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Midterm #1
Inlcuding Topic 1-3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Delegate vs. Trustee | Trustees are legislators who vote according to what they think is best for their constituents, while Delegates are those who vote according to the PREFERENCES of their constituents. |
| History Principle | History constrains the choices available to political actors at a given moment through several mechanisms: Rules and Procedures, Conditioned POVs, and Loyalties and alliances. |
| Institution - Exogenous and Endogenous | Exogenous institutions are institutions whose rules are fixed by an outside source. Endogenous institutions are institutions whose rules are crafted by the members of that institution. |
| Moral Hazard | the risks that someone or something becomes more inclined to take because they have reason to believe that an insurer will cover the costs of any damages |
| Principal-Agent Relationship | The decision by the President to employ the executive offices to implement policy that runs counter to Congress expressed intentions |
| Public Goods | Most policy good (an institutions themselves) are public goods: Access cannot be denied!; When consumed it is not used up! |
| Instrumental Action | Action that happens in order to bring about an outcome |
| Collective Action | you need to have people on your side, who share your demands. However, getting them to participate can be a serious problem |
| Free Riders | Result of Collective Action (see definition) |
| Bicameralism | The division of the legislative power into two separate chambers |
| Articles of confederation | More of a functional treaty between a number of the sovereign states; functioned as the law of the land from Nov 1777 to 1789 |
| Expressed Powers | Powers granted by the Constitution; Include Taxation, Printing Currency, Organizing Military, Naturalization, Post Office establishing, etc. |
| Great Compromise (all plans | Bicameralism; One proportional Chamber (House) and One fixed Chamber (Senate) |
| Implied Powers | Same as Inherent Powers, but apply for all branches of government |
| Impeachment | Congress collectively votes to fire the President; can be for Corruption of any kind, Dislike by the majority, Prior convictions in State/Federal court |
| Reserved Powers | "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." ~Amend. 10 |
| Separation of powers vs. Checks and Balances | Separation of powers is the exchange of power between the three branches, while Checks and Balances protect the rights/powers of the minority within a branch (UNITY, DURATION, VETO) |
| Supremacy Clause | "The Constitution is the highest law of the land, and should therefore be followed by all levels of government (Federal and State) |
| Electoral College | A Selection of electors, representing the number of electoral votes a state has, cast their vote for President and Vice-President. |
| Transaction costs | ?? |
| Elastic Clause (Necessary & Proper Clause) | "To make laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." |
| Shared Powers | Separation of Powers: Congress & Executive (Spending, Presidential veto, Confirmation and War), Executive & Judiciary (Appointment and Enforcement), Judiciary & Congress (Creation of Lower Courts, Jurisdiction and Standing, Judicial Review) |
| 3/5ths Compromise | included slaves into the population counts, bringing Southern states on board by expanding their economic population |
| Declaration of independence | "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal..."; credited to Thomas Jefferson; first unitarian founding document for our government. |
| Constitution (Art. 1) | Article 1: Legislative: Senate (must be 30yr, 6yr terms, staggered-Impeachment, Revenue, & Spending Powers), House (must be 25yr, 2yr terms-Impeachment trials, confirmation & treaties, and Spending powers), and Elections |
| Constitution (Art. 2 | Article 2: Executive: President (must be 35 yr, 4yr term, command. in chief, pardons, treaties and foreign, manage executive offices, and veto), Executive Privilege, and Elections (Electoral College-Still nested in states) |
| Executive Agreement | an established agreement between foreign government and the President (ex. NATO, The Louisiana Purchase (kinda)) |
| Executive Privilege | The claim that communications between the president and their cabinet are confidential and not subject to release to Congress |
| Expressed vs. Delegated vs. Inherent Presidential Power | Expressed are given IN the Constitution, Delegate are given by Congress, and Inherent are not expressed in the Constitution but STEMS from the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the presidency. |
| Pardon Power | "He [The President] shall have power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States except in Cases of Impeachment." (except in State crimes) (ex. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon) |
| Signing Statements | A formal statement at the adoption of legislation signaling the president's intentions for policy implementation regarding that legislation. |
| The Bully Pulpit and Going Public | Coined by Theodore Roosevelt, the "Bully Pulpit" refers to the president's ability to "preach" to the nation |
| Unity, Duration, Competent Powers, Payoff | "The ingredients which constitute energy in the Executive are, first, unity; secondly, duration; thirdly, an adequate provision for its support; fourthly Competent powers (Presidental power granted by the Constitution)" |
| Veto Power | Is laid out in Article 1; Congress can override a presidential veto with 2/3 support; Pocket Veto's occur when a president holds a bill passed its expiration. |
| Appointment Power | Judicial Appointments are reserved for the President (Supreme Court), Cabinet and Department Head Appointments (must be confirmed by Senate); Senate can also appoint/confirm State judges |
| Crafted Talk | "politicians craft how they present their policy stances in order to attract favorable press coverage and win public support for what they desire" |
| Agenda Power | "He [The President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommended to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient" |
| Appropriation Bills | Hearings are held by Congress appropriations committees to review the budget requests and requirements of government spending programs. Then, in order to finance the federal government, the House and Senate draft their own appropriations bills. |
| Arrow's Impossibility Theorem | "If we include the poss. of interpersonal comparisons of utility,... which will be satisfactory, and which will be defined for a wide range of sets of 'individual ordering are either imposed or dictatorial' " |
| Cartel Model (6) Key resource given to senior members is agenda control) | 1) Members seek (re)election & majority status, 2) Party reputation impacts election, 3) Reputation = accomplishments, 4) Accomplish. req. collective action (House), 5) Central party authorities work to overcome Coll. Act. Problems (i.e., Thune) |
| Closed vs. Open Rules | Open Rule states that any amendment can be submitted and open for unlimited |
| Commerce Clause | To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with Indian tribes |
| Congress As An Institution | House: 435 member, Local districts est. by states, Simple majority, Proportional; Senate: 100 members (2/state), Approval of treaties, simple but limited majority |
| Congressional Committee Systems | Committees in the House and Senate are highly specialized and all possess key gatekeeping ability, allowing committees to prevent legislation from "hitting the floor" and receiving the final vote. |
| Constituencies | 4 of them: President (need to win majority in Electoral College), House (Local districts est. by States), Senate (State legislature, Rep States as a whole), Judiciary (??) |
| Distributive Tendency and Logrolling | Congress has an idea that they are very invested in their constituents, and try to appease them in their individual states (Pork-barreling) |
| Filibuster | grants significant power to individual Senators and their minority party to hold up legislation unless the majority can overcome the 60-vote threshold to end the debate |
| Gatekeeping Authority | The committee chair has some discretion over whether or not to act on the bills; The power to control what ideas do or do not become bills. |
| Incumbency Bias | Members with Seniority/Longer terms in office usually have more electoral advantage for re-election and agenda power (ex. gerrymandering) |
| Negative Agenda Power | Block-out Zone; Any challenges to the status quo in this region that would pass at the floor (F) would pull the law further away from the mean Majority party member (M) |
| Positive Agenda Power | The majority can use their power to push policies towards their preferred majority. (Agenda Power Chart) |
| Nuclear Option (Senate) | Eliminates the filibuster for specific issues using a "point of order" rule change which requires only a simple majority. Can be used to carve out specific exceptions to the supermajority requirement. |
| Pork-barrel Politics and Patronage | Pork-barreling is funding directly into geographic constituencies. |
| Ratification and Confirmation (Senate) | Senate has confirmation power over executive and judicial positions. |
| Reapportionment and Redistricting | Gerrymandering: politicians purposing redraw the districts in their states to move the power pendulum from one party to the other; drive out extremes, done mainly for re-election |
| Rules committee vs. Speaker of the House | The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House of Representative that only has control over Rules Committee assignments, while the Rules Committee sets rules for the establishment and debate of any bill on the floor. |
| Ideology (DW-NOMINATE, Ideological, Competitive) | The strong willed belief in a statement, lifestyle, character, PARTY, etc. (ex. Liberal vs. Conservative, Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life, Citizenship Reg. vs. Border Wall) |
| Member adaptation | Politicians gradually changing party due to change in policy, distrust, etc.; basically Strom Thurmond's political story (Rep -> Ind) |
| Member replacement | Incumbent or Rookie members of a party being voted out of their seat |
| Party competition | Hastert's Rule: A party should never let a bill split the party, but they can encourage bills that the MAJORITY agrees on. |
| Polarization | 1) increased distance between party means, 2) Highly homogenous individual preferences within the party (DEM/REP; can be driven by anger, distrust, etc.) |
| Senatorial Courtesy | Has historically given Senators significant control over judicial nominees for federal courts in their states |
| Explain the three components of crafted talk and how they are used to influence public opinion. Do you think crafted talk advances or hinders democratic values and representation within our society and why? | - Tracking opinion (polls, campaigning), Managing the Press (Press secretaries, FOX v. CBS), and Priming (posing false images for a message) - I believe it hinders bc it drives public division when they are not divided themselves |
| Explain Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem. How do the endogenous institutions within congress work to solve Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem? | It is a Social Choice Problem; It tosses out the spatial voting model, by having people taking their individual desires to the center to find common ground; it has to be dictatorial/imposed |
| What are the differences between ideological polarization and competition driven polarization? What are the implications of each definition for democratic values and representation within our society? | Where Ideological polarization has increased distance between party means and Highly homogenous preference, Competition-driven polarization runs on narrow margins and regular turnover and invests in party brand and undercut competition. |
Created by:
cmh66
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