CHAPTER 6 1 Explain how the constitutional structure of Congress emerged during the Federal Convention the constitutional structure of Congress came out of the Great Compromise which blended the Virginia Plan with the New Jersey Plan came up with bicameralism to solve issues these two chambers are House of Reps seats allocated by population and members elected by the citizenry Serve two years to be closer to the people Senate two members from each state chosen by state legislature Serve 6 years to prevent sudden and violent passions 2 What are the powers of Congress How does each chamber differ in terms of its powers Congress is center stage in NATIONAL POLICY MAKING Article I Section 8 enumerated powers of Congress NECESSARY AND PROPER Clause To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers single most extensive grant of power by Constitution Impose taxes coin and borrow money regulate interstate and foreign commerce spend money for the common Defense and general welfare POWER OF THE PURSE Necessary and proper clause Declare war raise and finance an army and a navy and call out the state militias to execute the Laws of the Union suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions Senate ratifies treaties confirms presidential appointments of ambassadors and approves Supreme Court justices and top executive branch officials Bills raising revenue originate in House with Senate having unrestricted right to amend them 3 How does the electoral system separate elections for president and congress and voting in congressional districts by plurality vote affect the politics of Congress Members of Congress and presidents are elected SEPARATELY Members of Congress are elected from states and congressional districts by plurality votes Plurality votes whoever gets the most votes wins American legislators are elected by territorial units or geographic district not party lists Parties do matter in congressional elections but they do not control nominations Almost all congressional nominee are now chosen by voters in PRIMARY ELECTIONS preliminary contests in which voters select the parties nominees Candidates get their party s nomination directly from voters not leaders 4 What are House districts and when and why do they change What about the Senate Do Senators have a district House districts are the congressional districts in each state According to the First Census of 1790 each state was allotted one HOUSE SEAT for every 33 000 inhabitants which equaled to 105 seats In 1911 the total membership for the House was fixed at the current ceiling of 435 members They were worried that more growth would impede the House s work So every 10 years we redraw districts if the population shifts and representation needs to shift as well Apportionment of Congressional Districts Federal Issue Drawing of the Congressional Districts State Issue Gerrymandering drawing districts for partisan advantage A party could create bizarre shaped districts in order to favor its own candidates and secure votes Cracking and packing Cracking Spreading like minded voters apart across multiple districts to dilute their voting power in each This denies the group representation in multiple districts Packing Concentrating like minded voters together in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts This gives the group representation in a single district while denying them representation across districts David v Bandemer 1986 rules Gerrymandering as UNCONSTITUTIONAL if it were too strongly biased against a party s candidates Vieth v Jubelirer 2003 the Justice said the court should declare all claims related to political not racial gerrymandering NONJUSTICIABLE or the courts cannot hear them Senators represent the entire state in which they preside why anyone know the answer to this 5 Why are congressional politics more candidate centered than party centered and what are the implications of this fact Post World War II Democratic majorities in Congress coincided with the emergence of candidate centered politics Candidate centered politics are more personal and centered on local interests and values When Democrats were majorities the members stayed because their own efforts They recruited themselves organized their own campaigns and raised their own funds Political action Committees PACs were organizations that raise and distribute money for campaigns and were ready to help only when campaigns showed promise Changes in laws regulating elections and parties around the turn of the century weakened parties and encourages TICKET SPLITTING voting for candidates of different parties for different offices another change is the introduction to primary elections where there are elections to choose party nominees and the secret ballots When big issues like the New Deal came along opinions within parties divided and weakened parties and party line and party loyalties declines From 1994 the population got into the trend of party centered politics and those candidate centered democrats could do little to control that When the Republicans took over Congress in 1994 party centered politics re emerged and stayed Here there is an intense party competition to control House and Senate Republicans sought in 1994 to have their candidates run as a party team emphasizing national issues and a common action This party centered electoral politics helped the Republicans take over the House and Senate why does it ask why congressional politics are more candidate centered than party centered if the book says that since 1994 it has been party cente red it s like more party centered than it was but it s still heavily candidate based and more importantly re election based I guess 6 Does incumbency guarantee reelection to the House or Senate Why or why not No it does not guarantee it but it is an advantage They can emphasize individual character legislative performance and constituency services to encourage voters to use such criteria in deciding how to vote They also have the advantage because they represent a district that the majority prefers the party of the incumbent thus always guaranteed their votes People less likely to run against them if they seem invincible In terms for the senate being an incumbent is not much of an advantage senators don t build as deep of ties with the people they represent due to their longer terms also states are more equally split between parties than in the house where