In-Class
Notes: 23 Feb 2004
Current
Events
- Kerry
à “electability”
- Jose
Pedilla à supreme court; been
held for over 2 years and sued for release (unconstitutional executive
order?)
- Bush
appointed Judge XXX while Congress was in recess
- The
judge stays until the end of this Congress in two years
- Gay
Marriage: Equal Protection Clause gives it national jurisdiction
Class
Discussion
- Congress
at home is Congress on exhibition (in DC is at work)
- Factions
cannot be gotten rid of because to do so you must: 1) change everyone’s
opinion or 2) take away liberty)
In-Class Notes: 25 Feb 2004
- Focused
primarily on current events, namely gay marriage rights
In-Class Notes: 27 Feb 2004
- Discussed
how the internet affects politics using Serow #25 (The Web of Politics) as a foundation for discussion
In-Class Notes: 01 Mar 2004
- Two
former Congressman discussed their former roles in government and their
views on several complicated issues
In-Class Notes: 03 Mar 2004
- Discussed
Chapter 8
- President
– all about power; Framers worried about monarchy so they gave the post
limited powers
- Room
for expansion in Constitution: “he shall take care to ensure the laws are
faithfully executed”
- Framers
trusted Washington to define the
Presidency and set precedents
- Whiskey
Rebellion – Supremacy of federal power
§
Jay
Treat – GW presents the treaty to Congress and says they can only approve or disapprove it and not edit it (treaty established trade
with Britain with some concessions)
§
Declared
neutrality in the war between England and France; not explicit power, but
became precedent (“inherent power”)
- Abuse
of power by Presidents
- Successful
- Jefferson – Louisiana Purchase; stretches power to
allow pres to act in the country’s best interests
- Lincoln - suspends writ of habeas
corpus and blockades south without Congressional approval
- FDR
– New Deal
- T.
Roosevelt – Panama Canal; pushes bills into and through
Congress
- Unsuccessful
- Nixon
– did not have the country in mind when he abused his power
-
- Views
on Presidential power
- Congressionalist
– the president has no power in policy creation
- Presidentialist
– the president has power and right in policy creation
o
Stewardship
Theory – the president has the duty and responsibility to execute laws and
anything else in the country’s best interests
In-Class Notes: 05 Mar 2004
o
MacArthur
owed it to his men to try and fight most effectively and save American lives
In-Class Notes: 29 Mar 2004
- Original
Branches of Bureaucracy: Treasury, War, Foreign Policy
- 16th
Amendment – money from this allowed the bureaucracy to grow
- 15
Major Cabinet Depts – big special interest group for each
- Big
4 – DoD, Justice, State, Treasurey
- Other
11 – Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services,
Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Interior, Labor,
Transportation, Veterans Affairs
- Independent
Executive Agencies – big with a small focus; service focus
- Independent
Regulatory Commission regulates the way business operates
In-Class Notes: 31 Mar 2004
- Serow
#40
- Many
amateurs appointed with each new admin
- Characteristics:
Cynical, untrusting, resentful … but also experienced, connected, have
ideas, etc
- G5
to G11 know the Bureaucracy, have ideas, and make the policy
- Serow
#41
- Must
know limitations
- Must
be proative; can’t catch up through reacting
In-Class Notes: 05 Apr 2004
- Gallup polls are stratified
polls
- Based
on demographics à get same % of blacks
in polls as blacks in US, etc
- +/-
2-3% error
- Political
socialization also known as political ideology
- Ginsburg:
Polling gets passive voters; people who write are passionate and will
certainly vote (active voters)
In-Class Notes: 07 Apr 2004
- Caucuses
are public forums
- Those
not informed are less likely to go
- Intimidating
- Reelection
rates for senators about 94-95%