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 3rd
parties
¨
Defects
¡ It will make it harder to get 270 majority votes
needed to win an election (because 3rd 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
¡
3rd
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 2nd 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
Ø
v
