Rachel F.'s AP US Govt. Blog

1. What bill did Lamar Alexander co-sponsor, and why does he think it didn't get more attention in Congress? He co-sponsored a bill to stabilize the market of the Affordable Care Act. However, Trump officials prevented Congress from paying more attention to it. 2. Why does Judd Gregg say that Alexander does not fit in today's politics? Alexander favors compromise while the current trend in politics involves populism and extremism. 3. Why did Lamar Alexander decide to leave his job as a Senate leader? He wanted to take a bigger role in policymaking with health and education. He felt that the leadership role was confining him from moving ahead. 4. What significant event was the centerpiece of his campaign to win the governor election in the 1970s? He walked across the state, stopping at schools and engaging with people in their daily environments. 5. How do his aides describe Obamacare? They highly dislike it, describing it as a "horrible, terrible, awfu...

1. How many Americans have participated in protests since the beginning of 2016?  one in five Americans 2. Which political issue drew the most support from people participating in marches? women's rights 3. How are people characterizing these protests compared to those in the past? Overall, people view the recent ones as more divisive and violent, and many think the views are more extreme. 4. What is the difference in enthusiasm about midterm voting between those who have participated in marches and those that have not? 83% of rallygoers plan to vote compared to 62% of people overall. (article: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/7/17209710/trump-protest-poll ) 5. What is the goal of "Town Hall for our Lives"? The goal is to confront legislators in person on the topic of gun violence. 6. How can Town Halls indicate enthusiasm for the November elections? It shows that people may actually make gun control a key voting issue and go ...

1. What question will be added to the Census in 2020? It will ask people to say which people in the household are citizens. 2. How does the government justify this addition? They say it will give more information about the United States. 3. Why do people have a problem with this addition? It could decrease the responses of people who are immigrants, particularly those who are not legal residents, of the United States and thus give an inaccurate count of population while allocating funding and determining congressional districts. 4. Why is it important to states that the undocumented immigrants that live there answer the Census? 5. What limit is put on the Census bureau to prevent the problems people are concerned about? 6. How are both critics of Trump and the Trump administration technically correct about this particular question on the Census? In previous years, the question about citizenship has appeared on a survey that is only sent to a small percentage of...

1.  Why does Shira Scheindlin argue that due process rights for men like Rob Porter have not been violated? The fifth amendment states that no one can "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” However, men like Rob Porter are not losing life, liberty, or property with these allegations, so the due process is not necessary. 2.  How does she describe the steps in the process when a legal action is brought against a person? It is often lengthy and complicated due to the many people involved. 3.  What "two prongs" of due process does Andrea Curcio identify? First, the government must notify you when it wants to charge you with crime or take other action against you. Second, before action can be taken, the accused person must have the opportunity to present his or her side of the story to a neutral decision maker 4. How does due process impact the person accused of a crime?  Basically, it protects people from ar...

1. Why was it strange for the Democratic candidate to win in the Pennsylvania district? Trump won the district by 20 percentage points, and the turnout was fairly high 2. On the chart, what is "Democratic swing"? It is the difference between the results of the special election and the district’s partisan lean. Partisan lean is the average difference between how the constituency voted and how the country voted overall in the last two presidential elections, weighing the 2016 election at 75 percent and 2012 at25 percent. 3. Which special elections so far have had the largest Democratic swing? Alabama U.S. Senate (at 31), Kansas 4th (at 23), and Pennsylvania 8th (at 22) 4. How is the generic ballot polling different from the results so far in these special elections? Generic ballot polls are from registered voters or sometimes all adults rather than likely voters, and the actual results are from who actually did vote. As a result, so far, results indicate that ...

1. Where do the district court and appellate court fit into the organization of the federal courts?  The district court is the lowest level of the federal courts, and it serves as a trial court. The appellate court is the next level up, and it handles appeals from the district court. 2. What makes the 9th Circuit stand out from the other circuit courts? It tends to have liberal rulings that are often reversed by the Supreme Court if appealed. 3. What historical cause may make this Circuit Court more liberal than others? 15 out of the 23 judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals were appointed by Democrat Jimmy Carter. 4. Give two examples of very liberal decisions that have come from judges on this court. Stephen Reinhardt wrote the opinions that ruled the Second Amendment doesn't recognize an individual right to bear arms and participated in the ruling that said the Pledge of Allegiance includes unconstitutional endorsement of religion with the words "und...