Top 20 Topics
The Incumbency Advantage
Determines outcome of congressional elections
House incumbency is more important than Senate
incumbency
Incumbency is helped by “pork-barrel” politics
Use franking privilege to stay in touch with their
constituents
Federalism
A system of government with power divided by written constitution
between a central and regional governments
Federal government prevails over state governments
Necessary and proper clause, commerce clause, Civil Rights Acts of
1964, categorical grants, and federal mandates increase the power of
the federal government
Amending the Constitution
Power of interest groups in federalist system
Selection of Supreme Court Justices
Appointed by the president and confirmed (majority) by
the Senate
Systems of checks and balances
Presidents will choose candidates that represent their pov
Judicial activism
Judicial restraint
The Electoral College
The President and VP are not elected by a direct vote
Winner take all system based on plurality
Hard for 3rd parties to succeed
Campaign focuses on the most populous states
If no majority, vote goes to the HofR where each state gets 1 vote
each
Benefits small states
African American Voting Patterns
Support Democratic presidential candidates since New Deal
Support the more liberal a candidate
At times, AA have a higher voting rate than whites
Voter Turnout
In the US lower than most western democracies
Most do not vote in nonpresidential election
More education; more likely to vote
More income; more likely to vote
Older people more likely to vote
Women more likely to vote
Define political efficacy
Divided Government
Define
Heightens partisanship
President use the media to get public support; threaten veto
Political Action Committees
PACs
Support incumbents in the House strongly
Limited amount of contributions
Super PACs
Vetoes
Checks and balances
Pocket veto – rules
Threats of veto to get Congress to modify the bill
Congress is usually unable to override a presidential veto
The President and the Cabinet
President appoints cabinet heads; Senate approves; President can
fire w/o Senate approval
Presidents have problems controlling cabinet departments because
of the iron triangles with interest groups and congressional
committees
Presidential Primaries
Primaries weakened party control of process
Closed primary, voters required to identify party preference
Dems use a proportional system to award delegates
Primary voters are usually activist, older, and more affluent
Frontloading
Standing Committees and the Seniority
System
Permanent bodies; focus on particular area; specialized expertise
among members
All bills referred to standing committees – amended, passed, or
killed
Divided into subcommittees
Use to be senior members as chairs, now by elected
House Rules Committee is the most important. Sets calendar, types
of amendments allowed, time for debate
The Federalist Papers
Federalist #10 Madison argued that political factions are
undesirable but inevitable
Factionalism would be limited by republican form of
government
The size of the United States would fragment political
power and limit the threat of majority and minority factions
th
14
The
Amendment and Selective
Incorporation
Made African Americans citizens
Due process forbids a state from acting in an unfair or arbitrary way;
Equal protection clause forbids a state from discriminating against or
drawing unreasonable distinctions between persons
Uses 14th amendment to extend most of the requirements of the Bill
of Rights to the states
Political Socialization
Process by which political values are formed
Passed from one generation to the next
Family the most important agent of political socialization
Critical Election
Groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty
(1800, 1860, 1896, 1936, 1980, 2008)
Trigger party realignment
Selection of Supreme Court cases
Most come from appellate jurisdiction
Lawyer applies for a writ of certiorari
Rule of four
Supreme court issues the writ
The Mass Media
Affects which issues the public think are important
Influence the government’s policy agenda
Focus on polls and the horse race aspect of journalism
Cult of personality and sound bite
No real in depth analysis
19 and 20
The Articles
Role of state legislatures
Set up Congressional districts
Ratify constitutional amendments