Congressional Leadership
In what chamber of Congress do formal leadership positions have more power?
The House of Representatives (Speaker of the House)
What type of government requires all ELECTED branches of the federal government to be from the same party and tends to get more done>
Unified government
Every bill is referred to one of these types of committees.
Standing Committees
Identify and explain 2 formal powers of the President.
Veto Power/Pocket Veto, Commander in Chief, Treaty Power, Receive ambassadors, Grant pardons, State of the Union
Name the 3 commonalities shared between all federal judges.
Appointed by the President, approved by the Senate, and have jobs for life.
What individual person has the most power in the Senate?
The Senate Majority leader
What is the name of the process of assigning each state its proportion of representatives based on the census?
Reapportionment
What type of committee is temporary and usually has to do with an investigation?
A special (select) committee
Identify and explain 2 informal powers of the President.
Bargaining and persuasion, Executive Orders, Executive Agreements, Signing Statements
Identify and explain the jurisdictions of all 3 levels of federal courts
District court: original only
Appellate court: appellate only
SCOTUS: Both original (narrow) and appellate (mostly)
What positions are in charge of enforcing party discipline (voting the party line)?
Majority and minority whips (in both houses)
What is gerrymandering? Name 1 rule that must be followed for it to be legal.
Drawing congressional maps in bizarre shapes for a purpose.
1. Districts cannot be drawn solely on race
2. Lines must be contiguous
3. Districts cannot dilute minority voting strength
What committee is known as the traffic cop of the House?
The House Rules Committee
What serves as Congress' main check on the President's appointment and treaty powers?
What two things must happen for SCOTUS to accept a case (procedural NOT reasons)?
Rule of 4: 4 justices must vote to take up the case
Issue a writ of cert: Formal request to the lower courts for their documents on a case. Signals to the world that they are accepting the case.
Who assigns committee positions?
Party leaders
Name and define the 3 main models of congressional representation.
Trustee - Always vote your conscious, regardless of your constituents' opinions.
Delegate - Always vote with your constituents' opinions, regardless of your own.
Politico - A hybrid model between the two.
A joint committee
Name 2 reasons that SCOTUS may accept a case.
Involves a significant Constitutional issue, involves a civil rights or civil liberties issues, two lower courts disagree on the ruling, the federal government asks the court to accept the case.
Vice President (President of the Senate) and President Pro Tempore.
Cracking - Breaking up a constituency to dilute their voting power in the surrounding districts.
Packing - Consolidating a constituency to limit their voting power to 1 single district with a big majority.
A cloture vote is used to end a filibuster.
Describe how presidential communication has changed with the advancement of technology.
It has become more direct as technology has advanced from newspapers to radios to TVs to social media.
Explain the basic argument of Federalist No. 78. What key judicial power does it establish?