POSC EXAM 2 (PART 2) CHPATER 11

The service strategy: take care of constituents (page 330-331)

-An incumbent promotes his or her reelection prospects by catering to the constituents: the people residing in the incumbent's state or district. -members of congress pay attention to constituency opinions when choosing positions on legislation, and they work hard to get their share of federal spending projects. such projects are often derided as pork (or pork-barrel spending) by outsiders but are embraced by those who live in the state or district that gets a federally funded project, such as a new hospital, research center, or highway. -incumbents also respond to their constituents' individual requests a practice known as the service strategy. -whether a constituent is seeking information about a government program or looking for help in obtaining a federal benefit, the representative's staff is ready to assist. ex: Congress faced the question of how to come up with the billions of dollars that would be required to rebuild New Orleans and the other Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. One option was to trim the $286 billion transportation bill that congress enacted. in that bill there were hundreds of pork-barreled projects.

HOUSE LEADERS (page 341-344)*

-Constitution specifies that the House of Representatives will be presided over by a SPEAKER, elected by the votes of its members. -MAJORITY PARTY HAS THE LARGEST # OF MEMBERS, it also has the most votes, and the Speaker is a member of the majority party. -Next to the president, THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IS SAID TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL NATIONAL OFFICIAL. -Speaker is active in developing the party's positions on issues and in persuading party members in the House to support them. -ALTHOUGH, the Speaker CANNOT require party members to support the party's program, they look to the Speaker for leadership. -The speaker has certain formal powers: the right to speak 1s during House debate on legislation and the power to recognize members, to grant them permission to speak on the floor.. -The House places a time limit on floor debate, not everyone has chance to speak & Speaker can influence legislation by deciding who speaks and when. -Speaker also chooses CHAIR PERSON and the majority-party members of the powerful HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE which controls the scheduling of bills. (if Speaker doesn't want bill passed, it won't be)

COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP (PAGE 345-346)*

-Most of the work in Congress is conducted through standing committees, which are permanent committees with responsibility for particular areas of public policy. -there are currently 20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate. -each chamber has a standing committee that handles foreign policy issues. -other important standing committees are those that deal with agriculture, commerce, the interior (natural resources and public lands), defense, government spending, labor, judiciary, and taxation. -House committees average about 35-40members each, are twice the size of Senate committees. -Each standing committee can draft, rewrite proposed legislation, and recommend to the full chamber the passage or defeat of the bills it handles.

PARTY UNITY IN CONGRESS* (Page 338-340)

-Political parties are the greatest force within congress. -Political parties are the greatest source of unity and the greatest source of division among members of congress. -the partisan divide has widened in the past 3 decades. -Before congressional Republicans were divided almost evenly between the party's conservative and progressive wings, and congressional Democrats consisted of a liberal northern wing and a conservative south wing. -since then the republican party's progressive wing and theDemocratic party's conservative southern wing have withered. -in both the house in the senate, the most liberal Republican was further to the right than the most conservative democrat -as a result, each congressional party has attained a high level of party unity in which members of party band together on legislation and stand against the opposite party -trend can be seen by looking at the party distribution on roll-call votes.

why is the Senate majority leader's position less powerful than the Speaker of House (page 345)*

-the senate majority isn't the chamber's presiding officer because the Constitution assigned that position to the vice president (vice president only allowed to vote in a tie). in absence of VP traditions the majority's party most senior member fill in. -the Senate has tradition of unlimited debate. any senator that wants to speak for a bill can. -individual senators have more autonomy than do individual House Members. -The senates smaller in size- 100 members versus 435 House members. -Senators serve 6 year terms unlike House members who serve 2 year terms

Redistricting: favorable boundaries fro house incumbents (page 333)

House members, but not senators, have a final electoral advantage. because incumbents are hard to unseat, they are always a force to be reckoned with, a fact that is apparent during redistricting. every ten years, after each population census, the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are relocated among the states in proportion to their population (aka reappointment). states that have gained population since the last census may acquire additional House seats, while those that have lost population may lose seats. ex: after the 2010 census, Texas and Florida were among the states that gained House Seats and New York and Ohio were among those that lost seats. States are required by law to have House districts that are nearly equal in population a possible. As a result, they must redraw their district boundaries after each census to account for population shifts within the state during the previous ten years.

General Election Challengers: A Problem for Senators (page 336)*

Incumbents in the senate are also vulnerable to strong challengers. -senators often find themselves running against a high-ranking politician, such as the state's governor or attorney general.such opponents have the voter base, campaign organization, fundraising ability, public recognition, and credentials to mount a strong campaign. -House incumbents are less likely to face strong challengers. a house seat is often not attractive enough to induce a prominent local politician, such as a mayor or state leg, to risk losing to an incumbent. -most House incumbents face opponents who struggle to raise enough money to run a strong campaign.

party leaders (page 338) *

Members of the House and Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represents the party's interests in the chamber and who give one central direction to the chamber's work.

true for work of congress (page 329)

Much of the work of Congress is done through its committees, each of which has its own leadership and its designated policy jurisdiction

PARTIES AND PARTY LEADERSHIP (PAGE 338-344)*

The US Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning it has two chambers, the House and the Senate. Both Chambers are organized largely along party lines. at the start of each-year congressional term, party members in each chamber meet to elect their party leaders the individuals who will lend their party's efforts in the chamber. party members also meet periodically in closed session, which is called a party cacaus, to plan strategy, develop issues, and resolve policy differences. -PARTY UNITY IN CONGRESS -PARTY LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS -HOUSE LEADERS -SENATE LEADER

Using incumbency to stay in congress (page 330-334)

The man reason incumbents run so strongly is that many congressional districts and some states are so lopsidedly Democratic or Republicans the candidates of he stronger party seldom lose. no more than 75 of the 435 House seats about one in six is completive enough that the weaker party has a realistic chance of victory. -The service strategy: take care of constituents -campaign fundraising; raking in the money -redistricting: favorable boundaries for house incumbents

Minority Party (page 344)*

The minority party also has its house leaders. the _____ _____ leader heads the party's caucus and its policymaking committee and plays the leading role in developing the party's legislative positions.

gerrymandering (pg 334)

The process by which the party in power draws election district boundaries in a way that enhances the reelection prospect of its candidates. The party that controls the legislature typically redraws the boundaries in a way that favors candidates of its party a process called ______. (Arizona, California, and Iowa, entrust redistricting to an independent commission). Incumbents typically benefit from this. when redistricting the majority party in the state legislature places enough of its party's voters in its incumbents' districts to ensure ther reelection. most of the minority party's incumbents' districts to ensure their reelection for a few House Incumbents. redistricting is a threat to reelection. when a state loses a congressional seat or seats, there may fewer seats than there are incumbents, who can end up running against each other.

party caucus (page 338) *

a group that consists of a party's member in the House or Senate and that serves to elect the party's leadership, set policy goals, and plan party strategy.

Bicameral legislature (page 338)*

a legislature that has two chambers (the House and the Senate, in the case of the United States)

House of Representatives (standing committees in congress) (page 346)*

agriculture armed services budget education and the workforce energy and commerce ethics financial services foreign affairs homeland security house administration judiciary natural resources oversight and government reform rules science, space, and technology small business transportation and infrastructure veterans' affairs ways and means

Senate (standing committees in congress) (page 346)*

agriculture, nutrition, and forestry appropriations armed services banking, housing, and urban affairs budget commerce, science, and transprttion energy and natural resources environment and public works finance foreign relations health, education, labor, and pensions homeland security and governmental affairs judiciary rules and administration small business and entrepreneurship veteran' affairs

a new threat: super pacs (page336-337)*

although incumbents ordinarily have a funding advantage over their challengers, the situation can change when they appear vulnerable. contributors from outside the state or district may target the race and donate money to the challenger. although this threat has existed for years, it has increased with the emergence of _____ ____ ex: in the 2010 Colorado Senate Race, which pitted the Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet against Ken Buck, a republican district attorney. their race turned out to be one of the most expensive Senate Campaigns in history. Although the Bennett and Buck campaigns spent a combined total less than $15 million about average from a contested Senate race in a midsize state independent groups and ____ _____ spent an additional $22 million, mostly on behalf of Buck. Bennett. narrowly survived the inflow of money, winning by less than two percentage points.

true for fragmented structure (page 329)

because of its fragmented structure , congress is not well suited to take the lead on major national policies, which has allowed the president to assume this role. on the other hand, congress is well organized to handle policies of narrower scope.

true for congress policy making (page 329)

congress's policymaking role is baed on three major functions: lawmaking, representation, and oversight

Congressional elections usually result in the reelection of the incumbent (page 328-329)

congressional office provides incumbents with substantial resources (free publicity, staff, and legislative influence) that give them (particularly House Members) a major advantage in election campaigns

primary election challengers (page 336)*

if incumbent is confronted with a strong challenger from the extreme wing of their party, they stand a chance of losing because strong partisans are more likely than party moderates to vote in primary elections. ex: in 2012, Richard Luger, a six term incumbent and widely respected member of the Senate, was trounced in Indiana's GOP primary by conservative Richard Murdock, who portrayed Lugar as too moderate and too much of a Washington insider.

turnout variation: the midterm election problem (page 335-336) *

in 21 of the last 25 midterm elections those that occur midway through president's term-the presidents party has lost House seats. ex: the 2014 midterm elections, when the Democratic Party lost seats, fit the normal pattern. this pattern is attributed to the drop-off in turnout that accompanies midterm election. the midterm electoral is substantially smaller than the presidential electorate. People who only vote in the presidential election tend to have WEAKER party ties and are MORE responsive to the issue of the moments. 2 years later in the midterm elections, many of these voters stay home while those who do go to the polls vote largely among party lines. some voters treat the midterm election as a referendum on the president's performance. -presidents usually lose popularity during the term of office as a result of their policy decisions

true in recent decades (page 329)

in recent decades, congressional republicans have become more uniformly conservative and congressional democrats have become more uniformly liberal, which has made it easier for each party's members to band together but harder for them to reach agreements with the other party's members, which has increased the frequency of legislative deadlock

senate leaders (page 344-345)*

in the senate, the most important party leadership position is that of the MAJORITY LEADER -majority leader: heads the majority party caucus. the majority leader role resembles the Speaker of the House in that the senate majority leader formulates the majority party's legislative agenda and encourages party members to support it. -Senate Majority leader also like the Speaker of the House chairs the party's policy committee and acts as the party's voice in the chamber. -Senate Majority leader is assisted by the majority whip, who sees to it that members know when important votes are scheduled.

*PITFALLS OF INCUMBENCY * (PG 334-337

incumbency is not without its risks. senate and house incumbents can fall victim to disruptive issues, personal misconduct, turnout, swings, strong challengers, and campaign money. -disruptive issues -personal misconduct -turnout variation: the midterm election problem -primary election challengers -general election challengers: a problem for senators -a new threat: super pacs

Campaign fundraising: raking in the money (page 332)

incumbents also have a decided advantage when it comes to raising the campaign funds. congressional elections ae expensive because of the high coast of TV advertising, polling, ad other modern campaign techniques. -today successful House campaign in a competitive district exceeds a million dollars. -the price of victory in competitive district ranges from several million dollars in small states up to $20 million or more in larger states -its rare for incumbents to have trouble raisin enough money -incubens past campaigns and constituents service provide them a ready list of potential contributors. -incumbents have an edge with political action committees which fundraise arm of interest group

disruptive issues(page 334-335) *

most elections are not waged in the context of disruptive issues, but when they are, incumbents are at greater risks. when voter are angry about existing political conditions, they re more likely to believe that those in power should be tossed out of office. ex: the 2006 congressional election, which was waged in the context of Republican president George W. Bush's leadership of an unpopular was in Iraq, saw the defeat of more than twice the usual number of incumbents. Virtually all of them were Republicans, enabling Democrats to seize control of both chambers The parties' fortune sun the other way in the 2010 congressional election when public anger over economic conditions and the mushrooming federal deficit contributed. to the death of an unusually high number of incumbents, nearly all of the Democrats.

open-seat election (page 333)

often brings out a strong candidate from each party and involves heavy spending, especially when the parties are rather evenly matched in the state or district. an election in which there is no incumbent in the race

Leadership in Congress is provided by party leaders, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader (page 329)

party leaders are in a stronger position today than a few decades ago because the party caucuses in Congress are more ideologically cohesive than in the past

personal misconduct (page 335) *

some members of congress can get caught up in influence peddling, sex scandals, and other forms of misconduct. "the first thing to being reelected is to stay away from scandal, even minor scandal" -John Hibbing About a fourth of House incumbents who lot their bid for reelection in the past 2 decades were shadowed by ethical questions. ex: In 2005, Representative William Jefferson demanded $100,000 in cash from a firm in return for helping it obtain government contracts. The firm alerted authorities to Jefferson's acceptance of the money, and the FBI raided Jefferson's congressional office, finding $90,000 hidden in a small freezer. in the 2008, election Jefferson lost to his Republican opponent, even though his Louisiana district was heavily Democratic.

pork/ pork-barrel spending (page 330)

spending whose tangible benefits are targeted at a particular legislator's constituency.

House majority leader (page 343-344)*

the Speaker is assisted by the ____ _____ ____ and the House majority whip, who are chosen by the majority party's members. the ____ ____ ___ acts as the party's floor leader, organizing the debate on bills and lining up legislative support. -The whip has the job of informing party members when critical voters are scheduled.when voting goes underway on the House floor the whip will stand at a location that is easily seen by party members and let them know where the leadership stands on the bill by giving them a thumbs up or thumbs down

midterm elections (page 335)*

the congressional election that occurs midway through the president's term office

incumbent (page329-330)

the current holder of a particular public office have a 90% probability of winning reelection.

party unity (page339) *

the degree to which a party's House or Senate members act as a unified group to exert collective control over legislative action

constituency (page 330)

the people residing within the geographical area represented by an elected official

redistricting (pg 334)

the process of altering election districts in order to make them as nearly equal in population as possible. _____ takes place very 10 years, after each population census. The responsibility for redrawing House election districts a process called _____ rests with the respective state legislatures.

Reapportionment (pg 333)

the relocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population changes

service strategy (page 331)

use of personal staff by members for congress to perform service for constituents in order to gain their support in future elections

PARTY LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS (page 341)*

usually chosen for their demonstrated leadership ability, as well as their ability to work effectively with other members. -in European parliaments, party leaders can count on the backing of party members. the members depend on the party for nomination to office and can be denied nomination in the next election if they fail to support the party on key legislative votes. -In contrast, members of the US Congress depend on themselves for reelection, which gives them the freedom to selectively back or oppose the party's position on key votes.

roll-call votes (page 339)*

votes on which each member's vote is officially recorded, as opposed to voice votes, where the members simply say "aye" or "nay" in unison and the presiding officer indicates which side prevails without tallying individual members' positions. -since the mid 1980s party-line voting on ____ _____ ____has risen. -recently ___ ___ ___ have divided along party lines. the ideological split in the congressional parties is most pronounced on major domestic issues.