POLS 3200 First Exam Review

POLS 3200
US Congress
First Exam Review

The "Two Congresses"

Meaning and importance

Development of Congress as an institution

Constitutional authority
- Formal powers
- "Informal" powers
Organizational complexity
Professionalism

Bicameralism

Electoral connection

nature of candidate selection process
dynamics of congressional election campaigns
- explanations of election outcomes
  - sources of incumbent advantage
- differences between House and Senate
midterm elections
- patterns
- explanations

Redistricting

Process
Gerrymandering
- types and effects
- Court cases and their impact

Nature of representation

Burkean role orientations
Components to representation
- Perception of constituency
- "Homestyle"
  - Components
  - Considerations

Parties in Congress

Role of parties
Differences between House and Senate
Party leadership
- Role and functions
- Structure
- Powers
Changes in partisan patterns

Partisan votes

Conservative Coalition

Terms you should know:

527 committees
"advantaged" partisans
casework
caucus/conference
challenger quality
cloture
~~conditional party goverment~~
~~conservative coalition~~
delegate
"disadvantaged" partisans
empathy

equipopulous
filibuster
franking
gerrymandering
homestyle
identification
institutional dilemma
malapportionment
~~party unity vote~~
party whip
~~pivotal voter theory~~

policy dilemma
politico
president pro tempore
retirement slump
Rule XXII
sophomore surge
speaker
superpacs
surge and decline
trustee
qualification

The exam will feature one of the following essay questions. Your best bet is to be prepared to answer each of them. Furthermore, it is not wise to try to anticipate which one I will select because the decision will be a random choice.

Discuss the ways in which Congress has developed as an institution. What have been the forces behind and consequences of this development?

Discuss the nature of representation in the United States Congress. What choices must a Representative or Senator make in how they choose to represent their District/State, and what factors influence that decision?.

What explanations have been offered to explain the outcome of congressional elections? How do these dynamics differ between House and Senate campaigns, and between midterm congressional elections and and those in presidential election years?