discussion and question set about the courts and interest groups

/in /by

1. Discussion Post & Responses

Please choose one of the following questions and react to it briefly. You need to reply to 2 other student’s post. I will give you my peers’ posts later. (I need the discussion question answer in 24 hours, you can give me the response part later.)

When you submit answer, please begin by pasting the question you are responding to in the text field. Then write your answer below.

  • Federal justices serve on the bench “during good Behaviour,” typically meaning until they resign, retire, or pass away. Some have proposed a number of modifications to this, including rotating 18-year terms, staggered such that vacancies are uniform across time. Do you believe justices should have rotating, fixed terms? Why or why not?
  • Federal justices are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so voters have no direct say in who is selected. However, many state courts (like Texas) use competitive elections to select judges, while other states (like California) hold retention elections where the governor first appoints a justice and voters then decide in the next election if they want that individual to continue on. Which selection method do you think is superior? Should justices be elected or appointed? How might these mechanisms change their decisions?
  • The power of “special interests” in DC is often decried by many. Do you believe that interest groups have too much power in the United States? Why or why not? If you believe they have too much power, how could this be addressed?

Before You begin:

  • Posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting an “I agree” or “Good ideas” will not be considered adequate. Support statements with examples, experiences, or references. Be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short paragraphs. Keep in mind that fellow learners will be reading and responding to you, too.
  • Posts should be within a range of 75-150 words.
  • Make certain that all posts and responses address one of the the questions, problems, or situations as presented for discussion. This does not mean you should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.
  • Discussions occur when there is dialogue; therefore, you need to build upon the posts and responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure to revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other learners have posted to your initial responses.
  • When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work experiences, references, web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when appropriate).
  • Contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

2. Question set: The Bureaucracy, The Courts, and Interest Groups

Please respond to each of the four short response questions posted below.Your answers should be short, focused, and complete, ranging from one to three paragraphs.Please make sure to answer each specific part of every question.Successful answers will provide details and context that support your arguments and explain your position to the readers. You may also want to provide real world examples taken from the readings, lectures, group discussions, or your own independent thinking. These illustrations can be from the course materials or your own ideas.Providing this context and being able to apply the material to YOUR OWN understanding of politics really shows us that you have mastered the material.

  1. Who controls the bureaucracy? How do they do so? How does this competition affect the bureaucracy? Why and when do elected officials delegate power to the bureaucracy?
  2. How do judges decide cases? Highlight several types of factors that contribute to their rulings. Why are the courts often considered the weakest branch? Why might this be wrong?
  3. Highlight the types of benefits politicians and bureaucrats receive from interest groups. What is the pluralist defense of interest groups? What might undermine this perspective? Why might it not be so bad?
  4. Describe the difference between insider and outsider lobbying tactics. What types of interest groups generally use each? Under what circumstances will one by more impactful than the other?

You should read the following course reading materials before you begin:

Please be sure to read the entire chapter. The link takes you to the introduction.