Essay 14 President's power over Congress

2008-2)A number of factors enable presidents to exert influence over Congress in the area of domestic policy. However, presidents are also limited in their influence over domestic policymaking in Congress.

-The Constitution grants the president certain enumerated powers. Describe two of these formal powers that enable the president to exert influence over domestic policy.

-Choose two of the following. Define each term and explain how each limits the president’s ability to influence domestic policy making in Congress.

*Mandatory spending

*Party polarization

*Lame-duck period

 1. The Constitution grants the president certain enumerated powers. Two of these formal powers that enable the president to exert influence over domestic policy are Legislative powers such as vetoing, and calling Congress into session.

2. Spending not controlled by annual budget decisions is called Mandatory spending. It limits the president’s ability to influence domestic policy making in Congress by being difficult to make budget cuts that might accomplish policy goals.

Party polarization is when there is increased inter-party differences. It limits the president’s ability to influence domestic policy making in Congress because an Opposing party may block policy goals.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_us_gopo_q2.pdf

Essay 13 Congressional Reapportionment

2008-1) Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
(b) Define congressional redistricting.
(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
(d) Describe two limits that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting.

A. Congressional reapportionment is the reallocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives. It is important because more representatives mean that a state has more influence.

B. Congressional redistricting is the drawing/redrawing of House/congressional (not Senate) district lines

C. Two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting are to enhance political party strength/to minimize the strength of the opposition party and to protect incumbents/to discourage challengers.

D. Two limits that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting are that districts must be equally populated and communities of interest must be protected.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_gopo_us_sgs.pdf

The Spill

1. Smith, Martin. "The Spill." PBS. PBS, 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-spill/>.

This frontline investigation dives into the issue of BP's leadership failing to create a culture of safety in the massive new company. BP was so desperate to get the most oil and spend the least amount of money but while doing so the company left behind a trail of mounting problems: deadly accidents, disastrous spills, countless safety violations. The company would promise to do better and pay off people to cover up their mistakes. For BP profits always came before safety.

2. Pelley, Scott. "Blowout: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 16 May 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blowout-the-deepwater-horizon-disaster-16-05-2010/>.

 In the Gulf of Mexico, a gusher was unleashed that continues to spew crude oil. There isn't a reliable estimate of exactly how much oil is pouring out but the total comes to many millions of gallons. The "Deepwater Horizon" was one of the most sophisticated drilling rigs in the world until there was an explosion that sunk it and killed eleven men in the process. Once again, this shows the number of shortcuts BP takes around safety precautions to cut cost and time. BP pressured the crew on the rig to keep pushing when it wasn't safe because they didn't want to loose any more money.

3. Cohen, Mike. "South Africa Oil-Stake Demand Risks Derailing New Industry." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-10/south-africa-oil-stake-demand-risks-derailing-fledgling-industry.html>.

Essay 12 Trust in Government

2004_4
3) Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.
(a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response
(b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
(c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior. 

A) When one party controls the White House, and another controls one or both houses of Congress it is a divided government. Divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government because of heightened partisanship.

B) Increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government because candidates must spend more time raising money

C) Two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior are Protest and decline in voter turnout.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap04_sg_gopo_us_37090.pdf

Essay 11 Incumbent Reelection Rates

(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following 
tasks. (Fig 12.1)
a) identify two patterns displayed in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process


A) two patterns displayed in the graph are the House typically has higher incumbency rates than Senate and Rates of incumbency are more stable in the House than in the Senate

B) 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage are Access to media and Campaign finance

C) one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process is that we would have
More established relations with interest groups

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf