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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
The majority party in the House of Representatives controls the debates that take place.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Article 1, Section 8- Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes, pay debts, borrow money, regulate commerce, establish a rule of naturalization and bankruptcy, coin money, punish counterfeiting, establish a post office, secure patents and copyrights, create courts, punish piracies, declare war, create an army and navy, call the militia, govern District of Colombia, and apply the necessary and proper clause.
Article 1, Section 9- Congress can not regulate slave trade, suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus, pass a bill of Attainder (cannot be held without Court ruling) or ex post facto law (cannot be held if law was passed after something "illegal" happened) set taxes or duties on Articles, provide for interstate tariffs, give preferential treatment for some states, draw money from the Treasury, or grant a title of nobility.
The United States Constitution Article 1 Section 3 and 7
Article 1 Section 3
2 Senators per state
Each Senator serves a 6-year term and each get a vote
Senate is divided in three classes according to election cycles (ex. 1st class elected at the 2nd year (1/3 of the Senate is chosen during an election cycle)
Requirements: Minimum age of 30 years, 9 years inhabitant of the United States, and a resident of the State that he/she represents
United States Vice President serves as the President of the Senate. He/she doesn't get a vote unless if there's a tie.
Power of impeachment -> 2/3 vote
The power of impeachment includes kicking an elected/appointed official out of office and does not include criminal convictions.
Article 1 Section 7
Money Bills originate in the House.
The Senate is allowed to make amendments to Bills.
Every Bill has to go through both the House and the Senate before it is sent to the President to be approved to be a Law.
The President is allowed the power to approve or veto the Bill. However, 2/3 of the voting body can override the President's decision by holding a vote.
Each voter and his/her vote in favor or against the Bill has to be officially recorded.
If the President doesn't return the Bill signed after 10 days, it is considered to be signed. Unless if Congress prevents its return, then it will not be a Law.
The powers of legislation is given to Congress which consists of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2:
A Member of the House of Representatives has a two year term. They must be older than 25 years, be a citizen for at least 7 years, and live in the state which they represent.
The amount of representatives from each state is determined by population. The census will be taken every ten years to determine the population.
The executive of the state (Governor) can call for a special election if they need to fill in vacancies.
The House has the only power of impeachment.
Section 10:
States do NOT have the power to make treaties, alliances, coin Money, pass bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, or grant a title of Nobility.
The states can NOT tax imports and exports without the consent of Congress.
The states can not raise a militia or engage in war unless invaded or in imminent danger.
This article discusses how politicians have made poor decisions regarding the Ebola outbreak in the US. It lambasts both governors of Texas and New York, the two states where Ebola has emerged. Governor Rick Perry is criticized for giving off the impression that Texas Medical professionals know how to handle Ebola, which is mostly false - nurses report no training on cases of Ebola. Perry also supported travel restrictions to seal off the country from Ebola, an ineffective measure. New York is given more praise than Texas has been, but Cuomo is criticized for being too wishy washy on his stance on Ebola. He first attempted to minimize the threat of Ebola to the New York community, then reversed his position and called for a 21 day quarantine of health care professionals who return to New York. This could certainly hurt Cuomo's campaign for reelection.
With the election season in its final days, Governor Andrew Cuomo and his opponent Rob Astorino are going head to head. According to a poll by Siena College, Cuomo is leading the race 54 percent to Astorino's 33 percent. Astorino has been focusing on tearing down Cuomo's campaign by criticizing his campaign's focus on abortion rather than woman equality and the economy. He also critcizes how Cuomo has such a large fund for his campaign but still has people backing his campaign with large donations, calling him a 'gavone'. Astorino also talked about repealing the SAFE Act if he were elected. Cuomo, who hasn't ran a slander campaign like Astorino's, fought back by defending the SAFE Act's benefits and calling Astorino crazy.
In the final days of the election, it's important that both candidates are getting their name out, but they really should be focusing on their campaigns instead of their childish tactics. I would rather know why I should vote for someone than why I shouldn't vote for your opponent! Astorino, who seems to be instigating the slander camapigns should really be focusing on soley getting his platform out instead of comparing it to Cuomo's, especially since people who walked away from a recent event with his literature didn't even know who he was.
So Governor Cuomo and Republican opponent Rob Astorino had the first and possibly the last debate during this election. Cuomo explained what he has done to fix the struggling economy and corrupt government and attacked Astorino about how he is guilty of financial mismanagement as well as increasing property taxes in Westchester. Westchester has the highest property taxes of any U.S county. Then Astorino asks Cuomo about the Moreland Commission, which was disbanded abruptly. Astorino also says that Cuomo might be indicted after the election is over and he listed the possible crimes he could be convicted for. Governor Cuomo defended himself and said the commission led to worthy reforms. He also tried to paint Astorino as ultraconservative and racist using Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil war to support his claims. He also attacked Astorino on his part in a housing discrimination dispute. Astorino also attacked Cuomo on his indecision on fracking while Cuomo accused Astorino as flip flopping. He compared Astorino to Sarah palin while upstate as well as Mark Ruffalo when he's in Westchester. He also pointed out that Astorino signed a bill that banned the use of fracking wastewater to be used to de-ice roads. One thing is for sure. Does this debate weaken either candidate? But one thing is certain. Dirty politics is fun politics.
Cuomo went on a coast-to-coast, national tour talking about ebola and what to do about it instead of focusing on New York. He's running for reelection for governor and yet he does a lot of national publicity tours. He might be better off if he focused on NYC and the race he is currently running then his dream of presidency. It also really doesn't help his message when he's been saying he's working closely with DeBlasio for everyone's benefit and then leaves him in the cold.
"Cuomo has built a reputation for not playing well with others and acting the alpha male role in times of crisis. And the take-charge Cuomo famously derided Gov. George Pataki during the 2002 governor’s race as Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s “coat-holder” after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Cuomo and then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg held virtually all their public briefings separately."
"“This is more like the way the Cuomo operation works — make decisions at the last minute,” the insider said. “It’s all done at the top, and they don’t do anything (to alert other officials).”"
Cuomo needs to present a more united front and really focus on NYC.
In the race for the seat representing New York's 12th district, Nick Di Iorio is the longshot compared to his Democratic opponent, Carolyn Maloney. With almost no chance of losing in a highly Democratic district including Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, Maloney has little reason to agree to a debate with Di Iorio who, being in the same place at the same time outside the Metropolitan Opera, forced a debate for Thursday. Nonetheless, he is not the only underdog candidate who has had a hard time persuading favored candidates to debate issues, as this common practice has become more prevalent in the United States. For example, Andrew Cuomo probably will not agree to the televised debate which his opponent, Rob Astorino, has sought for after their previous debate which erupted as a one-on-one accusation brawl. I believe this practice is wrongful however, and if the candidate who is to play a role in Congress is to be guaranteed that seat, then he/she must agree to all debates and speak on all problems no matter their status. For Di Iorio, although his campaign may be completely underfunded and is struggling, I salute him for trying to do whatever he can to
get his points across and contrast them with those of Maloney.
