“Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.”

Be prepared to discuss: Who has the power to filibuster?  What effect does the filibuster have

on the political process?  Should the filibuster be retained, partially limited, or ended entirely -- and why?

What are earmarks?  How important were they financially, symbolically, and in terms of their significance to the political process?  Who was helped by the GOP vow against earmarking?  Was the GOP's decision good or bad for the country?

What was the main reason the Founders proposed two chambers in Congress?  Is that the same reason as the states had for creating bicameral legislatures?  Why are states considering ditching the bicameral system?  Should the same logic be applied to the U.S. Congress?

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Article I of the Constitution deals with Congress (Despite what Joe Biden says)

By far the longest Article

This suggests that the founders intended Congress to be the most powerful of the three branches of government

Constitutional Requirements

Senate

Must be 30 years old

US citizen for 9 years

State Resident

House

Must be 25 years old

US citizen for 7 years

State Resident

Senate – 26 members from 13 statesHouse – 65 members (considered

144 bills)No committees

The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each

census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative

districts

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines

following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as

possible in population

Reapportionment Redistricting

“Representatives…shall be apportioned among the several states…according to their respective Numbers”

Orders an “actual enumeration” (census) every ten years

Constitution does not specify the size of the House of Representatives

Current size of House membership set in 1912 30,000 per district in first House 200,000 people in 1912 700,000 today

Who does Congress represent? Descriptive Representation Substantive Representation

▪ Trustee▪ Delegate

What does the Constitution say about district size, borders?

What does the Constitution say about district size, borders?

“Political thicket”

What does the Constitution say about district size, borders?

“Political thicket”Baker v. Carr (1961); Wesberry v.

Sanders (1964)

Packing v. Cracking

Packing v. CrackingAffirmative

Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering

Drawing district boundary lines to maximize minority representation

From www.legis.state.ia.us

Only Constitutional requirements deal with age, length of

citizenship, and residency

Informal Requirements

Political parties matter in multiple ways:

- Only candidates from the two major parties can win most elections

- If one party is dominant in a district, it is difficult to win from even the other major party

"Members of Congress usually win when they run for reelection because they do a fantastic job representing their constituents, which makes the voters back home want them to keep their jobs."

Incumbents ARE very popular…at home

…hated elsewhere

RealClearPolitics (October 2008): Bush: 26% approval

RealClearPolitics (October 2008): Bush: 26% approval Congress: 17% approval