American Leadership Policy Studies (ALPS) is a for-college credit certificate program that teaches the fundamentals of American government. ALPS includes a custom tailored Political Science 1 – US Government course taught in partnership with accredited colleges to assure students receive college credit. The class is taught from the perspective of industry professionals who work in local/state/federal bureaucracies and/or political/union campaigns. This course program may operate at the site of a partnering college or instructor of record who licenses ALPS course materials from WestCal Academy or at WestCal Academy’s main campus in partnership with an accredited college. WestCal Academy This slide covers the following: 1. Bureaucratic Power 2. Iron Triangles 3. Presidential Control Of The Bureaucracy 4. Congress And Its Members 5. Congress Versus The Executive Branch 6. Supreme Court 7. Legitimacy Factor In Law Making 8. Federal Court Structure 9. Elite Propaganda & Cinemocracy 10. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”

1. West Coast American Leadership Academy
Political Science 1 – US Government
Fall 2015 / Spring 2016 – Power Point 7

2. Course Lecture Topics
1. Bureaucratic Power
2. Iron Triangles
3. Presidential Control Of The Bureaucracy
4. Congress And Its Members
5. Congress Versus The Executive Branch
6. Supreme Court
7. Legitimacy Factor In Law Making
8. Federal Court Structure
9. Elite Propaganda & Cinemocracy
10. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”

3. Bureaucratic Elite
THE BUREAUCRATIC ELITE
Bureaucratic Power comes from technological advances,
information explosions, and societal growth and
complexity.
1. The Washington Bureaucratic Elite is a major base of power.
2. Iron Triangles are three major power bases coming together
to decide an issue outcome.
3. Revolving Doors are public-private sector power trades of
knowledge, experience, and contacts.
4. The Power of Regulatory Commissions derives from
independence and oversight responsibilities.
5. Fiscal Responsibility is the power to establish national
priorities within the boundaries of available resources.

4. Iron Triangle
Congressional Committee
Issue
Interest
Groups Bureaucracy

5. Revolving Door – Career Philosophy
• Students learn the value of
revolving doors: working in the
public and private sector.
• Work in government first and then
market themselves to the private
sector.
• Multiple local / state / federal
career opportunities

6. How People View Special Interests

7. American Military Power
The United States possesses the
most advanced military hardware
known to man. Here is a sample of
our overwhelming firepower.
Students will be asked the
following question following this
video presentation: “What prevents
the United States from utilizing its
full military capacity?

8. Presidents & Bureaucracies
Presidential Control of the Bureaucracy is a power
delegated by the Constitution.
1. Appointments allow the president to manage programs
and enforce policy using loyal officials.
2. Reorganization allows the president to prioritize his
policy initiatives.
3. The Budget with Congress allows the president to make
a policy statement about the role of government.

9. Presidents & Bureaucracies
1. The tradition of the Cabinet dates back to the
beginnings of the Presidency itself. Established in
Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, the Cabinet's
role is to advise the President on any subject he may
require relating to the duties of each member's
respective office.
2. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the
heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries
of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education,
Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland
Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior,
Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans
Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

10. President’s Cabinet
1. Vice President of the United States
2. Department of State
3. Department of the Treasury
4. Department of Defense
5. Department of Justice
6. Department of the Interior
7. Department of Agriculture
8. Department of Commerce
9. Department of Labor
10. Department of Health and Human Services
11. Department of Housing and Urban Development
12. Department of Transportation
13. Department of Energy
14. Department of Education
15. Department of Veterans Affairs
16. Department of Homeland Security

11. Masses & Parties
Activists are most likely to participate
in campaign activities. These are the
most partisan among typical voters.
Two of the most common activities
aside from voting is donating personal
labor and financial resources. Political
pandering refers to how parties cater
to their core base of activists. Those
found in the Republican Party tend to
be more conservative than the
average Republican voter.
Democratic activists on the other
hand tend to be more liberal than the
average Democratic voter.

12. Masses & Parties
Super PACs came following the July 2010
outcome of SpeechNow.org versus
Federal Election Commission (FEC). Super
PACs may raise unlimited sums of money
from corporations, unions, associations
and individuals, then spend unlimited sums
to overtly advocate for or against political
candidates. Super PACs must report their
donors to the FEC on a monthly or
quarterly basis -- the Super PAC's choice --
like traditional PACs. Unlike traditional
PACs, Super PACs are prohibited from
donating money directly to political
candidates. Source: Opensecrets.org

13. Cold War Manipulation
Propaganda is a necessary tool.
“Make Mine Freedom” is a 1948
Cold War-era cartoon that uses
humor to tout the dangers of
Communism and the benefits of
capitalism. Various points made
in this presentation touch on
John Locke’s “Second Treatise
Of Government”. Can you pick
them out?

14. Cold War Manipulation
Elite manipulation has existed
in our country even prior to the
days of our founding. Masses
are susceptible to manipulation
as they are highly emotional.
Elites utilize symbolism to pull
these emotional heartstrings at
will. Enjoy this 1952
government sponsored film
vilifying communism.

15. Cold War Manipulation
The “Kitchen Debate” was held in
Moscow on July 24, 1959. Vice-
President Richard Nixon debates
Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev in a
make-believe kitchen. The day before,
Vice-President Richard Nixon had
flown to Moscow in a "cultural
exchange" program between the two
countries. The stated goal of the
exchange was to promote
understanding about the cultures of
the two superpowers. Both men were
focusing on promoting their respective
systems to the non-aligned countries.

16. Congress
Congress is a less representative branch than the
Founding Fathers intended.
1. Members of Congress are political entrepreneurs recruited
from the upper classes of their home constituencies.
2. Members of Congress represent the elites of their districts
and responsibly vote on their behalf with strong regularity.
3. Members of Congress have a reputation for using
incumbency advantages and consistently raising money to
seek reelection.
4. Leadership procedures and structures in Congress appear
to form interlocking conglomerates of policy responders,
iron triangle members, and status quo protectors.

17. Congressional Millionaire Club (1)
1. The Center for Responsive Politics analyzed the
personal financial disclosure data from 2012 of
the 534 current members of Congress and found
that, for the first time, more than half had an
average net worth of $1 million or more: 268 to
be exact, up from 257 the year earlier. The
median for congressional Democrats was $1.04
million and, for Republicans, $1 million even.
2. To calculate the net worth of lawmakers, the
Center added together members’ significant
assets, such as corporate bonds and stocks, then
subtracted major liabilities such as loans, credit
card debt and property mortgages.

18. Congressional Millionaire Club (2)
3. Here’s the breakdown: the
median net worth for all House
members was $896,000
4. Democrats averaged $929,000.
5. Republicans averaged $884,000.
6. Senators averaged $2.5 million.
7. The median net worth for Senate
Democrats was $1.7 million,
down from $2.4 million in 2011.
8. The median net worth for
Republicans was $2.9 million, up
from $2.5 million in 2011.

19. Congress Vs. The President
The Constitution gives Congress an Invitation to Struggle
with the President.
1. Congress responds to policy proposals initiated by the
president.
2. Congress and the president have engaged in highly
publicized budgetary battles.
3. Congress has used investigations and impeachment in an
attempt to control the president’s actions for perhaps
purely political reasons.

20. Manipulation Example
How can we protect
ourselves against the threats
of germs and toxins? Cold
War America gears up to
fend off threats from
unconventional bioweapons.
This is another example of
how propaganda is utilized
to foster fear within society.
Enjoy this example.

21. Courts (1)
Judicial decision making by the Supreme Court involves
most important policy questions.
1. Judicial review gives the federal court system power to
say whether actions of the two political branches are
constitutional or unconstitutional.
2. Jurisdiction gives the Court the opportunity to hear and
decide a case and seek compliance with its ruling.
3. Judicial philosophy gives justices the tools to make wise
decisions about constitutional issues.
4. Politics is a useful decision making aid when a case does
not present a liberal-conservative dimension.

22. Courts (2)
5. The backgrounds of all Supreme Court justices generally
reflect ties with the upper social strata that rule the
nation.
6. The style of judicial policy making contributes to the
power of the Supreme Court.
7. The hierarchical structure of the federal court system and
the Supreme Court contribute to their influence in the
political system.
8. The Court as ruler of the nation is an appropriate
description for an institution that resolves key conflicts in
society and is not even elected.

23. Propaganda
Governmental elites may believe
that their national policies are so
concrete that it is necessary to utilize
various forms of propaganda to
incite specific reactions from its
citizens. Various forms of
propaganda have been utilized to
drum up mass support to better
assure elite legitimacy. Cinemocracy,
the relationship between motion
pictures and government is one way
governmental elites sell their
agenda. Enjoy this classic cartoon,
“The Ducktators”.

24. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (1)
Arguments against British rule in Common Sense:
1. It is ridiculous and against natural law for an island to rule a
continent.
2. Europe is unlikely to see peace for long and whenever a
war breaks out between England and a foreign power, the
trade of America would go to ruin due to the economic
connection.
3. It is no longer a "British nation"; it is composed of
influences from all of Europe.
4. Even if Britain was originally the "mother country" of
America, that makes her current actions all the more
horrendous, for no true mother would harm her children so
deplorably.

25. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (2)
5. Remaining a part of Britain will drag America into
unnecessary European wars, and keep it from the
international commerce at which America excels.
6. That government is best that governs least. Society
represents all that is good about humanity, government
represents all that is bad about it.
7. The distance between the two nations makes the lag in
communication time about a year for something to go round
trip. If there was something wrong in the government, it
would take a year before the colonies would hear back.

26. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (3)
1. The New World was discovered shortly after the
Reformation. This was evidence for the Puritans that God
wanted to give them America as a safe haven free from the
persecution of British rule.
2. Criticizes the English Constitution, saying that the right for
the House of Commons to "check" the king is ridiculous, as
the king is given the right to rule by God, therefore, he
needs no "checking".