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Standard and Short Edition:
1 American Political Culture
2 The Founding and the Constitution
3 Federalism
4 Civil Liberties
5 Civil Rights
6 Public Opinion
7 The Media
8 Political Participation and Voting
9 Political Parties
10 Campaigns and Elections
11 Groups and Interests
12 Congress
13 The Presidency
14 Bureaucracy In A Democracy
15 The Federal Courts
16 Government and Economy
17 Social Policy
18 Foreign Policy and Democracy
Texas Edition:
19 The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
20 The Texas Constitution
21 Parties and Elections in Texas
22 Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Lobbyists
23 The Texas Legislature
24 The Texas Executive Branch
25 The Texas Judiciary
26 Local Government in Texas
27 Public Policy in Texas

Chapter 12: Congress

Questions for Discussion and Thought

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  1. Assume you are a member of the state legislature and now must cast the deciding vote on a very controversial issue. If you knew that your personal position was contrary to that held by the majority of the people in your district, would you vote in accord with your beliefs or their interests? If you were able to vote anonymously, would this change your vote?

  1. Why does the U.S. public have such a low opinion of Congress? Less than one-quarter approve of the way Congress does its job, although nearly 60 percent approve of how their individual member of Congress is doing. How can this contradiction be explained?

  1. The text asserts that the impeachment process used against both President Andrew Johnson and President Bill Clinton was highly partisan and political. Do you agree? Do you believe President Clinton’s actions reached the standard of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors”? Explain.

  1. How representative is Congress? Most legislators are white, upper-middle-class males, although this group is a very small part of our entire population. What impact does this skewed representation have in terms of liberty, equality, and democracy? Can these people really represent women, minorities, poor people? Realistically, could a poor person ever get elected? What would be the benefits of a more diverse legislature?

  1. If you were to run for Congress, what would be your three most important campaign issues? Why did you select those issues? Whose interests do those issues reflect? What could you do that would make a difference in solving these issues?



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