Electoral College Case Study
A. Discussion 1 – Presidential Leadership and the Electoral College (is reform needed?): DQ1 has four parts, and note that part 4 has two sub-parts:
1. Briefly summarize how the Electoral College works.
2. Briefly explain the pros and cons of whether to keep or abolish the Electoral College.
3. Briefly explain one proposal for changing the Electoral College process without abolishing it (i.e., without having to amend the Constitution).
4. Evaluate this proposal from two perspectives: (a) the relevance of the Electoral College’s underlying rationale to contemporary American politics, and (b) the impact of the Electoral College on presidential leadership capacity. Your initial post should respond to all parts of DQ1. In preparing …show more content…
The electors are elected by popular vote and declare in advance how they will vote if they are elected, so the people choose electors who will vote the way they would vote if they were electors. The election process uses the “winner-take-all” rule in 48 states, under which all of a state 's electoral votes are awarded to the one candidate with the most votes in that state. States having only three votes and states that are considered either safe or hopelessly lost are largely ignored by presidential candidates in the election campaigns under the current Electoral College …show more content…
To form a perfect triangle, those sides must fit together well. The angles within, and the points of, the triangle can, and will, vary. Geometry? Math? Are your gasps coming across the internet? No, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. You’re still studying American government and related issues of policy making. In this context, we are studying the three sides of the so-called “Iron Triangle”. The term refers to a powerful three-sided combination, made up of certain members of Congress (or Congressional committees), certain parts of the bureaucracy (executive branch agencies and administrative departments), and special interest groups. Each of the entities comprising the triangle arguably seeks to capitalize on (and expand) its own particular angle. The parties also work together to satisfy mutual interests. Consider connotation in this context. At first blush, do you expect the term “iron triangle” to have a positive or negative connotation? Please approach this topic with the aim to both critique and assess validity. Diagramming and Critical
1. Briefly summarize how the Electoral College works.
2. Briefly explain the pros and cons of whether to keep or abolish the Electoral College.
3. Briefly explain one proposal for changing the Electoral College process without abolishing it (i.e., without having to amend the Constitution).
4. Evaluate this proposal from two perspectives: (a) the relevance of the Electoral College’s underlying rationale to contemporary American politics, and (b) the impact of the Electoral College on presidential leadership capacity. Your initial post should respond to all parts of DQ1. In preparing …show more content…
The electors are elected by popular vote and declare in advance how they will vote if they are elected, so the people choose electors who will vote the way they would vote if they were electors. The election process uses the “winner-take-all” rule in 48 states, under which all of a state 's electoral votes are awarded to the one candidate with the most votes in that state. States having only three votes and states that are considered either safe or hopelessly lost are largely ignored by presidential candidates in the election campaigns under the current Electoral College …show more content…
To form a perfect triangle, those sides must fit together well. The angles within, and the points of, the triangle can, and will, vary. Geometry? Math? Are your gasps coming across the internet? No, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. You’re still studying American government and related issues of policy making. In this context, we are studying the three sides of the so-called “Iron Triangle”. The term refers to a powerful three-sided combination, made up of certain members of Congress (or Congressional committees), certain parts of the bureaucracy (executive branch agencies and administrative departments), and special interest groups. Each of the entities comprising the triangle arguably seeks to capitalize on (and expand) its own particular angle. The parties also work together to satisfy mutual interests. Consider connotation in this context. At first blush, do you expect the term “iron triangle” to have a positive or negative connotation? Please approach this topic with the aim to both critique and assess validity. Diagramming and Critical