2014 FRQ #4: Stephanie Yeh, Daniel Szewczyk, Michael Thornhill, Stanley Harcharan

5 points total

A) Party Polarization is emerging differences in political ideologies. (1 point)
B) The identifiable tend shown in the graph above is that the distance between parties are parallel between the house and senate. (1 point)
C) Two causes of party polarization in Congress are 1) internet groups  and 2) differences in party issues. (2 points)
D)  If parties are extremely polarized then congressional policy will be hampered and eventually cause gridlock. (1 point)

2014 AP US Gov FRQ #3 (Woojung, Faisal, Daniella, Atinderpal, and Asmaaul)

AFT (Woojung, Faisal, Daniella, Atinderpal, and Asmaaul)

2014 AP US Gov FRQ

#3

6 points

(a) Two enumerated powers Congress has in the foreign policy making are ratifying treaties and declaring war.

(b) Two expressed powers the president has in making foreign policy is receiving foreign ambassadors and executive agreements.

(c) Executive agreements expand the president’s ability to implement foreign policy is that the president does not have confer with Congress so that Congress cannot check the power of the President.

(d) Presidential approval ratings can limit the president’s ability to implement foreign policy because in order to obtain better approval ratings, the president must make sure that the people are in favor of the foreign policy being implemented.

2014 Question #1 Hila, Emily, Yvonne 6 Points

1a. The Federalists believed in a strong central government while the anti- Federalists believed in a weak central government.

1b. One feature of the original Constitution that has led to a growth in the power of the national government is the necessary and proper clause. Another feature of the original Constitution that has led to a growth in the power of the national government is the power of POTUS to issue executive orders.

1c. The First amendment protects the rights of the individuals when it comes to religion, assembly, speech, press, and petition.

The Tenth amendment gives powers to the states by allowing them to have the powers that are not given to the federal government.

1d. Under the Equal protection clause, the same rights are given to the citizens by state laws as well as federal laws.

2014 FRQ #2 Planned Parenthood: Karen, Rebecca, and Ashton

6pts FRQ #2 Planned Parenthood
Karen Su, Rebecca Duras, and Ashton Santo

2a) The Nineteenth Amendment granted universal women's suffrage and this increased the overall voting population because it increased the voter eligible population.
b)  Motor voter laws make it more convenient and easy to register to vote because when one gets his/her license from the State, one is also registered to vote. Photo identification laws decreases voter turnout because it hinders people from voting. For example, immigrants or people who work long hours.
c) Individuals with higher education levels are more likely to vote.
d) More people vote in the presidential elections because people find it more interesting and more important due to candidate-centric media coverage. The primary elections has a lower turnout compared to the general elections because mostly ideologues vote and the average voter doesn't think the general is important.

Free Response Question #2

6 points

1. One important function of political parties is to raise money. Another function is to serve as an identity so that voters can come together under a title.
2. The majority party in the House of Representatives controls the debates that take place.
3. Direct primaries eliminate the need for candidates to appeal to their party to become elected. Candidate-centered campaigns allows the candidate to stand out more than the candidate’s party, therefore voters have become more attracted to a person’s specific views other than the party’s views. 
4. Party polarization has caused political parties to become more extreme in their views instead of becoming more moderate. Therefore most members in Congress vote within their own party and do not usually vote with the opposing party. 

Free Response Question #4 (SEIU) Hila, Yvonne, Romil, Emily

4.
a) Media acts as a gatekeeper deciding what policies are important to the public.
In elections, candidates try please their constituents by implementing policies that the constituents want.

b) Congressional committees decide what bills should be presented to Congress and be voted on.
    Executive orders allow the president to implement public policy without getting congressional approval.

c)Bureaucratic discretion is when Congressional Committees or Interest Groups pressure bureaucrats to implement policy in favor of of them.
  The iron triangle balances the Bureaucracy, interest groups, and Congressional committees influence on public policy. For example, each group influences discretionary spending in the federal budget.

FRQ Question 1- AFL-CIO

A. All citizens vote on everything.

B. When citizens vote for representatives to make decisions for them.

C. The average person is not politically literate.

D. Attitudinal: voting based on personal views.

  Representational: voting based on your constituents views.

E. The interest groups help fund their campaigns so they are more likely to vote in favor of interest group views versus the views of their constituents. 

FRQ #3 Planned Parenthood – Karen, Rebecca, Ashton, Catherine, and Erin

2013 AP United States Government and Politics FRQ#3

Karen Su, Rebecca Duras, Ashton Santo, Catherine Ng, and Erin Robinson 

a) Both President Obama and President Bush have appointed federal judges that were predominately white. 

b) President Obama appointed more women and people of color than President Bush did. 

c) Republican constituents are mostly male and white, therefore Republican President Bush would be more likely to appoint justices of this demographic whereas Democratic President Obama is more likely to appoint minority groups to federal judiciaries. 

d) The President can increases the chances of having judicial nominations to federal courts confirmed by selecting an individual whose views are similar to that of the majority party in the Senate. For example Loretta Lynch has not been confirmed by the majority party in the Senate because they believe that she is too liberal.

POTUS and Bureaucracy Jeopardy!

View it HERE!