AP Gov Unit 7 Terms – Flashcards
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President's Role
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-Chief Executive: refers to the president's power to enforce legislation -Commander-in-chief: the president has power over the military -constitutional requirements: US born citizen, minimum age 35; lived in US at least 14 years. -impeachment: congressional check on presidential power; House must vote for impeachment and senate holds the trial and the final vote.
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Presidential powers: formal and informal
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Formal: the powers that are listed in the constitution, including the power of chief executive, veto (but not line-item), making pardons and appointments, and commander-in-chief.
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Public Opinion Polls
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The public opinion of the President and his office. These are the most major check on presidential power as they typically determine the likelihood that Congress will pass legislation proposed by the President and allocate funds to his programs.
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Bully Pulpit
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Used to describe the president's position in which he can speak his views and is confident that he will be listened to. -He frames the issues of all debates
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US v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation
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-Supreme Court defines scope of modern presidential power relating to foreign policy -Result of case: US victory -Sutherland's majority opinion: President has beyond-constitutional power in foreign affairs.
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Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer
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-Supreme Court defines scope of modern presidential power: domestic policy -Vinson's majority opinion: in domestic policy the president must follow the constitutional exactly and cooperate with congress (opposite of foreign)
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Presidential Succession
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1792 Law: Order of succession = VP, President pro temp of the Senate, Speaker of House, etc. Problem: if president is impeached, senate votes to remove. but head of senate would be the one replacing the president 1886 Law: President pro temp and speaker of house removed from succession line (vice president to sec. of state, etc.) 1947 Law: succession order revised (VP, Speaker of house, Pres. pro temp of senate, sec. of state...) -still in place today but basically moot -brought up once annually at capitol events
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22nd Amendment
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Stated that the Presidency must be limited to two terms. Beforehand, the two-term limit had been assumed by all presidents up until FDR.
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Vice President
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Second to the President; only main duty includes leading the Senate and voting in the case of a tie.
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"Balance the Ticket"
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An informal role of the Vice President is to help balance out the ticket, often by being a different gender, age, race, or have slightly different political views than the president.
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Coattail Effect
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The tendency of a political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of his party in an election and then consequently, the amount of support that that party leader will have in Congress from his own party.
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First Lady
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The wife of the President; often promotes a specific cause and advocates for it alongside the President. Especially demonstrated through the civil rights and women's rights efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt.
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Bureaucracy
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A group of un-elected individuals or organization that creates regulations, laws, and deals with the enforcement of them.
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Pendleton Act
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-Civil service created by the Pendleton act -President only appoints heads of agencies -Appointees have to pass legit exams to test qualifications -Eliminates spoil system
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Civil Service
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A branch of government in which the members are employed on the basis of merit and through competitive exams rather than political ties.
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Cabinet
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-president's official advisors/heads of executive departments -policy experts, enforce respective laws -report to congress & president
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Cabinet Officials
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The executive members of the cabinet departments.
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Cabinet Departments
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The 15 departments of the US executive branch that create policy and oversee programs in America.
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Department of State:
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Executive branch department responsible for all things related to foreign policy
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Department of Treasury
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Executive department responsible for managing the revenue of the federal government.
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Department of Justice
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Executive department responsible for the judicial system, law enforcement, and the administration of justice.
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Department of Interior
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Executive department responsible for management of natural resources and the administration of programs relating to territorial affairs in the US.
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Department of Agriculture
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Executive department responsible for policy regarding farming, food, and forestry.
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Department of Commerce
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Cabinet department of US; gathers demographic information for use in government politics and setting industry standards
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Department of Labor
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Cabinet department responsible for occupational safety, wages & hours, unemployment and economic statistics
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Department of Defense
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Executive branch department responsible for policy regarding the US military and defense actions
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Department of Health & Human Services
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Cabinet department responsible for policy regarding health standards
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Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Cabinet department originally created by President Johnson (LBJ) to manage the housing situation in the US
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Department of Transportation
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Cabinet department responsible for policy regarding transportation services in the US; must maintain effective and cost-efficient transportation that evolves along with the ever-changing world needs and technological developments
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Department of Energy
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Cabinet department responsible for policy regarding effective and cost-efficient energy sources for the US including foreign affairs and the nuclear weapons program, energy-related research, and domestic energy production
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Department of Education
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Rooted in the spending clause of the Constitution, responsible for policy that provides quality and cost-efficient education to the youth within the US
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Department of Veterans Affairs
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Manages financial benefits for veterans of war and their families, as well as managing finances of soldiers who have passed away during the course of war.
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Department of Homeland Security
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Cabinet department formed as a result of 9/11; purpose is to investigate potential terrorist threats
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White House Office (WHO)
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President's personal advisers; no senate confirmation required -President determines organization -Chief of staff (president's right-hand man) -Legal counsel (give president legal advice/how to not get impeached) -National security advisor (head of national security council--NSC--and is the true power broker in diplomacy) -Press secretary (what the president should and shouldn't say publicly)
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Pyramid
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-Natural way of society -Closed info gathering: opposition views ignored -Chief of staff filters for president (doesn't tell him full reality--dangerous) -President's informants become his reality -"group think:" No Information that Disagrees with a Pre-Formed Theory is Allowed to Get to the President -President can demand total loyalty -Ike, LBJ, Nixon, Bush -stubborn in policy --> bad results
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Circular
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-president in center; receives direct reports of all info (nothing filtered) -but then president overwhelmed with too much information and work -micromanages -decisions are slow, inefficient, and weak -carter, obama
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Ad Hoc
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-president hears all ideas at any time -good for building civic personality, but also terrible because nothing got done ever -Law of Propinquity - The Relative Influence on Presidential Decisions is defined by the physical proximity to the President. -clinton
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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Office that prepares the president's annual budget proposal, reviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analyses of proposed bills and agency rules.
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Executive Office of the President (EOP)
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agencies that go around congress and report directly to the president/appointments confirmed by senate -office of management & budget (OMB) -CIA -Council of Econ. affairs (think long-term economics) -office of personnel management -US trade rep (foreign affairs/UN)
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Triangulation
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A term describing the act of a political candidate essentially "stealing" another's platform or political ideologies in order to better his or her own chances of winning the election.
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Federal Reserve
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A non-political Independent Agency that controls the money supply and inflation rates within the United States through monetary policy.
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Environmental Protection Agency
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An agency of the US federal gov't created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
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Internal Revenue Service
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Independent Regulatory Agency; Under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.
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Independent Regulatory Agencies
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-heads of agencies serve fixed terms to remove bias -confirmed by the senate and work for senate (a-political) -make regulations to put laws into action -review state compliance laws to determine allocation of federal funds -EPA, Fed, Dept. of Education
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Administrative Regulations
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Governs the activities of administrative agencies of the government. Considered a branch of public law.
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Captured Agencies
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A regulatory agency created by the government whose decisions are influence and heavily affected by interest groups that the agency is designated to regulate
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National Security Act 1947
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-created national security agency headed by the NSC (pres., vp, sec. of state, sec. of defense) -coordinated efforts of defense and war depts. -created CIA and air force -created National Security Defense Directive, which authorized covert activity
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National Security Council
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Responsible for advising the President regarding foreign and defense policy; includes President, VP, Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense
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National Security Advisor
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Member of the Executive Office of the President who serves as chief advisor for national security
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National Security Agency
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Created under the National Security Act and headed officially by the National Security Council -primarily responsible for gathering intelligence from electronic and non-electronic sources and for breaking foreign information transmission codes
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Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
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Executive Agency that covertly gathers information and investigates intelligence about foreign affairs
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Covert operations
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Usually led by the CIA, Presidential military action that do not require the approval of Congress or a declaration of war. Made possible legally under the War Powers Act.
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NSDD
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"National Security Decision Directives" -directives issued under the Reagan administrations which carried the full force and effect of the law through the form of an executive order
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Watergate
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-scandal under Nixon that linked him to a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and involved the "plumbers" that broke in being funded by the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) which was non-constitutional (and lacked congressional approval) funded with federal dollars and also involved Nixon refusing to hand over incriminating tapes that were found to be edited
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Woodward and Bernstein
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A team of investigators who, during their investigation of Watergate, discovered incriminating information regarding many members of Congress that lots of them to resign from office.
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4th Branch/4th Estate
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A term used to describe another group that, like the three existing branches of government, has a large influence and holds a great deal of power in US politics. Examples include the media, the people of the US, and large interest groups that lobby agencies for preferable legislation.
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Attack Journalism
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Journalism and media work that targets political figures. Began after the Watergate scandal when the "gentleman's agreement" between the media and public figures to keep out of personal lives was broken.
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Horse Race Journalism
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political journalism of elections that resembles coverage of horse races because of the focus on polling data, public perception instead of candidate policy, and almost exclusive reporting on candidate differences rather than similarities. Known to be a very negative subject in politics.
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Budget and Impoundment Control Act
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-reaction to nixon's fight with congress over budget and enforcement of civil rights laws -adams v. richardson: if congress gives the money, the president must spend it and enforce the law UNLESS he can site an emergency divergence of the funds (bush did this when he diverted the nclb funds to the war in iraq)
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Independent Counsel Act
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-independent counsel act -reaction of nixon firing his own personal investigator (cox) -if president hires a personal investigator or counselor, he cannot fire him/her
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War Powers Act
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-president can take troops, but must gain congrss' approval within 60 days or they will be removed -carter took it seriously, but was then viewed as a weakling -reagan did it correctly but was caught in a scandal -bush set the current use of the act: before taking the troops, get congressional approval of the budget and define what success would look like
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Iran-Contra Affair
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Reagan administration, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.
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Wilson's Theory for Presidential Success
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A. Must Control Executive Staff B. Must Control Executive Bureaucracy C. Must Frame the Debate of Issues - Media Relations D. Must Have Popular Support E. Must Have Support in Congress (most to least important)
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James Barber and the Presidential Character
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-if one understands the president's personality, he can predict how the president will act in office -predicted that nixon would have an incomplete presidency due to character flaws
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Character Matrix
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-it's essential to study the president's background and family life growing up (nixon's messed up childhood essentially doomed his presidency) -sense of right vs. wrong, self-esteem level -integrity (how would you act if you knew you wouldn't get caught?)
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Philosophies of the Presidency
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Three types of presidents, constitutionalist, stewardship, and prerogative. These show the president's theory of the extent of his own powers and what he is willing to do in his presidency
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Constitutionalist
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-powers restrained by constitution -constitution must give permission for action -taft, carter
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Stewardship
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-justify each action as a service -president can act until the constitution specifically prohibits -teddy roosevelt
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Prerogative
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-president can do what he wants in spite of law, constitution, congress, or courts (honey badger theory) -must convince the people he is responding to a "crisis" (wwii, civil war) -reason of state doctrine (I'm doing it to protect the state)
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Arthur Schlesigner
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framers created a democracy deadlock -if government is too efficient it impedes liberty -but government needs power to regulate the oppressors (big corporations) framers were newtonians -checks & balances are mutual forces of gravity -only a strong president makes the system work, especially in times of crisis
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Revolutionary Presidency
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-war on depression -coattail effect: president gets congresspeople into power, claims they need him to get reelected (they "rode in on his coattail) so they must pass his legislation to return the favor -huge increase in presidential power
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Role of Crisis
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Presidents have used crisis and issues pertaining to national security as a means to gain extra-Constitutional authority.
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Clinton's Impeachment
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Charges were brought against Clinton for perjury. The trial went to the Senate, but Clinton focused on foreign policy and economy was booming so his popularity went up. Then the skeletons in the closet for the Republicans trying to impeach him came out, so he was acquitted.
