AP US Gov Presidency Notes

11/14/11

How the president is elected: The electoral college

v 538 Votes

Ø  435- HOR

Ø  100 Senate

Ø  3- DC

Ø  Every state is guaranteed 3 votes

Ø  Winner takes all

Ø  Popular vote matters politically but not legally

v Defects of the Electoral College

Ø  Voters are disenfranchised

¨     Each state has its own individual election

¨     Winner takes all

Ø  Faithless electors

¨     Legally, the electors can go against what the people voted for

¨     The states have said that the political parties pick the electors.  Both parties pick electors (example- 31 in NY)  based on party loyalty (can’t be national government officials), and whichever candidate wins in that state, that party’s electors vote the electoral votes to make sure the popular vote is honored

¨     There have been 9 faithless electors in history, but they never swung an election

Ø  Elections can be thrown into the House (only happened twice, and hasn’t happened since the 1820s)

¨     Vote by state delegation- each state gets one vote

v Proposed reforms and their potential “defects”

Ø  Direct Popular Vote

¨     Get rid of the electoral college and choose the president solely on the popular vote

¨     Defects

¡ Will hurt small states- they will be completely ignored

¡ Requires amending the constitution (so it is unlikely that this will happen)

Ø  Proportional plan

¨     Electoral votes are given out based on the percentage of the popular votes they got in that state

¨     Would not require amending the constitution because the states determine how electoral votes are voted (Nebraska and Maine do not have winner takes all)

¨     Will benefit 3^rd parties

¨     Defects

¡ It will make it harder to get 270 majority votes needed to win an election (because 3^rd parties will be able to get electoral votes), and will throw more elections to the House to decide the president

11/15/11

Ø  District Plan

¨     Instead of tallying all the state votes together, there are mini presidential elections in each House district, and the winner of each district will get 1 vote

¨     At large- the 2 electoral votes based on the Senate will be given out to the candidate who wins the most popular votes within the state

¨     Gets rid of winner takes all

¨     Maine and Nebraska use this (the states are allowed to choose how to delegate their electoral votes)

¨     Defects

¡ 3^rd parties can win votes and will make it harder to get a majority

¡ It is still possible for a candidate to lose the election even if he/she won the popular vote

¡ Can lead to more gerrymandering- will redraw the districts to affect the presidential elections

Ø  National Popular Vote Plan

¨     Does not require amending the constitution

¨     Would honor the candidate who won the national popular vote- whoever got more votes nationwide would win the presidency

¨     Individual states will agree to give their electoral to the person who wins the national popular vote

¨     This plan will go into affect once they have enough states that agree to the plan whose electoral votes add up to 270 (majority required to win the election)

¨     This plan adopts the direct popular vote without amending the constitution

¨     Defects

¡ Small states will be ignored

11/16/11

v Early flaws in the system

Ø  1800 tie in the electoral college because the system was flawed

¨     Formation of political parties in the 1790s

¡ In 1796 the president was federalist and the vice president was democratic-republican (back then, electors would get two votes, and the person who got the most votes became president and the person who got the 2^nd most votes became the vice president)

¡ In 1796 electors were no longer free agents making the best decision for the government.  With the rise of parties, electors were picked and voted on party loyalty

¡ Since voters vote for the same 2 people (president and vice president) based on party, ties began

11/17/11

The President

v The President

Ø  Has become more powerful throughout the years

Ø  Our leader is very unique opposed to all of the other presidents and leaders in other countries

¨     The US president is both the head of state (represents all of us.  Example- when Bush went to ground 0 after 9/11) and the chief executive (runs the executive branch- he is in charge of all the agencies and appoints the heads of the agencies which the senate confirms)

¨     This makes us unique, because in England the head of state is the queen and the chief executive is the prime minister.  In Israel, the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the chief executive

¨     We’re the only country that combines the 2 roles

¨     Our president has the “reigns and the rule”- he has the opportunity to talk to the entire nation because of his combined status

11/21/11

v The different roles or “many hats” of the president

Ø  Chief of state

Ø  Commander in Chief

Ø  Chief Legislature

Ø  Chief Executive- runs the executive branch and enforces the laws (Take Care Clause- “he shall take care that the Laws be faithfully executed” Article II section 3)

Ø  Chief Diplomat- representative to foreign countries (“he shall receive ambassadors and public ministers”)

Ø  Chief of Party

Ø  Chief Citizen- represents/protects the people against private corporations

Ø  Chief Administrator- in charge of all the government agencies

Ø  The real influence of the president is based on politics and public opinion

v Why has presidential power increased since the writing of the constitution?

Ø  Media

¨     TV, radio, internet

¨     President can directly communicate with the people

¨     Also weakens the party because presidents don’t need them to run their campaign- they can just use the media

Ø  War

¨     War is so much quicker and we need to make decisions quicker

¨     Advent of the nuclear arsenal- president decides when to use nuclear weapons and does not need Congress’ involved

Ø  One nation

¨     We used to not be connected (people referred to the United States in plural)

¨     This started to change in the late 1800s because of industrialization- railroads, factories, trade

¨     Now we look more towards the national government, specifically the president, for solutions to national issues (pollution, monopolies, etc)

¨     One nation represented/personified by one person.  How?

¡ The Civil War

¢ The idea of states seceding ended after the Civil War- the national government forced them to stay

¢ This was the beginning of the one nation under one leader idea because states could no longer break away

¡ Industrialization

¢ Railroads

¢ Monopolies

¢ Federal Income Tax- the national government collecting taxes from everyone brought us closer together

¡ WWI

¡ Expanded suffrage

¡ Prohibition

¢ Banning alcohol throughout the country strengthens the national government by making us one country under one set of laws

¡ Great Depression

¡ WWII

¡ The Cold War

¡ Nuclear weapons

¡ 9/11

¡ Globalization

¡ Digital age

11/22/11

v Do we have an imperial presidency?

Ø  Lind- yes!

¨     Imperial presidencies began with Nixon

¨     Aspects of out of control presidencies

¡ Growth of White House staff

¢ They have a lot of power because the president picks them and the Senate does NOT have to confirm

¢ Many scandals have come from the White House staff because they are willing to do anything to get the president reelected

¢ More power has shifted from Senate confirmed staff to White House staff because Senate can check the officials they approve

¡ Presidents wage war at will and ignoring the War Powers Resolution

¢ Congress has the power to declare war.  We haven’t declared was since WWII, yet we have been in many military conflicts

¡ Fast track legislation

¢ Put a time limit on debate for a bill and do not allow amendments

¢ Usually on bills that deal with treaties for trade

¨     Tribune of the Masses

¡ Presidents feel that since they represent the people directly so they can do whatever they want

¡ Lind counters this idea

¢ Presidents don’t represent the entire constituency because not everyone supports them

¢ During the Civil War, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus to protect the people, and backed it by the Constitution (it was legal.  He didn’t just do whatever he wanted with the excuse that he represents the people.  He did the right thing legally, following the letter of the law).  Lincoln used presidential power, but he had Congress’ approval, unlike Jackson and Wilson who did whatever they wanted

¡ President was not meant to be partisan

¨     Signing statement

¡ Example of out of control presidency

¡ When a president signs a bill but says that he won’t follow certain parts because he feels they violate the Constitution

¡ Lind says this is unconstitutional because it is like the line item veto, which the president is not allowed to do (Hoxie says that the president can use signing statements because the president has an obligation to faithfully execute the law and vows to uphold the Constitution, so if there is something the president feels is unconstitutional, how can he enforce it?)

¨     How can we stop imperial presidencies?

¡ Put more emphasis on Congress (speaker day, Congress memorials, etc.)

¡ Not having separate presidential libraries for every president.  All the presidents’ papers should be in one library, which will lead to less deification of presidents

¡ Adopt a multiparty/proportional system.  If many parties run, it forces the president to build coalitions and take officials from different political parties and accommodate the interests of other people and parties, which will lessen the president’s power

Ø  Hoxie

¨     The president is weak

¡ Separation of powers

¡ Political parties are weak, which hurts the presidency

¡ Iron triangles

¢ Interest groups, Congress/committees, and bureaucratic agencies write legislation and decide how legislation will be enforced with the president out of the process

¡ We need the president to act.  Tribune of the masses is a good thing, because you want a president who can act representing the people.  Democracy is protected by the presidency

11/28/11

Who is under the president?  What kind of control does he have over them?

v Offices of the President

Ø  Cabinet

¨     15 cabinet departments (textbook says 14- newest one is Homeland Security, which was created in 2004)

¨     Cabinet was not written in the Constitution

¨     The president and the cabinet sometimes fight, because the president will focus on overall needs and the cabinet secretaries focus on what’s important for that department

¨     Cabinet departments have a lot of influence and a huge budget

¨     How does the president choose the cabinet secretaries?

¡ All nominees have to be vetted (search their personal background)

¡ In past times secretaries were chosen because they had their own political followings.  The president was pressured to choose certain people who were well known, popular, and respected

¢ This is no longer prominent because political parties are weaker (the party used to promote people)

¢ No longer concerned with people who are popular and will help the presidency

¡ Academia- choose people who are knowledgeable of the topic and qualified for the job as opposed to prominent politicians (current secretary of energy is a noble prize winning physicist)

¡ In-and-Outers- experienced people who used to be in government

¡ Political considerations- pick people based on gender and race to satisfy interest groups who pressure the president because they helped him get elected

Ø  Executive Office

¨     Agencies created to serve the needs of the president

¨     Provide the president with specific information

¨     Examples

¡ OMB- Office of Management and Budget

¢ Give the president budget plans

¡ CIA

¢ Provide the president with information every day

Ø  White House Office

¨     Serve policy and political goals of the president

¨     Help president get reelected and Congress pass the president’s goals

¨     Does not have Senate confirmation (some people feel this is a problem and causes scandals and corruption)

¨     Has grown a lot over the years

Ø  Executive agencies (cabinet departments and executive office) are different from independent agencies in how they are elected and removed.  Members of executive agencies that are appointed by the president with Senate confirmation can be removed at any time for any reason by the president (serve at the pleasure of the president)

v Independent Agencies

Ø  A board of governors supervises an independent agency

¨     Most boards supervise the economy (something you don’t want the president to have influence over)

¨     Serve fixed terms depending on the agency

¨     Chosen by the president and confirmed by the Senate

¨     It’s staggered to prevent corruption (one president does not choose every board member at a time.  Board members are chosen in different years)

¨     There is a board of governors for every agency

Ø  Independent because once they are confirmed by the Senate they can only be removed for cause (they have to do something illegal to be fired)

Ø  Get their power because they have expertise that the legislative and executive branches do not have

11/30/11

The Watergate Scandals

v The Pentagon Papers (before Watergate)

Ø  Daniel Ellsberg worked for the defense department and released papers of information to the press that showed that the government was lying about the Vietnam War

Ø  It was a big embarrassment for the government

Ø  Nixon tried to prevent this, but the Supreme Court ruled that it was against freedom of the press

Ø  Once the papers were released, Nixon used the CIA to go after Ellsberg, which was illegal- you cannot use the CIA to spy on other Americans

Ø  People were also sent to break into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office to get some dirt on Ellsberg, and they were helped by the CIA which was illegal

v Nixon felt that he acted to help the average American (the silent majority) who will suffer if liberals take over.  Nixon used this as a justification for all his actions.  Nixon was very paranoid

v Beginning of the culture wars

Ø  The conservative idea of the real American vs. the liberal “anti Americans”

Ø  Disagreements over civil issues (like abortion, civil rights, etc)

Ø  Nixon took this to a high level to ensure that people voted for him

Ø  After the extreme liberalism of the 60s, the people shifted towards conservatism

v What happened at Watergate?

Ø  Five burglars (plumbers) were caught breaking into the Democratic Party to wire tap

Ø  This was connected back to the White House- heads of Nixon’s reelection committee were behind it.  Also, the president tried to cover it up (one of his impeachment charges).  Nixon tried to cover up the scandal, but it was never proven that he was behind it

Ø  Nixon resigned because he was going to be impeached

¨     He covered up the Watergate wire taps

¨     It came out that Nixon had recorded conversations in the White House, and he did not want to give up the tapes to the Senate

¡ Executive Privilege- the conversations that a president has with his advisors should be secret.  Congress should not have access to these conversations

¢ An advisor would not give the president honest advice if he knew that what he says will be released to Congress

¢ Separation of powers- Congress does not have the right to access these recordings

v U.S. vs. Nixon

Ø  Supreme Court said that executive privilege does exist and the president can use it, but when it comes to a criminal case a president cannot use executive privilege because it could corrupt the government and political process

Ø  à Nixon was forced to give over the tapes, and the tapes had on them Nixon talking about covering up the scandal

12/1/11

v Result of the scandals

Ø  Supreme Court made a decision on the executive privilege

Ø  War Powers Act

¨     Nixon lied about how he was carrying out the Vietnam War à Congress found out and passed the War Powers Act to restrict the president’s war making powers

¨     Congress does not always enforce this act

Ø  Campaign Finance Law passed 1974

¨     For the first time a limit was put on individual donations to candidates ($1,000)

¨     You have to file paperwork with the government when you donate to know where the money is coming from and going

¨     A key provision was that corporations and unions cannot give money to candidates from their general funds (they can set up a pac to raise money, but pacs can only give $5,000 to an individual candidate)

Ø  Budget Impoundment Act 1974

¨     When Congress allocates money the president has to spend it

Ø  People feel that Nixon during Watergate came close to an imperial presidency, but the government system worked and prevented Nixon from completely becoming an imperial president

Ø  People also lost faith in the government during and after Nixon’s presidency

12/2/11

Lanahan- Cronin

v Paradoxes

Ø  We wont the president to be strong, but we get nervous when the president is too strong and has too much power

Ø  We want the president to be like a common person (George W. Bush presented himself like a common man, unlike his father, George H.W. Bush, who was seen as an elitist, which is one of the reasons why he didn’t get reelected) and not an elitist, yet we want someone who is better than us

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