25th Amendment

1. How did Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein react to President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey?

• He was bewildered and said that he could possibly call upon Jeff Sessions and John Kelly to invoke the 25th amendment.

2. What does Section 4 of the 25th Amendment give the Cabinet the power to do?  Why would they do this?

• It gives the vice president and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries the power to decide that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” and send it to the Speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore.
• They would do this to remove an unfit president from power, or just to remove him from power in general.

3. What does Congress do if the Cabinet exercises this power?

• If the president refutes it, then within 21 days (if not in this time period president keeps power), Congress votes on if the president is unfit, needing 2/3 votes to deem he is unfit in each house.

4. What happened to the presidency when James Garfield or Woodrow Wilson were unable to fulfill their duties as POTUS?

• They just remained president and didn't do much for those months.

5. What event finally got Congress to address the problems with presidential succession?

• The assassination of JFK.

6. Besides the powers adressed in #2, what else is covered in the 25th Amendment?

• If a president died or resigned or was convicted of impeachment crimes, the vice president would become president, and it said a simple way to fill a vacant vice presidency in which the president nominates someone, and both Houses of Congress take a vote. It also covered for an injured president to voluntarily transfer their powers to the vice president and then easily get them back with a written declaration that he was healthy again.

7. What would have to happen in order for VP Mike Pence to assume power right now?

• He and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries the power to decide that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” and send it in writing to the Speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore, then Mike Pence takes power. If Trump refutes this, then in 21 days if 2/3 of each house says Trump is unfit, then Pence can keep power.

8. What does "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." mean?

• It could mean a lot of things, like poor physical health, mental health, judgement, or just disagreement.

9. What could the president do if he disagrees with his Cabinet?

• He could tell the Speaker of the House and the Senate pro tem that he is not unable to perform duties, and if it is still said by the cabinet and VP that he is unable, then it goes to Congress.

10. How does this article differentiate this action from a coup?

• It is different from a coup because it is legal and constitutional.

The Right to Vote

1. What does the "original Constitution" (Articles 1-7 only, no amendments) say about voting rights?

• The original Constitution said that voting rights are left to the states and that it wasn't an inalienable right, but a privilege.

2. What does Lichtman mean when he says voting amendments are in "negative terms"?

• He means that the amendments are phrased to what the states can't do, and aren't in affirmative right to vote. This leaves the right to vote to be fragile.

3. Why does he think that the Framers left the right to vote guarantee out of the Constitution?

• He thinks that the Framers left the right to vote guarantee out of the Constitution because they believed voting should be restricted to those who held property or at minimum paid taxes.

4. Why does he say that we are now in a "period of backsliding" when it comes to voting rights?

• He believes that we are in a period of backsliding because we have new and obscure forms of voter disenfranchisement.

5. What forms of voter suppression does he mention?

• He mentions ID laws, registration purges, racial/political gerrymandering, and the disenfranchisement of felons.

6. Why is it difficult to overturn laws that suppress voting rights?

• It is difficult to overturn these laws because the judiciary is conservative and will let the states do as they please.

7. Where does he expect to see the biggest changes in the protections of voting rights to come from?

• He expects to see the biggest changes in the state courts instead of the federal courts.

8. What was strange about the way votes in Florida were counted in the 2000 elections?

• One out of every 10 African-American votes were discounted, whereas only one out of every 50 white votes were discounted.

9. How many states added photo ID laws for voters after Barack Obama's election in 2008?

• 15 states have added photo ID laws since 2008.

10. What kinds of policies does Lichtman suggest that the US needs?

• He suggests that the US needs anti-gerrymandering reforms, same-day voter registration, and automatic registration.

Senate Election Preview

1. To win control of the Senate, Democrats will need to win most or all of West Virginia, North Dakota, Missouri, Montana, Indiana, Florida, and then win the Republican-held seats in Arizona, Nevada, and maybe Tennessee or Texas.
2. 10 Senate races are competitive.
3. It will be difficult for Heidi Heitkamp to win reelection because the Republicans chose a strong candidate, Kevin Cramner. He is allied closely with Trump on key issues such as energy, and although Trump's support is declining in North Dakota, Trump has 50% approval and Heidi has 44% approval, making it difficult for her.
4. Polling tells us that this is the tightest race, with a 0.6 point separation between McCaskill and Hawley. McCaskill is not in the lead.
5. The interesting situation that Heller is in is that he would support the governor's opinion on repealing Medicaid, and the governor said that he did not support repealing it. However, he starting voting for repeal policies after Trump talked to him and apparently some outside GOP money. The state does not really like Trump (45% approval, 51% disapproval).
6. The two candidates in Tennessee are Marsha Blackburn (R) and Phil Bredesen (D). Tennessee has majority support for Trump (56% approval, 40% disapproval).
7. The advantage Rick Scott has over Bill Nelson is that Scott has a lot of money, and has outspent Nelson on a 4-1 scale.
8. The Florida governor race may impact the election because Andrew Gillum is the Democratic nominee for governor and is the first black candidate for governor in Florida, so it may give the Democrats a boost in the Senate election.
9. Senator Flake has taken the stance of constantly criticizing Trump, but he still votes for his agenda every time.
10. What has changed about the Senate race in Texas since the beginning of summer was that at the beginning of summer, Cruz was doing very well and leading by double digits, his lead has dwindled to single digits and he is not doing as well.
11. Joe Donnelly avoids associating himself with the Democrats because Indiana is a very Republican state and so he only proclaims himself Democrat when absolutely necessary, like with Obamacare.
12. It is strange that a Democrat represents West Virginia because the state is so heavily conservative (63% support Trump).

SCOTUS Nominee

1. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds the meeting and it is expected to go all week. 
2. The purpose of these hearings is to vet contenders for the high court. They use it to shed light on the nominee's record and legal reasoning.
3. Democrats are arguing that this judge may have a conflict of interest in the future because he may one day rule on the elements of the Mueller investigation.
4. Most people expect that Kavanaugh will be confirmed.
5. Before he was nominated to this post, Kavanaugh was first working for two federal appellate judges, then worked in the solicitor general's office under George H.W. Bush, and next clerked for Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. He is currently working for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
6. His role in the Clinton investigation is important to some people because he originally worked to indict Clinton, but now he has flipped his beliefs and says a president should not be indicted in office, which means if Trump has charges against him, he does not believe he should be indicted in office.
7. His opinions on health care and abortion are most important to Democrats.
8. 28 witnesses will be questioned as well during these hearings.
9. The purpose on the Committee voting on Kavanaugh is that they will decide whether to recommend he be confirmed, rejected, or given no recommendation to the Senate, who decides on the appointments.
10. A simple majority of 51 votes is required to confirm him. Republicans have enough votes now because they currently hold the majority.
11. The approach of the Democrats is that they are working to fire up grassroots protesters based off Kavanaugh's performance and get enough people to call their Congressmen to oppose the nominee.