What change to the Constitution would you like to see? Describe the three ways that the Constitution can be altered, and use examples
Which of these processes would provide the best avenue to make your proposal a reality? Be sure to explain how your idea would make its way through the process you select.
What will be an ideal response?
An ideal response will:
1, Identify formal amendment, judicial interpretation, and political practices as the three ways to alter the Constitution.
2, Explain that the formal amendment process was designed to be unwieldy. There are four routes to amending the Constitution and one should be selected and described if this is the chosen process. Equal rights amendment, same-sex marriage, and flag-burning amendments have failed. But several amendments expanding democracy have not: ending slavery, expanding the vote, and making selection of senators a direct vote.
3, Explain that the Supreme Court decided it had the right of judicial review. If this is the chosen process, it should be explained how the proposal might make its way to the Court. Mention two cases, Griswoldv.Connecticut and Roev. Wade, that established a right to privacy not mentioned in the Constitution.
4, Explain that political practices include political parties, primaries, and presidential conventions, none of which are mentioned in the Constitution. The powers of the presidency have expanded, for example, with the use of signing statements. These allow the president to change the meaning of a bill at the same time as signing it.
5, Select a process and explain how it is good fit for implementing the proposal.
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The political culture of a society may be defined as _____
A) the social, economic, and ethnic characteristics of the society's members B) the configuration of political orientations among people in that society C) the major political beliefs of the society's top government officials D) the most popular political media of a society
What does the example of the Pentagon Papers illustrates about the doctrine of prior restraint?
A. The government can easily make a case that the press should not be allowed to publish national security documents while the nation is at war. B. The courts have been skeptical of the claims of the press, and the government can operate under a presumption of secrecy. C. Exercising prior restraint requires the government to demonstrate that the publication of documents would damage national security. D. The Supreme Court prefers to avoid these issues so the legislative and executive branches can resolve the problems.
A case involving a foreign citizen is under the jurisdiction of
a. the federal courts. b. the citizen's home state. c. the state courts for criminal charges. d. the International Court of Justice.
Which of the following statements best describes the president's influence over agency budgets?
A. The president has final say over the budgets of independent agencies but has no control of department budgets. B. The president has sole authority to determine executive administrative budgets. C. The president has no authority in the budgeting process. D. The president influences the initial budget proposal but depends on Congress for appropriations of federal money.