The Presidency: Double Expectations gap

-The gap between presidential promises and the president’s limited constitutional powers.

-the gap between the symbolic role as controversy at the constitutional convention:

Issue of debate àre-eligibility

                          àLength of term

                          à The Election Process

                          àThe powers of the President

Qualifications for office:presedent

-Chosen by Electoral College for a 4 year term

-Natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident for at least 14 years.

-Succeeded in office by the Vice President.

-The president can be removed from office for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

 where does Impeachment Process begain?

-The full house debates and votes on the Articles of Impeachment.

-The Articles are sent to the senate where a trial is held.

- A 2/3 vote will result in conviction

Executive Powers:

-Chief administrator-Head of the Executive Branch

-Commander-in-Chief-Commander of all U.S. military forces.

-Chief foreign Policy Maker –Through the state department and department of defense.

The most senior appointed officers of the executive branch

-Chosen by the president and confirmed by a simple majority in the senate

-Part of the Presidential line of succession.

Legislative Powers:

The presentment clause of the Constitution requires all Bills passed by Congress be presented to the President. There are three options:

                        -sign the legislation

                        -veto

                        -take no action (the bill dies)

-nomination of Federal Judges

-U.S. Court of Appeals

-U.S. Supreme Court

-Granting Pardons

Executive privilege:

Allows the President to resist certain subpoenas by the legislative and judicial branch.

Allows the President to withhold information in the name of National Security.

-A connection of executive office of the President

-Serves the President in implementing his vision across the Executive Branch

Council of Economic Advisors:

-Offers the President objective economic advice

-Bases its recommendations and analysis on economic research and empirical evidence

National Security Council:

-The President’s principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior advisors.

the person who oversees the operations of all White House staff and controls access to the President.

Vice President:

-Used to be chosen to balance the ticket; had little real power

-Recent Vice Presidents have had significant roles.

Government of Texas:

Qualifications

-At least 30 years old

-U.S. citizen

-A resident of TX for at least 5 years proceeding election

-Appointments- allow government to place allies in strategic locations in the State government.

-Budgetary Powers- limited formal influence in the process

-Military and  police powers- Commander-in-Chief of the TX National Guard

Message Power:

gov of texas

-The government is required to speak:

-at the opening of the legislative Commission

-to address the budget every 2 years

-to close the legislative session

An organization characterized by:

                              -hierarchal structure

                              -Worker specialization

                              -Explicit rules

                              -Advancement by merit

Food and Drug Agency

                            Environmental Protection Agency

                            U.S. Department of Agriculture

- Bureaucratic Jobs are governed by rules rather than by bureaucrats own  feelings of judgments about how the job should be done.

The practice of firing government workers of a defeated party and replacing them with loyalists of the victor’s party.

System in which a successful candidate rewards friends, contributors, and party loyalists for their support with jobs, contracts, and favors.

Why is Bureaucracy Necessary?

-Large tasks require organization and specialization

-Routine tasks and administration are handled by bureaucrats.

Accountability:

The principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable for their performance to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command.

Organization: of a buraucacy

-Cabinet: level departments

-Independent agencies

-regulatory boards and commissions

-government corporations

Departments:

-One of the Major subdivisions of the federal government, represented in the president’s cabinet.

-Government organization independent of the department but with a narrow policy focus.

Ex: social security association

Individual regulation boards and Commissions:

-Government organization that regulates various businesses, individual, or economic sectors.

Ex: Food and d Drug Administration

Government Corporations:

Government Sponsored Enterprises:

-Giant financial organization to set up credit sponsored by the government.

: individual who publicizes instances of fraud, corruption, or other wrongdoing in the bureaucracy

-When is rocking the bureaucratic boat (blowing the whistle) a good thing, and when is it not?

Deep-throat- Watergate

Whistleblower protection act of 1989:

-Established and independent agency to protect employees from being fred, demoted, or otherwise punished for exposing wrong doing.

·         Judiciary Act of 1789

-Adopted in the 1^st session of the 1^st U.S. Congress

-Established the U.S. Federal Judiciary

-Set the number of the Supreme Court Justices at 6

-Created 13Judicial districts

·         Courts with original jurisdiction

-U.S. district courts

-State trial courts

·         Courts with appellate jurisdiction

-U.S. courts of appeals

-State intermediate appellate courts

-State Supreme Courts

·         Court with both original and appellate jurisdiction

-U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court:

·         Nine Justices (very political)

·         Appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate

·         Serve lifetime terms

·         Can be impeached

Choosing which cases to hear:

·         Petitioning the Supreme Court

-Writs of certiorari (8,000 petition per year but they only hear about 80-100 cases); (less than 5% heard)

-Other influences, including whether U.S. government is a party in the case (70-80% government cases heard)

·         External factors incourt cases

-Public opinion

-Executive branch (solicitor general)

-Amicus briefs (Friend of the court)

-Intra-court relationships

Writing Opinions:

-Chief Justice, if in the majority, will assign this opinion to someone else in the majority.

-If chief justice is in the minority, senior—most justice in the majority assigns the opinion.

Kelo vs. the city of New London:

·         2005 supreme court case—In a 5-4 decision ruled that private property could be seized by the government in order to further economic development in a region.

·         SC expanded the notion of eminent domain (public use)

: The process by which we learn our Political orientations and  allegiences.

Agents of socialization:

-family

-school

-mass media

-religion

-political parties

The process by which a majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable speaking in opposition.

: The state of being uninformed about politics because of the cost and time and energy.

the predictable rise and fall of a president’s popularity at different stages of a term in office

Provide security for people and their property so that we may go about our daily lives in relative harmony.

--Predictability, allowing us to plan our activities and go about our business without fearing random judgment that tells us we broke a law we never knew existed.

--Laws are known in advance and identify punishable behaviors lead to the third function of laws in a democracy, that of conflict resolution, through neutral third parties known as courts.

--Distribute the benefits and rewards society has to offer and to allocate the costs of those good things, whether they are welfare benefits, civil rights protection, or tax breaks.

A legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly—judge-made law.

Laws whose content, or substance, define what we can or cannot do.

Laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced—how legal proceedings take place.

regulating interactions between individuals; violation of a civil law is called a tort

Law stated in the Constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about meaning of the Constitution handed down in the courts.

Laws passed by a state or the federal legislature. 

Law established by the bureaucracy, on behalf of the Congress.

Clarifications of congressional policy issued by the president and having the full force of law.

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

Characteristics of the Supreme Court

those who adhere to judicial activism are quote comfortable with the idea of overturning procedures, exercising judicial review, and otherwise making decisions that shape government policy.