PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

This Units Vocabulary Veto Line-Item Veto Executive Agreement Executive Privilege Lame-Duck Period Bureaucracy Executive Order Iron Triangle Issue Network Policy Agenda Monetary Policy Fiscal Policy Entitlement Program Office of Management and Budget Presidential primaries Electoral college

The Road to the Primaries The Presidential Primaries In the early 1800s congressional leaders held caucuses to pick candidates Supporters of Andrew Jackson criticized the caucuses system for being elitist. During the 1930s, Jackson Democrats and Whigs started having conventions Party bosses soon dominated the conventions. During the early 1900s, Progressive reformers promoted primary elections Some states still use Caucuses. Iowa’s caucuses are first 40 states hold primaries, New Hampshire is first

Primaries Primaries can be opened or closed In a closed primary voters have to identify their party beforehand and can only vote in that election In an open primary, voters can decide on election day In the past most presidential primaries were winner- take-all systems Democrats changed this to proportional representation Republicans have both winner-take-all and proportional representation Point is to win delegates Only about 25% of voters vote in primaries: activists, older, and more affluent

Party Conventions In the past, party conventions selected their president and vice-president after days of dramatic bargaining at convention Now candidates have things wrapped up before the convention and the convention is just for “show” Delegates have already been chosen to vote for certain candidates, they officially do so at the convention  1,144 for Republicans 2,118 for Democrats

Functions of the Convention Formally name the parties presidential and vice- presidential candidate They adopt a party platform They attempt to unify the party and generate positive publicity and momentum

Campaign and Spending Reform 1988 $60 million was spent on Bush primary 2008 $400 million on Obama primary Federal Election Reform Act of 1974  Created Federal Election Commission to administer and enforce campaign finance law  Provided partial public funding for presidential primaries  Provided full public for major party candidates in the general election  Placed limitations to individual contributions to presidential candidates

The loopholes Individuals can spend: $2,500 per election to a Federal candidate or the candidate's campaign committee. Primaries, runoffs and general elections are considered separate elections. $5,000 per calendar year to a PAC. This limit applies to a PAC (political action committee) that supports Federal candidates. (PACs are neither party committees nor candidate committees. Some PACs are sponsored by corporations and unions--trade, industry and labor PACs. PACs use your contributions to make their own contributions to Federal candidates and to fund other election-related activities. $10,000 per calendar year to a State or local party committee. $30,800 per calendar year to a national party committee. $117,000 total biennial limit. This biennial limit places a ceiling on your total contributions, as explained below. $100 in currency (cash) to any political committee. (Anonymous cash contributions may not exceed $50.) Contributions exceeding $100 must be made by check, money order or other written instrument.

Super Pacs Unlimited funds as long as it go to promoting a cause or party and not directly to the candidate

Executive Office

Chief Executive In charge of a vast amount of administrations that carry out federal laws (i.e. FBI)  $3 trillion a year  Employs 2.7 million civilians

Qualifications Natural Born Citizen 35 years old Serves 4 year terms After FDR limited to 2 terms OR 10 years

Appointment Power President has the power to appoint all of the following top ranking officers: cabinet members and their aids, heads of independent agencies, ambassadors and independent agencies, federal judges, US marshals, and attorneys All subject to confirmation by Senate

Removal Power President has the power to remove most of his appointments Can’t remove federal judges or commisioners of regulatory agencies

The Cabinet President, Vice President 14 Executive Departments and Attorney General These 15 Departments employs 2/3rds of the federal governments civilian employees

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

Presidential Cabinet

Top 5 Attorney general- chief attorney, chief of law enforcement, Eric Holder Secretary of State- chief foreign affairs advisor, Hillary Clinton Secretary of Education- Arne Duncan Secretary of Defense- advisor in defense policies, Leon Panetta Secretary of the Treasury-Timothy Geither

Problems with Presidential Control of Departments Interest Groups Cabinet members need careers after the President’s administration

The Executive Office Office of Management and Budget (OMB)  Largest Office within the executive Office  Assist President with preparing the federal budget National Security Council (NSC)  Composed of principle foreign and military advisors  Includes Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Advisor  Assist president on national security and foreign policy

Council of Economic Advisors  3 leading economists who advise the president on economic policy

White House Staff White House Staff includes Key Presidential Aids such as the chief of staff and the Press Secretary Chief of Staff is the highest ranking official in Executive Office Chief of staff controls who can get into the Oval Office White House Staff must be personally loyal to the president President can hire and fire without senate approval

President as Chief Legislator Required to give State of the Union address to Congress Can advise Congress on matters from time to time Veto bills As a national and party leader helps set policy agenda Initiates much of the legislation that congress considers

Presidents Options for Bills 1. Sign into law 2. Veto- Congress can override with a 2/3 vote in house 3. If President waits 10 days and Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes a law Pocket Veto- If President waits 10 days and in that time congress adjourns, the bill will die

Using the Veto Congress us usually unable to override a presidential veto (less than 10% have been overturned) President often threatens veto to persuade Congress to modify a bill A vetoes bill if often revised and then passed in another form

Line-Item Veto President cannot veto a portion of a bill Many STATE governors can veto s section- this is a line item veto In 1996 Congress passed Line-Item Veto Act. They hoped it would reduce government spending and save time 2 Years later Supreme Court struck down law saying it was unconstitutional Line-Item veto can only be enacted by a Constitutional amendment

Working with Congress Presidents use the following strategies to influence Congress to pass legislation:  Assigning liaisons to lobby legislatures  Using the media  Using high presidential approval ratings to persuade legislators to support presidential programs  Bargaining with wavering legislators

Divided Government Occurs when President and Congress are controlled by different parties Also occurs when the two houses are controlled by different parties The pattern of divided government has important consequences:  Heightened Partisanship and made it harder for moderates to negotiate deals  SLOWED legislative process  Contributed to people’s distrust of government

Divided government causes problems for the president in making appointments President uses strategies to help protect himself against divided government  Uses media to generate public support  Threatens vetos  Making deals with key Congressional members

National Security: Expressed Constitutional Powers Commander-in-chief has the power to deploy troops President appoints all ambassadors President negotiates treaties, which are then subject to Senate ratification (2/3 vote to REJECT) President has the sole power to recognize nations The president receives ambassadors and other public ministers

Informal Powers President can negotiate “executive agreements” with the heads of government Meets with world leaders to build international coalitions Expected to manage international crises President has access to confidential information that is not available to the press or Congress

President’s Judicial Powers President can grant reprieves and pardons ( a reprieve is a delay to an execution, a pardon is a legal forgiveness for a crime) President appoints federal judges