In just the few short months since the primaries and caucuses, the Nominating Conventions, the Presidential Election of 2016, followed by the Inauguration of #45 , all those terms from History 101 have come alive. Each news cycle the vocabulary and terms of 101 are used, sometimes to the confusion of not only the constituents but the actual politicians and the press reporting.So here's a review of 101.
Let's start with the GENERAL ELECTION. This year, as we do every four (4) years the major and minor political parties nominate candidates who best represent the ideals and principles of their party for PRESIDENT and for the office of Vice President of The UNITED STATES. This planned change of leadership every four years seemed like a good idea to our forefathers.It was not a number of years randomly selected but rather hotly debated during the drafting of The Constitution.
The Framers determined the number of years a given term could be, anywhere from3 to 20 were debated, before deciding on the number four. It was best thought that that period of time (4 years) was NOT long enough to risk any HARM to the public safety, yet gives the President enough time to accomplish goals.
[The President] shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years....
ARTICLE II, SECTION 1, CLAUSE 1
Our first President, #1, George Washington, set precedence after serving two consecutive terms, by NOT seeking re-election. All subsequent presidents up to FDR followed that unwritten custom.The 22nd Amendment, enacted after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president for the fourth time, imposes a two-term limit on presidential candidates and was established to formalize a tradition George Washington started by refusing to run for a third term in 1796.
So, #44 was destined to leave office, January 2017. In his last few months (Election Day to Inauguration) he is, as others serving out their days in office, given the designation of a LAME DUCK.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE: We all heard that term almost every single night on the news. So what is this ELECTORAL COLLEGE?.
Seems our forefathers didn't necessarily trust the electorate, US, the citizens, to actually elect our Supreme Leader and others didn't want the Legislative branch to choose our leaders so a compromise was devised.They invented something called the ELECTORAL COLLEGE to actually elect the President.The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
Using todays numbers regarding the Electoral College: 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 representatives and 100 senators, plus the three electors the District of Columbia.
A candidate must receive an absolute majority of electoral votes (currently 270) to win the presidency or the vice presidency. If no candidate receives a majority in the election for president or vice president, the election is determined via a contingency procedure established by the Twelfth Amendment. In such a situation, the House chooses one of the top three presidential electoral vote-winners as the president, while the Senate chooses one of the top two vice presidential electoral vote-winners as vice president.
POPULAR VOTE: Or, DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Last election,NO, the majority of the popular vote was won by the candidate who did NOT win the majority of 270 electoral votes. Hence, that candidate lost the Election of 2016.
So now you are elected President.
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH: (Taken directly from WhiteHouse.gov)
The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.
The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.
The PresidentThe President is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Under Article II of the Constitution, the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. Fifteen executive departments — each led by an appointed member of the President's Cabinet — carry out the day-to-day administration of the federal government. They are joined in this by other executive agencies such as the CIA and Environmental Protection Agency, the heads of which are not part of the Cabinet, but who are under the full authority of the President. The President also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent federal commissions, such as the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as federal judges, ambassadors, and other federal offices. The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff to the President, along with entities such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The President has the power either to sign legislation into law or to veto bills enacted by Congress, although Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Executive Branch conducts diplomacy with other nations, and the President has the power to negotiate and sign treaties, which also must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. The President can issue executive orders, which direct executive officers or clarify and further existing laws. The President also has unlimited power to extend pardons and clemencies for federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment.
TWO HOUSES: Aka THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: I probably should have started with ARTICLE 1 of The Constitution. Live and learn:
ARTICLE 1:
Section 1 : Two Houses:
All legislative Powers are vested in a CONGRESS which consists of two bodies, The SENATE and THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Section 2: The House of Representatives:
Chosen every two years, (even numbered years plus 0) The House is considered the LOWER chamber of The United States Congress. It consists of 435 members, a number fixed by law. Each member is elected by POPULAR vote chosen by the electors of their Congressional Districts. These 435 seats are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population measured by the U.S. Census.
The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. In addition to this basic power, the House has certain exclusive powers of which include the power to initiate all bills related to revenue, the impeachment of federal officers, who are sent to trial in the Senate, and in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for President, the duty falls upon the House to elect one of the top three recipients of electors for that office, with one vote given to each state for that purpose.
The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other floor leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences, depending on whichever party has more voting members.
Section 3: THE SENATE
The SENATE of the United States , considered the UPPER chamber of Congress, consists of 100 members, two from each state, serving for six year terms. The seats are vacated and up for reelection on a rotation so that 1/3 of the body is chosen every two years. The VICE PRESIDENT of the United States is the PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE and shall have NO vote, except to break a 50/50 tie.THE JUDICIAL BRANCH:
The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress. The number of Associate Justices is currently fixed at eight (28 U. S. C. §1). Power to nominate the Justices is vested in the President of the United States, and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. Article III, §1, of the Constitution further provides that "[t]he Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."
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