Transcript Presentation 22

Presidential power and
beyond
The United States and France
Research papers:
Due Friday, November 30th
_____________
Final exam
Saturday, Dec. 8th
9:00-11:00
AA1043
The United States:
A Presidential-Congressional
System
Principal features:
• A federal and presidential system with
pronounced separation of powers among
three branches of government
US Constitution provides for:
• A President elected via the electoral college (4
year term)
• A Congress consisting of
– House of Representatives, elected for 2 year terms
(435 Congressmen)
– Senate: 2 Senators per state, elected for 6 year
terms (staggered – 1/3 of the Senate elected every 2
years)
• Supreme Court
– appointed by president but nominations subject to
Senate approval
The President
• Responsibilities:
– Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
– Heads the executive branch of government: must
see to the faithful execution of the laws of the United
States
• Has power, subject to the ‘advise and consent’
of the Senate, to appoint:
–
–
–
–
Members of the cabinet
Justices of the Supreme Court
Ambassadors
Certain other offices
The Congress
• A bi-cameral legislature consisting of the
– House of Representatives (lower house,
435 members)
– Senate (upper house, 100 members)
– Both share the legislative power – to become
law, a bill must pass both through both
Houses of Congress in identical form
The Supreme Court
• Nine justices
– Appointed by President for ‘good behaviour’ (life)
– Senate must approve nominations
– Congress can decide size & jurisdiction of the Court
• Acts only on matters brought to it,
– but the Court decides which cases it will hear
• Has power of judicial review:
– Court can declare laws passed by states or the
Congress unconstitutional (Marbury v. Madison, 1803)
Checks and balances:
Reflecting fears of abuse of power:
• Senate must approve nominations to
court, cabinet and other appointments
• President can veto laws passed by
Congress.
• Congress can override a presidential veto
by a 2/3 majority
• Supreme Court can declare legislation
unconstitutional
The American Party System
• A two party system with two broadly based
parties, the Democrats and the Republicans
• Parties encompass divergent interests:
– Democrats: party of the moderate (but not very far)
left. Prefer more government intervention
– Republicans: party of the right
• Prefer less government intervention
• Divided between economic and social conservatives
(religious right)
• Party discipline in Congress is weak
– Congressman often vote their districts
Presidential power
• Actual power and influence varies:
– Some presidents are stronger and more effective than
others
• Commander-in-chief, but lacks automatic
support in Congress:
– Not unusual for the other party to control one or both
houses of Congress
– Even when his or her party controls Congress no
guarantee that president’s program will pass (e.g
Clinton’s health insurance bill)
• Power: depends on ability to persuade
– (Richard Neustadt, Presidential Power)
Divided control:
1932-1952:
• Democratic Presidents,
Republican majorities in Congress
only in 1946 and 1950
1952-1960
• Eisenhower (R) as President;
Democrats control Congress
1954-1960
1960-1968:
• Kennedy and Johnson (D),
Democratic Congress
1968-1976:
• Nixon and Ford R), as President
(Dem. Congress)
1976-80:
• Carter (D) + Democratic Congress
1980-88
• Reagan (R) + Dem. Congress
1988-1992
• Bush Sr. (R) + Dem. Congress
1992-2000
• Clinton (D) plus increasingly
Republican Congress
2000-present • Bush Jr. (R)
2000-2002, Divided Congress
2002-2004 Republican Congress
2004-2006-Divided Congress
2006-present Democratic Congress
Governing
To govern, a president must be able to
• Get as much support as possible from his
party
• Build coalitions
• Bargain
• Persuade
– Senators and Congressmen
– The public
Successes & failures
• Some presidents more successful than
others
• Sometimes persuade Congress by
persuading the public
• Insiders v. outsiders
• Foreign policy as an outlet
• If so, in what respects?
Presidents vs. Prime Ministers?
• Is the situation in which presidents of the
United States find themselves different
from those of a British Prime Minister or a
German Chancellor?
• If so, in what respects?
• Which of the three heads of government
(or state) is more powerful vis á vis other
actors in their respective systems?
Explaining differences:
• Political Parties and the ways in which
they connect legislatures and the
executive
• In both Britain and Germany, cohesive and
disciplined parties provide fairly automatic
support for the political executive
• Even so, both must make sure their
parties stay together
How Prime Ministers maintain
support
• The consensus strategy: enlist ministers
representing different wings of the party.
–
–
–
–
Harold Wilson (1964-70, 1974-76)
James Callaghan (1976-79)
Margaret Thatcher (from 1979-83)
John Major (1990-1997)
• Damn the torpedoes/shoot from the hip:
– Margaret Thatcher (from 1983-90)
– Tony Blair (1997-present)
The whip system and how it
operates
• Whip’s Office
– Chief Whip
– Deputy Whip
– Assistant Whips
• Serve as two way channel of communication:
– Convey frontbench opinions to the back benches
– Convey backbench views to the leadership
• Make sure that the votes are there when they
are needed
The process of discipline:
• A matter of conveying information and
persuading
• Punishment: removal of the whip or
ostracism from the caucus – rarely applied
• Dealing with dissent:
– Canada: minimum or zero tolerance
– UK: both parties tolerate some rebellion
• Conservatives:
– deep divisions over EU
– Travails of Ian Duncan Smith (IDS)
• New Labour: Iraq