This week Craig breaks out the crystal ball to try and figure out why our congresspeople do the things that they do. We’ll talk about the three motivating factors of congressional decisions - constituency, interest groups, and political parties - and we’ll break down how each of these factors motivate certain actions like casework, public opinion polls, and logrolling. Craig will even weigh in on which of these factors probably contributes most significantly to the actions and decisions of our congresspersons and he'll do it without even a touch of cynicism!

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1. Introduction to American Government
2. The Bicameral Congress
3. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
4. Federalism
5. Constitutional Compromises
6. Congressional Elections
7. Congressional Committees
8. Congressional Leadership
9. How a Bill Becomes a Law
10. Congressional Decisions
11. Presidential Power
12. Presidential Powers 2
13. Congressional Delegation
14. How Presidents Govern
15. Bureaucracy Basics
16. Types of Bureaucracies
17. Controlling Bureaucracies
18. Legal System Basics
19. Structure of the Court System
20. Supreme Court of the United States Procedures
21. Judicial Review
22. Judicial Decisions
23. Civil Right
24. Freedom of Religion
25. Freedom of Speech
26. Freedom of the Press
27. Search and Seizure
28. Due Process of Law
29. Equal Protection
30. Sex Discrimination
31. Discrimination
32. Affirmative Action
33. Public Opinion
34. Shaping Public Opinion
35. Political Ideology
36. Election Basics
37. Gerrymandering
38. How Voters Decide
39. Political Campaigns
40. Political Parties
41. Party Systems
42. Interest Groups
43. Interest Group Formation
44. Media Institution
45. Media Regulation
46. Market Economy
47. Government Regulation
48. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
49. Social Policy
50. Foreign Policy

In this crash course series hosted by Craig Benzine (aka WheezyWaiter), learn the basics of American government in videos lasting about 9 minutes each, covering the basic functions and policies discussed in American politics