AP Gov. 2015 FRQ

As Chief legislator, the president has the power to accept or veto bill sent to him by congress, gather information from the bureaucracy, present a legislative agenda to Congress, and go to the American public for support for his legislative agenda. agenda-setting; veto; message power/ state of the union address; going public/bully pulpit

As Chief bureaucrat, the president manages and oversees the bureaucracy, uses the white house staff to control bureaucrats and prioritizes agency activities,He/she can influence those agencies through appointing the heads of some agencies or through cabinet appointments who oversee the agencies.

bureaucratic discretion; agency view; civil service protection; interest group capture of agencies; expertise They are not hired by the president and are hired by the merit system.

by declaring acts of the president unconstitutional

a divided government makes it very difficult to enact and pass legislation. The differing parties have different agendas and opposing views on how to achieve policy. If the President is a different party, such as a democrat, he might veto a bill from a Republican Congress. Over-riding a veto is difficult.

The states were supreme under the AOC, which created a confederal form of government with a weak national government. Under the new Constitution, the national government became supreme with the Supremacy Clause and set up a more balanced system of power under federalism where the national gov't and states shared power

The commerce clause has been used to greatly expand the power of Congress such as with Gibbons vs. Ogden when the Supreme Court ruled the national government had the right to regulate interstate commerce. Congress has often used the commerce clause to exert power over the states such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation, ultimately as an argument that Congress had the right to regulate interstate trade therefore businesses could not discriminate based on race, i.e. Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US

the federal gov't uses mandates to force states into doing something they want, such as the Disabilities Act, which was an unfunded mandate where states had to comply by making state colleges and universities handicapped accessible with no government aid. Mandates force states to implement policy.

broad federal funding that allows states to have more discretion in how funding is spent, thus states have greater flexibility in policy implementation; State have more freedom for monetary distribution with block grants than with categorical grants. Block grants are not as specific giving states more discretion in the spending, versus the federal government mandating how to spend their money.

the Supreme Court has the right through judicial review to check the power of Congress and give more power to the states

Framers did not trust the average citizen to be educated enough to make the decision, fear of the \"tyranny of the majority\" -Compromise between big and small states •Protection against direct election by uninformed citizens/cater to elites •Did not trust the people, Congress, or state legislatures to solely select president •Reinforced federalism and gave states role in presidential elections

Emphasis on the power of the swing states, how presidential candidates are focused on winning the states with key numbers of electoral votes

Those states consistently have voted for the same parties, NY & CA-Democrat and TX -Republican so one can easily predict how they'll go though they are important because of their large number of electoral votes

-concentration of money in those states -more tv ads and use of media -bigger campaign organization -more campaign appearances in the key states -focus on issues that swing voters in those states care about -selection of a running mate from one of the key states

Civil liberties are protected by the Bill of Rights, basic rights that everyone has, government should protect. Civil rights are protections against discrimination based on things such as race or gender civil rights are protection groups from discrimination while civil liberties protect individuals from government actions

the equal protection clause

19th amendment civil rights act of 1964 equal pay for equal work;equality in academics and athletics; laws expanding role of women in the military

Disabilities Act which prevents discrimination based on disabilities like for employment and requires public facilities to be handicapped accessible

due process clause

extended the right to a lawyer(counsel) as guaranteed by the 6th amendment to the states

exclusionary rule, provided protection against illegal search and seizures (illegally gained items cannot be used in court) as guaranteed by the 4th amendment

extended the \"rights of the accused\" covered in the 5th and 6th amendments to states, requiring police officers to inform citizens of their constitutional rights when they are arrested