their term has expired
  • notable case 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, DEM Governor Gray Davis recalled after economic mismanagement (fed by the "dot com" bubble's impact on California) replaced by GOP actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the "governator"
  • increases accountability of representatives outside of election season
• what is the significance of referendums in the US

  allows citizens to approve or reject laws passed by the legislature. There are two types of referendums:

  • Legislative referendum: The legislature refers a measure to the voters for approval.
  • Popular referendum: Citizens petition to have a law passed by the legislature put to a vote by the public. If enough signatures are gathered, the law is placed on the ballot for approval or rejection
  • eg: 2008, proposition 8 referendum in California, voters approved same sex marriage
• what is the significance of direct democracy in the US

  • referendums cannot be held nationwide as this would violate the US constitution (article 1, section 1 places all federal legislative powers in the hands of Congress). Instead direct democracy occurs on state and local basis
• what is an invisible primary?

  the point before primaries start where presidential candidates start campaigning

  1. candidates announce that they're running for president
  2. candidates appear in the media and start visiting swing states
  3. candidates put together their campaign team
  4. candidates start fundraising
• what is the iron triangle?

  • Iron Triangle supporters date back to the fourth president James Madison and the Federalist Papers. Madison considered iron triangles as the essence of democracy as they ensure access to the government for the people

  
• three ways the media influences elections in the US

  
  

  • political ads
  • televised debates
  • mainstream media and social media
• what do Articles I-III of the constitution outline

  • Article I: grants all legislative powers to Congress, outlines the election process for each chamber and the powers allotted to them
  • Article II: grants executive power to the President and outlines how they're elected
  • Article III: grants judicial power to the Supreme Court and any smaller courts, outlines how Supreme Court justices are appointed
• what do Articles IV-VII

  • Article IV: sets out the rules for the relationships between states
  • Article V: sets out the process to amend the constitution (2/3 votes in both chambers and ratification by 3/4 of states, or through a Constitutional Convention with 3/4 state's support)
  • Article VI: contains the supremacy clause which makes the constitution the highest law in the US
• what are the Bill of Rights

  The first 10 amendments to the constitution

  • 1st, the right to freedom of speech and religion
  • 2nd, the right to bear arms
  • 6th, the right to a trial by jury and the right to a lawyer
  • 8th, the right not to have cruel and unusual punishments
  • 10th, all power not granted to the federal government is granted to the states
• what are other significant constitutional amendments

  there have been a total of 27 amendments

  • 13th, abolished slavery (except for prisoners)
  • 14th, gave citizenship to former enslaved people and had clauses for equal protection and due process
  • 17th, introduced direct elections to the Senate
  • 19th, gave women the right to vote
  • 22nd, limited the President to two terms in office
• how has the nature of the Federal government changed over time?

  the 10th amendment outlines the reserved powers of the states

  • Dual Federalism: strong states rights, the federal government's power was limited
  • Cooperative Federalism: FDR's New Deal in the 1930s saw an expansion of the federal government's powers, creating executive agencies
  • New Federalism: 70s-90s backlash too 'big government', movement to take back states powers (eg, 'block grants' given to states and they chose how to spend them)
  • modern federalism: federal power increased under Obama with the ACA, Dobbs decision in 2022
• what are the three formal sources of presidential powers?

  • enumerated powers, powers explicitly granted by the constitution
  • implied powers, powers implied by the constitution
  • inherent powers, powers not set out in the constitution but are inherint to the role the constitution outlines
• evidence of part decline

  • US parties remain big-tent parties
  • split ticket voting
  • the use of primaries reinforce party splits
  • political campaigns focus on the individual over the party
  • David Broder's thesis (in "The Party's Over") commenting on how parties have abdicated policy making and foreign policy to 'experts'
  • parties play a minimal role in political communication, aside from the national nominating conferences, most adverts and rallies are organised by canidates and their campaign team
• evidence of party renewal

  • growing political polarisation
  • parties becoming more unified
  • split ticket voting has decreased
  • the Hill Committees and other associated groups run
• does the US remain federal?

  FOR

  • 10th amendment still guarantees state's rights
  • state's legislative powers
  • state governments
  • Supreme Court's protection
  • concurrent powers that is shared with state and federal government (eg: levy taxes)
• does the US remain federal?

  AGAINST

  • federal government has increased departments and posts, seen with the creation of new agencies
  • Article I giving Congress the power to enact all "necessary and proper" laws
  • The Commerce Clause gives Congress the enumerated power to regulate commerce among states
  • federal grants
  • supreme court decisions don't always side with states
• what is the significance of the Executive Office of the President (EXOP)

  is an organisation made up of the top White House Staff agancies that support the President
• recent SCOTUS rulings

  • 2024, NRA v Vullo
  • 2024, Alexander v South Carolina NAACP
  • 2023, Glacier Northwest v Teamsters
  • 2023, Biden v Nebraska
  • 2022, Dobb's decision
• what are three departments in the EXOP

  • National Security Council (NSC)
  • Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
  • White House Office (WHO)
• what is the significance of the NSC

  National Security Council (NSC): supports the President in coordinating foreign policy, its significance depends on the President (in Obama's first term Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, and Obama played larger role in foreign policy compared to the NSC)
• what is the significance of the OMB?

  Office of Management and Budget (OMB): oversees federal spending, advises President how to allocate funding, analyses legislation and its impact on the budget, the OMB's director must be confirmed by the Senate (2021, Neera Tandem rejected)
• what is the significance of the WHO?

  White House Office (WHO): the President's personal office, made up of their closest advisors. functions: advice, communicate between the President and Congress, crisis management
• what is the significance of the cabinet?

  made up of 15 executive department heads and other positions appointed by the President

  • the composition of the cabinet reflect's the President's priorities. Obama had academics (Steven Chu, physicst, as Secretary of Energy), Bush appointed CEOs and businesspeople and Trump lobbyists (Betsy Devos) (director of the EPA)
  • declined in significance due to prominance of the EXOP, 2018 Rex Tillerson being fired via twitter
• what are formal sources of presidential powers

  • Chief executive
  • Proposing legislation, proposes at the yearly State of the Union Address (+ any other time)
  • Signing and vetoing
  • Commander-in-chief
  • Head of State
  • Nominations, treaties, pardons
• what is the party structure in the US?

  • state parties organise primaries but have a minimal role in candidate selection, local parties don't tend to endorse primary candidates (party officials often do though)
  • The national party orgainisations (national committees) DNC and RNC, organise the national convention and national policy platform. No power over candidate selection, chairs not well known
  • The 4 Hill Committees in Congress coordinate campaigns and donors, direct financial support to target seats (eg, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee)
• what is the filibuster

  in the Senate, Senators can delay or halt the progress of a bill through prolonged talking. requires 60 votes (2/3) to initiate a cloture to end it. examples:

  • tried to be used to stop the 1964 Civil Rights Act (unsuccessful)
  • was used in 1970 to block a constitutional amendment that would've abolished the electoral college (despite it passing in the House of Representatives, by a large majority, and having overwhelming public polling)
  • used in 2013 to prevent the passing of gun control after the Sandy Hook shooting
• why is the incumbent at an advantage?

  • name recognition
  • can pass laws to attract swing voters
  • has established donors
  • has shown competency in governing
• what is the path of the legislative process in the US

  1. initiation of bill
  2. committee stage
  3. legislation brought to the floor
  4. conference stage
  5. presidential sign or veto
• how is a bill initiated?

  can be initiated by any member of Congress but is usually introducted by party leaders and committee chairs (often on behalf of the president). Bills need a signature of a sponsor (can be many co-sponsors)
• what is the committee stage of a bill?

  • after the bill has been initiated they go to the relevant comittees (in the House and Senate) where they're debated and amended
  • committees can chose whether to "hear" a bill or not. bills that aren't heard die
• how is legislation brought to the floor

  • once a bill passes committee stage, it goes to the House Rules Committee or the Senate leadership to be scheduled for debate and voting. If it isn't scheduled in both houses it dies
  • after being scheduled a second reading stage occurs. Another vote occurs and if it passes in both houses, a third reading stage occurs
• what is the conference stage of legislation?

  • as legislation passes through both houses at the same time, the two bills differ
  • to reconcile this difference a conference committee can be set up or the congressional leaders negotiate the differences
  • the reconciled bill must then pass in both chambers
• how does a presidential approval or veto occur?

  • the end point of a bill, sees it on the President's desk for approval or veto. If the bill is vetoed, it is sent back to Congress where it can be overridden by a 2/3 vote in both chambers
  • notable vetos: 2006 Bush vetoed a bill to lift funding restrictions on stem cell research and in 2007 to withdraw troops from Iraq.
• what is the 1996 Line Item Veto Act?


  
  

  • Introduced by Republican Senate leadership (Bob Dole and John McCain), to control pork barrel spending. The bill allowed the president (Clinton at the time) to veto specific clauses of a bill rather than the bill entirely
  • Clinton applied it to the federal budget over 80 times
  • Declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Clinton v City of New York in 1998 as it gave the president unilateral amendment powers to bills, undermining the seperation of powers
• what is a pocket veto

  
  

  • The pocket veto is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden. The veto becomes effective when the President fails to sign a bill after Congress has adjourned and is unable to override the veto
  • 1986, Reagan pocket vetoed the Clean Water Act over concerns of costs despite passing both Houses unanimously
  • Last used by Clinton in 2000
• examples of a presidential veto being overriden

  
  

  • 1986, sanctions on apartheid South Africa was vetoed by Reagan. Congress overrode him and placed santions anyway
  • 2016, Obama vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (which made it easier for the famillies of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government). Congress overrode him
  • 2020, Trump vetoing the annual defence spending bill. Was criticised by McConnell and overrode even through Republicans controlled the Senate
• what is pork barreling?

  
  

  • politicians using government funds for local projects to win favor and votes rather than to address broader or national issues
  • These projects are typically not critically necessary but serve to promote the interests of the politician's supporters. The term is often used pejoratively to describe the use of public funds for localized projects designed primarily to gain political support and favor.
• what is gerrymandering?

  manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts to favor a specific political party or group. to create an advantage in elections, often resulting in districts that have unusual shapes designed to increase the voting power of the party in control of the redistricting process. Can be done in two ways:

  1. Packing: concentrating as many voters of a particular type into a single district to reduce their influence in other districts
  2. Cracking: spreading voters of a particular type across many districts to dilute their voting power