I.

Districting
A. Terminology
1. District any geographic area with boundaries (state assembly, state senate, US
House)
a) Statehouse (state assembly and state senate)
(1) There can be overlap of districts of different shapes and sizes
b) To district to draw the boundaries
c) Redistrict redrawing the boundaries
d) Who does this? The State Legislature, there is self-dealing
e) When? Every 10yrs, after a census (rule of thumb)
2. Apportionment
a) To divide up the 435 House seats among the 50 states
(1) Zero-sum game
(2) Every 10 years, after a census, by the state legislatures
b) To divide up population among some # of districts
3. Gerrymandering
a) Drawing of district boundaries for political advantage
b) For a party of political incumbent
c) Cracking and Packing
(1) Packing: putting all of the voters for the opposition in one pool so they only
win that district and not the others
d) There is no defense of this in either majoritarian or pluralist philosophies
e) Ex1: In 2001 Gerry Condit affair with intern, redistricting
f) Ex2: Some states try replacing the state legislatures with a panel of judges and
citizens
4. Safe Districts: Winner wins by more than 55%
5. Marginal districts: could switch easily with varied voter turnout
6. Power of incumbency: 90% of congressmen get reelected
a) Name recognition
b) Financing
c) Established campaign staff
d) Pork: spending that congressmen bring back home to their districts
e) Casework: when constituents get help from congressman staff
f) Franking privilege: free mailing from representatives to talk about pork
(1) These boundaries dont help if your district is redrawn
B. Malapportionment and the Reapportionment cases
1. Population movement and state legislature removes its own power
2. Intentional-ex, NYC 1894, trying to keep immigrans
a) Hostility to ethnic immigrants
3. What can you do?
a) Go to state legislature they wont care
b) Go to the courts pre-1960, courts refused such cases, not justiciable
c) Must be handled by the policy branch aka legislation
C. Baker v. Carr (1961)
1. TN case, state leg. requires reapport. every 10 years. They had not changed
boundary 1900-1960
2. Supreme Courth (liberal Warren cases) approved under 14 amendment
D. Wesberry v. Sanders (1963) Congressional districts must be equal in size
E. 14 EP: one man, one got

F. Reynolds: both statehouse districts, must be equal

G. This becomes a defense for substantive democracy, a right to an equally weighted vote
II. Racial Gerrymandering:
A. Pre-1965: there used to be other ways like Jim Crow laws, but with the passage of the
Voting Rights Act (based off of 14/15) civil rights act
1. Pre-Clearance: southern states began to play whack-a-mole with the federal
government to keep blacks from voting
a) Any change in voting (including reapportionment plans) must be pre-cleared by
the us DOJ
b) In the Shelby County Case (2012) the SCT disallowed pre-clearance
B. In the 1980s the US DOJ began to demand minority-majority districts from these preclearances They must use RG as an affirmative districting plan
1. Supported by NAACP because it lead to election of black southern congresspeople
2. Supporters like descriptive representation where groups are represented by people
who look like them
a) Opposite is called substantive representation best represented by someone
who cares about that communitys needs
C. Shaw v Reno (1993)
1. Redistricting plan DOJ asked for an additional minority-majority district
2. SCT strikes down district decision written by Sandra Day OConnor (flexible
conservative nominated by Reagan), for a long time she was the swing vote, she
tries to be temperate/moderate in her decisions
3. OConnor sees no difference between Jim Crow discrimination and racial
gerrymandering as an affirmative step
a) Affirmative action represents reverse racism (not OConnors words)
b) BUT criticism of this position is that OConnor is here being too formalist in her
analysis she is being too absolute in her decision, doesnt care about
substantive details
c) But she saves herself by saying that race-conscious state decision-making is not
always impermissible
d) Problem with this district:
(1) Too irregular
(2) No compelling justification
(3) No regard for traditional districting principles
e) Issue: All three of these are irrelevant or false she is a formalist disguised as a
moderate
f) Small detail: Even though Renos name is on the title (democrat), the case
outdates her time defending as part of Clintons administration. The case was
opened in 1990-1991 under HW Bush administration. Further, the start of
minority-majority districts in the 80s was under Reagan administration
(1) Take Away: Republicans were only racially gerrymandering because blacks
tend to vote Democrat and they wanted to consolidate all the blacks into a
district so the other seats could go to white republicans
g) Color Blind Constitution
(1) Originates in the Plessy v. Ferguson dissent (separate but equal) liberal
position
(2) Since the 1980s, the phrase has been used much more often by
conservatives (now, affirmative actions is color-aware)

III. How Congress Works

A. Duties of House and Senate
1. Senate ratifies treaties
2. House initiates revenue bills
3. If tied, House picks President, Senate picks VP
4. Impeachment:
a) Only the House impeaches (they vote to impeach)
b) Then there is a trial in the Senate
c) Federal judges, president, VP, federal officials
d) Andrew Johnson and Clinton (Nixon resigned before he was impeached)
B. How legislation is made:
1. Committees are essential they divide labor and efficiency
a) Standing permanent, specialized, have subcommittees, represent and affect
policy areas
b) Joint committee: has house and senate members together
c) Select committee: temporary, ad hoc
d) Conference: joint committee/select
2. Who sits on which committees: both parties on nearly every committee
C. Leadership
1. Party officers
2. Presiding officers
Senate

House

President of the Senate: VP

one job: tie breaker/presider

Speaker of the House/presiding officer/most

important person

President pro tempore: temporary position of the

ranking senator of the majority party (old man)
Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (KT-Dem)

Majority Leader

Majority Whip count noses and enforce

discipline, wont hold a vote unless they know the
outcome

Majority Whip

Minority Leader Harry Reed (NV-Rep)

Minority Leader

Minority Whip

Minority Whip

D. Flow Chart
House path:
Bill
House
Committee
Subcommittee
Mark-up sessions, IG testimonies, vote
(or stall if you dont want it on your voting record)

Committee
Mark-up, testimony, vote (or stall)
Rules Committee
sets up rules for how the bill will be handled on the floor of the house
decides how much debate is allowed or if its a quick vote
very powerful tool for majority leadership to control what gets a vote
Digression: Hastert Rule
No bill gets a vote unless it has the support of a majority of the majority
Very important, uses Tea Party wing to prevent votes on anything that might get
minority + moderate votes
Full House
Senate Path
Bill
Senate
Committee
Subcommittee
Mark-up sessions, IG testimonies, vote
(or stall if you dont want it on your voting record)
Committee
Mark-up, testimony, vote (or stall)
No Rules Committee
Smaller, more collegial, they like each other more
Since there arent any rules, they can filibuster a bill to death
Filibusters can be shut down with 60 senators, or a supermajority
Full Senate

Together: Conference Committee (uses mostly original committee members)

House + Senate (yes or no vote)
President (sign, veto, or nothing)s
If nothing during 10 days, law
If congress is out of session in 10 days, pocket veto
E. Other Stuff
1. Quorum: minimum number of attendance (over 50%)
2. Pork/earmarks
3. Poison Pill: amendment used to kill a bill
a) Ex: Gun Liability Bill (NRA backed)
b) Amendment: extension of the assault weapons ban
4. Sunset Provision: an expiration date for a bill
a) Ex: Bush Tax Cuts
5. Norm of courtesy: supposed to be polite to others while in the chamber
a) Not every country has this South Korean legislature example

Presidency much more powerful than originally intended by founding fathers

I.

Growth of Presidential power

A. Formal powers (Constitutional)
1. Administrative Head of the nation executes the laws, but cannot write the laws
a) Executive orders somewhat frustrate this check of power
b) There is an ambiguity in the Constitution: The executive power shall be vested in
a President
(1) Can be interpreted strictly, or loosely
c) Some advantages:
(1) Provides unity
(2) One individual is responsible, and held accountable
(3) Less room for disagreement, quicker decisions/actions
2. Commander-in-Chief
a) Civilian control of the military
b) Check: President can conduct war, but only Congress can declare it
c) But, sometimes the President has issued executive orders of war
d) Who has the power to end a war?
(1) The President can pull out troops
(2) Congress has the power of the purse they can stop funding a war
(3) If the President pulls out the troops, hes bringing the boys home if
Congress cuts funding, they arent supporting the troops
(4) Ex: Teddy Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet the Senate opposed this
because of isolationism
e) Who has the power to declare peace?
(1) 1793: George Washington issued a Neutrality Proclamation to keep the US
out of the English/French conflict
f) Presidents have claimed the power to repel sudden attacks
(1) 1916: In Mexican Revolution, Poncho raids California so Woodrow Wilson
invades Mexico
(2) Boxer Revolution: Chinese burnt down US factories in China so US sent in
troops
(3) Cold War: Mutually Assured Destruction if either launches a nuclear strike,
the other will also launch one
(4) ABM treaty: Anti ballistic missile missile a missile that shoots down other
missiles
g) State of war or national emergency enhances Presidential power
(1) Congress is more willing to give up power in favor of quick action
(2) 9/11 Resolution: authorized all necessary force to be used again terrorism
and harboring of terrorists blank check for the President became basis
for the War in Afghanistan
(3) Covert Ops: secret operations, assassinations, programs war without
declaring war
(a) Bay of Pigs: US trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba huge failure
(4) Domestic spying
(a) FBI surveillance (political)
(b) COINTELPRO agents provacateur infiltrate groups to get them riled up
into doing something illegal so that they can be busted
(c) CHAOS: infiltrated student university group

3.

4.
5.

6.

7.

(d) Plumbers: forgery, burglary

(5) Torture
(a) The DOJ wrote a secret memo in August 2002
(b) Congress cannot interfere with the commander in chiefs authority to
wager a military campaign slippery slope
(6) Military tribunals: hearings for torture crimes
Power to Convene Congress in Special Circumstances
a) Check: He can convene, but he cant make them do anything, and on the flip side
he cannot stop them from meeting
Veto Legislation
a) Check: Supermajority for over-ride is
Make treaties
a) Check: Senate has to approve the treaty with supermajority
b) Who has the power to break treaties?
(1) The President can simply act, and then the treaty is broken
(a) Usually they have to declare Carter repudiated the Taiwan Defense
Treaty
(b) Bush took us out of the ABM treaty
(c) These are Executive Agreements
(2) The Supreme Court can rule the treaty unconstitutional
(3) The Senate can vote to nullify a treaty
Make appointments
a) All federal judges
b) Cabinet and lower officers
c) Fed Chair and any agency leaders
d) Ambassadors they usually appoint friends and major donors
e) Check: must be approved by the Senate (simple majority)
Issue Pardons
a) Clemency Power
b) Check: He cannot pardon someone who has been impeached because
Congress has impeached them gives them power over the judiciary but not
over Congress
c) Before Nixon was impeached, he resigned, so that he could be later pardoned by
Gerald Ford

B. Informal Powers
1. Congressional delegation of power giving power to the president
a) New Deal
b) 1921 Budget Act
(1) President submits initial draft, then Congress makes revisions
c) War powers
d) Line-item veto
e) Failure of oversight
f) 1970s: Congress Strikes Back
(1) Watergate, Pentagon Papers etc. Congress doesn't trust the Exec.
(a) Stronger Oversight: Church Committee Cold War investigation and
publication for the public
(2) Budget and Impoundment Act, 1974

(a) CBO v. OMB gives Congress their own finances, numbers, and data,
so they dont have to rely on Exec.
(b) CBO is pretty good, non-partisan
(c) OMB is the Office of Management and Budged
(3) Definition: Impoundment holding something
(a) During the Nixon era, Congress would give money and Nixon would
impound it, not spending it on the cause Congress told him to
(b) A line-item veto is essentially impoundment
(4) War Powers Resolution, 1973
(a) President can use troops unilaterally for 60-90 days, then he needs
Congressional approval
(b) This is a reaction against Vietnam
(c) Though it is meant to restrict power, it actually is a delegation because
now the President has 90 days of war, covered by a Resolution
(d) The President must tell Congress within 72 hours that conflict has begun,
which starts the 60-90 day clock, but many presidents just ignore this part
2. Inherent Powers
a) Executive orders
(1) Laws created by the President
(2) Technically they are tools used by the President to execute the law
(3) Laws tend to be vague and hard to implement
(4) Presidents give these orders to agencies
b) Signing Statements
(1) Used to be how I envision to enforce the law
(2) Now: What I will and will not enforce these parts
c) Executive agreements sometimes they are even allowed to stay secret
d) Executive privilege Ability to withhold people and papers from legislative and
judicial scrutiny
(1) There is no real check on this, but presidents claim there is if presidents
choose to reveal criminal info
(2) Doesnt have to do anything with national security
(3) Basis is in attorney-client privilege
(a) The president is the client, his advisors are his attorneys
e) Became a big deal with the Watergate Scandal
(1) Many of Nixons advisers were on criminal trial
(2) Judge: issues a subpoena for the tapes
(3) Nixon refuses subpoena
(a) Goes on appeals to Supreme Court
(b) Nixon has his aids produce an edited excerpt of the relevant tapes, but of
course none were incriminating
(c) Transcript: whenever he swore on tape it was subbed with [expletive
deleted] which horrified Americans
(4) US v. Nixon (1974)
(a) SCT upholds concept of executive privilege, but in this case the
presidents privilege looses out to the needs of a criminal prosecution
3. Power to Persuade
a) President can appeal to the public to increase his power
b) Can appeal over the collective heads of congress
c) Honeymoon effect: most popular right after election

d) Strong connection to the economy blame and praise correlate with growth and
decline
e) President is the most important agenda setter
f) Lobbyist in Chief in Congress both grassroots and direct lobbying
g) Visibility is key