GOVT 1111 - FINAL

Frances Lee - Presidents and Party Teams: The Politics of Debt Limits and Executive oversight

Both ideological and partisan polarization play a role The configuration of partisan incentives in the U.S. system creates difficult problems for presidential leadership → the fragmentation of political power in the bicameral separation of powers constitutional framework means that presidents usually need cooperation or acquiescence from both parties in order to govern. Supermajorities are usually necessary to legislate successfully

Thad Kousser: Devolution Revolution

Breakdown of federal government into smaller regional government Federal grants were intentionally designed to push states toward more generous services than they might otherwise provide. If Washington DC had sent states block grants of a fixed amount, most states would have spent all of the federal money while trying hard to minimize state costs paid in addition to the block grant. Instead, federal law makers designed matching rates that required states to spend their own dollars in order to bring in federal money. The more a state spent of its own, the more money it would bring in from Washington DC, a formula for growth in social service provision.

what is another information short-cut that people use to inform their political decisions besides partisanship, race, and gender?

- elite cues!

does public opinion influence politicians' behavior and policy outcomes?

- elites battle with one another to influence public opinion - once opinion has stabilized, elites often respond accordingly --> the anticipate and respond to the political costs of acting contra public opinion

What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 establish?

- established the size of the supreme court (1 chief justice and 5 associates) - created 13 district courts, with at least one in each state that had ratified the Constitution - created a circuit court of appeals within each district

writs of mandamus

Court order directing an official to perform an official duty

Interest Groups' Informational Role

Legislators depend on interest groups for information about how policies affect various constituencies

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Struck down state bans on same sex marriage. The 14th Amendment requires States to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. States must recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State. (Roberts Court)

Describe the article "The 2016 U.S. Election: How Trump Lost and Won" by John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck

Trump won the electoral college by a significant amount but lost in the popular vote by two points - underlying political and economic fundamentals, which include Democratic president Barack Obama's 2016 approval ratings and the economy's growth rate. These were quite consistent with Clinton's popular-vote victory - second factor is increasing racial and ethnic polarization in the Democratic and Republican party coalitions. Particularly during Obama's presidency, voters increasingly sorted themselves by party on the basis of identities and views related to race and ethnicity the centering of both campaigns on issues that tapped into Americans' racial, ethnic, and social identities and attitudes. An identity-focused framing of the election heightened Trump's appeal to white voters, and particularly those without a college education—demographics with a strong presence in key swing states. --> presidential election thus also became a referendum on who Americans believed they were, and how they felt about those who were different from them

How do parties help to "regulate ambition"?

Unchecked ambition can cause uncertainty and political problems - Parties regulate advancement within governing institutions - Parties regulate the competition for higher office

interest group influence

Little evidence that interest groups have much success "twisting arms" and changing members' votes Instead, interest group influence is more subtle Interest groups "buy access" - the opportunity to have their voices heard and to share information with members who are usually ideologically predisposed to agree with them Some evidence of the "electoral connection" - members are more responsive to interests with a strong presence in their districts

what can explain the explosion of spending in 2008/12

Most restrictions struck down by Supreme Court in 2010 in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Subsidizing the Costs of Organization

Selective benefits can help gain members But groups are more likely to form, grow, and succeed when there are a handful of powerful actors willing to pay a disproportionate share of the costs of providing the collective good As a result, groups including powerful interests are more likely to form and thrive It's no coincidence that many of America's most powerful interest groups are economic:

McGovern-Fraser Reforms

democrats set rules/regulations -->limited ability of state party leaders to choose delegates, required women, young voters, and minorities to be represented in state delegations in proportion to their populations --> Led to the dramatic expansion of primaries and essentially ended role of party convention for selecting nominees

What are "Echo Chambers" and "Filter Bubbles"?

echo chambers - an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered --> social media has made it easier than ever for people to live in an echo chamber filter bubbles - how social media networks use data of what we like and don't like to filter out content that we wouldn't agree with --> they sell this data to advertisers

what are parties according to Downs' Economic Theory of Democracy?

a team seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election

what are collective action problems?

obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts in anticipation that others will pay the costs of cooperation

the political questions doctrine

- A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress.

Youngstown v. Sawyer

- Cold War era; President Truman's Secretary of Commerce (Sawyer) seizes the nation's steel mills. This offends the labor unions, which were a major part of Truman's constituency. Truman believed (in his aggregate powers) that he had the power to do what was necessary in times of emergency Issue: Did the President have the constitutional authority to seize and operate the steel mills? Significance: - Congress' lawmaking powers v. president's discretion in foreign affairs - Court can determine the limits of executive power - Distinction between foreign and public affairs --> Justice Jackson offered a concurring opinion that laid out a tripartite framework of presidential power that would prove influential among legal scholars and others charged with assessing executive power

the role of gender in the 2016 election

- Did Clinton's historic candidacy resonate with women voters? - Did Trump's past and rhetoric, and the Clinton campaign's laser focus on it, peel women voters away from Trump -->not different than any 2012

give example of partisanship as a perceptual screen with opinions on the Iraq war

- In 2004, the Iraq survey group issued its final report acknowledging that it had failed to find any evidence of WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) or active WMD programs and concluding that Iraq's WMD programs had ended by 1996 - Most Americans, dems and republicans alike, accepted the basic fact that the U.S. had failed to find the promised WMDs BUT: they interpreted this same fact very differently! - 80-90% democrats saw it as evidence that the WMD never existed - whereas 80-90% of republicans believe Iraq had hidden the WMDs, moved them, or destroyed them shortly before they could be found

Why Parties?

- to solve a range of collective action problems (with too many people, nobody will do anything) - within government, parties can solve social choice problems by helping politicians coordinate action

what are the fundamentals of polling?

- SAMPLES --> we can never measure the opinions of all Americans, so we rely on a sample to make inferences about the population as a whole --> sample must be random to avoid bias - SAMPLE SIZE --> the bigger the sample, the better our estimates should be --> 1000 observations gives + or - 3% confidence intervals - SELECTION BIAS --> if the sample is not representative, the estimates will not accurately reflect the population ex.) news site polls

1971 Federal Elections Campaign Act and 1974 Amendments

- Set limits on individuals' donations to candidates and parties - Regulated unions, businesses, and other groups as well - the rise of political action committees (PACs) - Established a fund for public financing of presidential elections

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

- The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the Supreme Court to issue writs of mandamus BUT, this would expand the court's original jurisdiction beyond that provided for in Article III - As a result, Marshall concluded that provision of the Act is unconstitutional - This established the precedent of Judicial Review --> •"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is."

the "miracle of aggregation"

- individual attitudes can be highly unstable and even "noisy" - But aggregate opinion can be stable and change in predictable ways in response to real world developments ex.) the predictability of presidential approval

what is does the youngstown framework say?

- a framework established by justice jackson's concurring opinion of the youngstown vs. sawyer case. offers a tripartite (three part) framework. --> zone 1: "maximum authority" of executive power (president acting with expressed or implied authority from Congress) --> court applies the "strongest presumption" of constitutionality --> zone 2: authority in a zone of "twilight" --> ??? --> zone 3: authority at lowest Ebb (president defying congress) --> court must scrutinize with caution

what led to this shift/peak of cases related to economic law?

- battle over the scope of the commerce clause!! - economic rulings in the late 1800s to early 1900s were considered conservative, and gave power to corporations/ were very in line with tight readings of the commerce clause - then after the Great Crash/the great depression the court keeps with these precedents and rules to strike down many of FDRs attempts to create laws for economic relief/regulating economy --> FDR tries to pack the courts --> SWITCH: late 1930s, the court began upholding economic regulations similar to those struck down in the past (retirements allowed FDR to appoint new justices who also embraced a much broader interpretation of the commerce clause)

low information rationality

- by using short-cuts, citizens who lack broad information on which to form political judgements and policy opinions may nonetheless make generally "rational" decisions

describe how cable TV/the rise of choice was significant

- cable offers consumers a choice: information or entertainment --> can have major implications! --> preference for entertainment + access to cable or internet --> lower political participation --> has lead to the rise of "infotainment" or "soft news" --> with choice, comes a declining audience (as households with cable increases, the networks' audience share decreases AND the percentage of viewers who tune in for President's state of the union address has been steadily declining) --> with choice also comes self-selection --> partisanship drives state of the union viewership

What is public opinion?

- citizens' attitudes toward political issues, leaders, institutions and events - normally, we think of public opinion in the aggregate --> ex. what percentage of Americans support Donald Trump? --> do Americans support or oppose a border wall - BUT aggregate public opinion is the accumulation of millions of individual attitudes and assessments

Discuss the argument of McCubbins and Shwartz in "Congressional Overslight Overlooked: Police Patrols vs. Fire Alarms"

- compare the two different kinds of oversight of executive agencies in Congress. Under the police patrol model, Congress provides resources for constant monitoring of bureaucratic behavior. Under the fire alarm model, Congress waits for complaints from constituents and the groups in society about the bureaucracies and then holds them accountable

Do negative ads work?

- difficult to isolate their causal effect with certainty and lots of conflicting findings --> however there is some support for the following: - Negative ads may be more effective than positive ads - They are more effective when aired by the candidates themselves than by associated PACs - There is some evidence that negative ads can change attitudes - But there is MORE evidence that they are effective at depressing turnout among those predisposed to support the other candidate - But in some cases negative ads can actually increase turnout!

provide a brief overview of the "ever-changing media environment

- explosion of the "penny press" (Penny press newspapers were cheap, tabloid-style newspapers mass-produced in the United States) --> increase in newspapers from 1790s-1830s was exponential, and so was increase in mail distribution --> technological diffusion 1920s-40s = radio (FDR fireside chats) 1940s-60s = TV (think JFK's televised civil rights address) --> cable TV = rise of choice --> smartphones/broadband = echo chambers and filter bubbles

what was the election of 1800 like campaign-wise?

- extremely harsh slandering on both sides - the president of Yale said If Jefferson becomes president "we would see our wives and daughters the victims of legal prostitution." - claiming would create a country where "murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced" - a pro-Jefferson journalist wrote that Adams was a "repulsive pedant" and a "gross hypocrite" who "neither behaved like a man nor like a woman but instead possessed a hideous hermaphroditical character."

Why has participation remained flat/declined? Provide some possible explanations and why they may or may not be the case:

- felon disenfranchisement? --> a large/steadily increasing number! but they have also been purged from voter rolls, so they would not affect the turnout rate as measured - the rise of voter ID laws? --> Laws disproportionately affect low SES citizens and racial and ethnic minorities --> Thus far, little empirical evidence that they have significant negative effects on turnout - declining social capital?? --> most likely not relevant and this is more related to/correlated with race and SES - a declining trust in government? --> trust in government has been steadily declining for years

what is the history of measuring public opinion in the United States?

- for most of early American history, measures of public opinion were necessarily imprecise and even somewhat subjective --> scientific polling emerged for the first time in the 1930s

who are the "main players" in the battle for public opinion

- government actors - interest groups - mass media

defining congress' investigative power (+ defining cases)

- mcGrain v. Daughtry (1927): the power of inquiry - with process to enforce it - is an essential and appropriate auxillary of the legislative function." - Trump v. Mazars (2019) : D.C. circuit ordered president trump's accounting firm to hand over the president's tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee

are presidents actually successful at leading public opinion (bully pulpit)?

- not really --> example.) polled before and after Obama's address where he talked about health care --> support for obamacare was exactly the same both times

what is the "paradox of parties in the U.S."?

- our founders were vehemently against political parties --> our constitution has been described as one against parties - Hamilton called them "the most fatal disease" and Madison argued that the primary purpose of a well-constructed republic was to "break and control the violence of faction."

what are the most prevalent examples of information shortcuts

- partisanship --> what is an American's party ID - race/ethnicity - gender

"Party at three levels": what are these three levels?

- party in government - party in organization - party in the electorate

what are the key features of public opinion in the U.S.?

- political information is generally low!! - many Americans do not hold ideologically consistent beliefs ex.) partisanship and support for unilateral action (democrats were likely to support obama and student loan debt action, but oppose trump and the border wall, while republicans held opposite views) - many Americans' issue preferences are unstable --> we can see this overtime in panel data --> we can also see this with cross-sectional data, for example, with widely varying answers across slight differences in question wording

what are some challenges to the representativeness of polls?

- response rates (ex. telephone survey response rates are very low) - sample is not representative of those who actually voted - variation in state poll errors (ex. 2016 election)

what is "Rural Consciousness" according to the Cramer reading?

- rural consciousness is the term she used to describe a strong sense of identity as a rural person combined with a strong sense that rural areas are the victims of injustice: the sense that rural areas do not get their fair share of power, respect, or resources and that rural folks prefer lifestyles that differ fundamentally from those of city people. They separate themselves from city people who they believe look down on them, and they feel that they face unique economic challenges.These people feel that the government is particularly dismissive of the concerns of rural communities, and have a deep distrust of government officials.

what powers are given to the judiciary in Article III

- the judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may establish - the Judicial Power shall extend to all Cases in Law and Equity, arising under the Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or shall be made, under their authority....

How justices decide (3 different models)

- the legal model: judges are primarily guided by legal principles and doctrines in making decisions - attitudinal model - judges make decisions based on their legal policy preferences - strategic model: judges try to align legal policy most closely with their preferences, but they also act strategically and do not simply base their choices on their preferences

what do justices consider when choosing cases?

- the rule of four - is there a conflict in lower courts that must be resolved? - will the case offer a "clean" decision that will help guide lower courts? - interest group and outside pressure in amicus curiae briefs and from the solicitor general - strategic considerations!

how has the supreme court's use of Judicial Review changed since Marbury v. Madison?

- the supreme court's use of judicial power (tendency to declare both state and federal laws unconstitutional) has increased pretty significantly over the years. Additionally, the supreme court is much more likely to declare state/local law unconstitutional than federal (but there are also more of these laws created)

How has the caseload of the supreme court changed over time?

- there was a peak of cases with economic laws in the 1910s-20s which died down, and then there was a significant peak of civil liberties cases on the docket in the 1950s-80s (especially the 70s)

Why Do Third Parties Struggle in the US?

- they will never be able to garner enough support to override dems/republicans - even if they do garner a semi-significant percentage of the votes, unless it is majority, they get no representation whatsoever

describe the history of the federal communications commission/the "fairness doctrine"

- to ensure that broadcasters "served the public interest" the Communications Act of 1934 created the Federal Communications Commission --> in 1949, the FCC established the "fairness doctrine" which required broadcasters to provide coverage of multiple viewpoints when discussing contentious issues --> the FCC abolished the fairness doctrine in 1987, however, after determining that it did not serve public interest and violated free speech --> however, recently, in large part because of social media, some have been arguing to bring back the regulations

what does the supreme court do besides judicial review?

- trial courts hear criminal and civil cases - much if not most of the circuit and supreme court workload involves statutory interpretation, not resolving constitutional questions

describe the findings of Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow's study on social media and fake news in the 2016 election: can people recall fake news stories?

- while a significant percentage of participants reported recalling fake news stories, and a significant percentage of those people recalled seeing and believing this fake news, these percentages were virtually identical to those of placebo fake news headlines that were made-up for the research and never actually circulated. The results of this study essentially determined that it was impossible to truly know if fake news was pivotal in the election of President Trump --> estimate that the average US adult read and remembered on the order of one or perhaps several fake news articles during the election period, with higher exposure to pro-Trump articles than pro-Clinton articles. -->How much this affected the election results depends on the effectiveness of fake news exposure in changing the way people vote... one benchmark used to determine this was the effect of one TV campaign ad (from previous studies), however using this benchmark, the margin of Trump's victory in pivotal states was much smaller than it was in reality --> however, it is impossible to know if fake news stories were more or less influential than one TV campaign ad

what was the GOP's coordination problem in the 2016 election?

- while democrats clearly coalesced behind Clinton, republicans failed to rally behind a clear alternative to Trump --> Primary preferences in survey: if you gave participants all of the choices, Trump is the most favored candidate by a small percentage, but if you simply put Trump against each other individual candidate, he loses every time --> not necessarily that the Republican party wanted Trump, but rather that they failed to coalesce behind an alternative

presidential resistance to impeachment inquiry (Trump)

- white house counsel Pat Cippollone wrote a letter to Speaker Pelosi that: --> denounced the inquiry as a violation of the President's due process rights --> dismissed the inquiry as a violation of separation of powers --> announced the administration's blanket refusal to cooperate or comply with the investigation

example of how race/ethnicity can be an informational short-cut (2016 election/attitudes towards trump)

- white opinions on trump were split pretty evenly (leaning slightly towards negative opinions) - while both blacks and hispanics were concentrated in the negative opinions portion of the graph

give an overview of Americans' use of social media for political news

--> a significant amount of Americans rely on social media for political news at least to some degree --> however their overall trust in news is remarkably low (34%) and even lower for news found on social media (14%) --> finding is that populists prefer to use television news compared with non-populists and are less likely to prefer online news

NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) vs. Sebelius summary

--> against the affordable care act two principle provision of the act are commonly referred to as the "individual mandate" (which requires Americans to maintain "minimum essential" health insurance coverage or pay a penalty tax) and an extension of medicaid --> supreme court decision: held that Congress exceeded its power under the Commerce clause, but upheld the "individual mandate" under Congress's ability to tax and spend for the general welfare. struck down the extension of medicaid and other provisions however.

What is Julia Azari's argument/conclusion in "How the News Media Helped to Nominate Trump"?

--> argues that the Republican party's inability to rally around an "establishment" favorite during the primaries and conservative news media was part of this failed organizational effort to stop the insurgent entertainer (Trump) from winning the nomination --> the media also reinforced existing misconceptions of the President's power by amplifying Trump's core message of all that he would change as President, even in attempts to point out his "unpresidential qualities"

Did GOP Waffling on Trump Matter? "Never Trumpers" Among the GOP?

--> didnt really make a difference

Summarize "What we know about voter ID laws" by Dan Hopkins

--> estimating the effects of voter ID laws is a tricky business as laws differ in subtle but crucial ways from state to state, but the most credible estimates suggest the laws' turnout effects haven't been large enough to swing many elections. --> Voter ID laws disproportionately disenfranchise minority communities - even if voter ID laws haven't swung election outcomes, they can deny thousands of people their right to vote — denials that fall disproportionately on black and Latino citizens --> older voters are also more likely to lack photo ID than the voting population overall --> long term vs. short term effects of voter ID laws:voter ID laws are likely to produce a strong emotional response among Democrats and thus lead to a counter-mobilization that galvanizes them to vote, at least in the short term. But that may fade, along with the one-time effect of states informing voters about the laws as they are being phased in. --> Lastly, the impact of these laws is debated, but the intent is clear, and that is to help Republicans win elections

what is one area where the 2016 election was different

--> normally democrats win less educated (high school) and post-grad --> 2016 - Trump won high school or less and some college

partisan motivated reasoning - climate change example

--> will having more scientific knowledge increase awareness of climate change and support for action --> or will Americans discount information that is inconsistent with their partisan priors - for democrats increased scientific knowledge led to increased likelihood that they would say there is scientific consensus on climate change, but for republicans, the opposite happened and the same trend occurred when asked the question "should scientists influence policymaking?" and "how dangerous is global warming"

Did Trump's racist rhetoric and Democratic identity politics appeals lead to a widening of racial gaps in voting?

-->not different than any 2012

Justiciability Doctrines

1. Standing 2. Ripeness 3. Mootness 4. Political Question Doctrine

what are the two different conceptions of partisanship/party ID in scholarship?

1.) A "running tally" - past experiences suggest that they prefer one party and its policies to the other 2.) A social identity - a psychological attachment to one or the other

according to Lupia and McCubbins article, any attempt to learn from others leads to one of three possible outcomes

1.) enlightenment 2.) deception 3.) we learn nothing

Korematsu v. US

1944 --> Korematsu, man who refused to go to Japanese internment camp --> Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 to each survivor

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Federalist 78 (Hamilton)

A limited Constitution requires an independent judiciary to check legislative actions; courts have a duty to make sure laws adhere to the Constitution (judicial review) and if the laws do not, declare them null and void; least powerful of the three branches --> also argues the importance of the judicial branch, and the importance of judges serving "for life"

Dual Federalism

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies. (layer cake)

Cooperative Federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly. (marble cake)

What is the invisible primary?

AKA Money Primary Time between first candidate announcing their intention to run for president and their 1st primary Allows candidates to raise funds for upcoming elections

what are the mechanisms of party power?

Agenda power Closed rules Committee assignments

what are the three mechanisms of media influence?

Agenda setting - focusing public attention on certain issues Priming - influencing the criteria on which we evaluate political leaders (Fox might use economy as criteria to evaluate Trump while CNN would use foreign policy) Framing - presenting an issue in a specific way to influence its interpretation

Binder - Legislating in polarized times:

American public thinks that congress is dysfunctional Despite some recent progress in addressing big issues of the day, congress still struggles to legislate in a polarized era One view → recent challenges aren't permanent systematic problems 5 reservations temper that conclusion: 1.) levels of legislative deadlock have steadily increased over the past century 2.) even when congress and the president muster agreement on a policu solution, such agreements sometimes create new problems 3.) it is not clear whether current levels of partisanship will subside soon 4.) if we move beyond legislative productivity as the benchmark for judging congressional performance, the assessment is still grim - congress in recent years has struggled to fun federal programs on time and to conduct effective oversight of the exec branch while the senate has often been wrapped in partisan knots over confirmation of presidential appointees 5.) changes in the structure of electoral competition in recent decades likely alter lawmakers calculations about coming to the bargaining table Conclusions: Mayhew may well be correct that our political system will weather this rough patch with little harm done. Even so, we are left in the meantime with a national legislature plagued by low legislative capacity

Rogers Smith: Multiple Traditions in America

Analysts of American politics since Tocqueville have seen the nation as an ideal example of a "liberal democratic society, shaped most by the comparatively free and equal conditions and the Enlightenment ideals said to have prevailed at its founding. HOWEVER, These accounts must be severely revised to recognize the inegalitarian ideologies and institutions of ascriptive hierarchy that defined the political status of racial and ethnic minorities and women throughout most of American history This paper illustrates that American political culture is better understood as the often conflictual and contradictory product of MULTIPLE POLITICAL TRADITIONS, than as the expression of a dominant liberal or democratic traditions Past texts have brushed off illiberal undemocratic beliefs and practices as expressions of ignorance and prejudice however we must recognize that these beliefs are systematically baked into the fabric of America in the same way that Tocqueville's liberal tradition is as well → multiple traditions exist simultaneously "The multiple traditions thesis holds that Americans share a common culture but one more complexly and multiply constituted than is usually acknowledged

Rule of Four

At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard

The Power Elite Thesis

C. Wright Mills (1956) argues that a powerful economic and political elite dominates government to the veritable exclusion of ordinary citizens

provide a summary of Katherine J. Cramer's article from "The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker"?

Cramer dove deep into the Wisconsin countryside to listen to people in rural areas talk about politics and government --> reveals the complexities of political attitudes among rural people. Many of them feel alienated from the government and shut out of national and state conversations about the future of the country. She argues that their attitudes, often simplified and ridiculed, and sometimes ignored, deserve to be taken seriously. These people may feel forgotten, but when they find candidates that appeal to them, they make big waves that can roil national and state politics --> biggest differentiation in identity is between city and rural people is it all really just about race? --> Cramer says that if we conclude that rural consciousness is just racism dressed up in social science jargon, we overlook the role of antigovernment attitudes and preferences for small government here. Tea party messaging appeals to racism but it also resonates with many perceptions of inequality and alienation from government observed in the conversation presented --> while rural folks did make openly racist comments, they almost always did about Native Americans who are an overwhelmingly rural population in Wisconsin...

The Pluralist Thesis

David Truman (1951) argued that interest groups arise naturally with economic development; specialization and differentiation lead to lots of different interest groups who check and balance one another

what was significant about the election of 1800

Dem-Rep lots of support. Every elector that votes for Jefferson also casts vote for his running mate Burr. Jefferson and Burr Tie (Election goes to house of reps- Jefferson wins) Peaceful transition of power

decribe potter article "Continuity Trumps Change: The First Year of Trump's Administrative Presidency"

Despite efforts to chart a new course in American politics, the Trump White House continues to largely fall in line with recent presidencies regarding development of an administrative strategy to shape the policy process. This story played out in Trump's first year with the number and types of EOs, memoranda, proclamations, and signing statements that he issued. One area that sets Trump apart is his use of administrative tools to promote deregulation. Whereas all recent presidents have used these tools to manage the regulatory process, the scale on which Trump used them and the centrality of deregulation to his agenda were noteworthy—although not yet "written in stone

Analyses of 2016 Ads

Experiments show Clinton ads showed they decreased Trump's favorability ratings by about 2 points and raised her vote share by about 1.6 points ---> Clinton ads were most effective on independents Experiments show Trump ads raised his favorability by about 2.7 points, but had no effect on Clinton favorability or vote share ---> Trump ads were polarizing along partisan lines Clinton did do a bit better in counties where she had the biggest ad advantages over Trump, even after controlling for Obama performance in 2012 And yet, as with campaign activities more generally, many questions remain about how effective they are: In 2016, Clinton out-advertised Trump by 4 to 1 in 18 states Trump won 11 of them (and he flipped 4 of them from blue in 2012 to red in 2016)

what is the ranking of federal courts? what about state courts?

FEDERAL: - supreme court - circuit courts of appeals - district courts STATE: - highest state courts - state appellate courts - state trial courts

Election Districts

House members elected in (roughly) equal population districts (but only since the 1960s!) Senators elected in states of widely varying sizes and populations Presidents indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College -->Not primarily a safeguard against a bad popular choice! --> Another compromise between large and small states (the Connecticut Compromise in a new form!)

Are parties powerless in contemporary nominations?

If we take a broad definition of parties to include key donors and groups, parties may still be influential - in winnowing the field before the primaries begin (invisible primary)

lifespan along party lines?

In 1990, today's "Red" and "Blue" states had almost the same life expectancies But by 2015 Blue States had life expectances almost 4 years longer than Red States, on average

describe Larry Bartels. 2005. "Homer Gets a Tax Cut: Inequality and Public Policy in the American Mind."

In 2001 and 2003, the Bush administration engineered two enormous tax cuts primarily benefiting very wealthy taxpayers. Most Americans supported these tax cuts. I argue that they did so not because they were indifferent to economic inequality, but because they largely failed to connect inequality and public policy Support for the Bush tax cuts was strongly shaped by people's attitudes about their own tax burdens, but virtually unaffected by their attitudes about the tax burden of the rich—even in the case of the estate tax, which only affects the wealthiest one or two percent of taxpayers. Public opinion in this instance was ill informed, insensitive to some of the most important implications of the tax cuts, and largely disconnected from (or misconnected to) a variety of relevant values and material interests.

David Lewis. 2019 [2008]. Excerpt from The Politics of Presidential Appointments. In Principles and Practices of American Politics

In this essay, Lewis outlines the history of presidential efforts to control the federal bureaucracy through personnel appointments. Presidents have replaced merit-based positions with presidential appointments, created layers, of political appointees over civil servants, added staff aides to top offices, laid off civil servants, and reorganized departments to accommodate more presidential appointees.. As a result, the merit-based civil service today comprosis a smaller portion of the federal workforce than it did in the mid 20th century

Mayhew: From Congress: The Electoral Connection

In this paper Mayhew argues that members of congress are essentially only motivated by getting re-elected They would preen and posture and occasionally come up with effective legislature

The Logic of Collective Action/interest groups

Interest groups endeavor to provide collective goods This inherently produces a "free-rider" problem Problem is particularly acute in large groups Easy for individuals to think their contribution will not matter Monitoring costs are high Very difficult to enforce compliance and hold individuals accountable End result: groups don't form automatically when there is a concentrated interest to be represented as in the pluralist vision

Federalist 10

Main argument: factions What is a faction? A number of citizens whether amount to a majority or a minority of the choice, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or of interest... → a group of citizens who share similar ideas (ex. Political parties) What is the cause of factions according to madison? → most common and durable source of factions has been the various distribution of property → in other words, main cause of different factions is an unequal distribution of wealth → madison argues that the cause of factions cannot be removed and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling the effects (factions are inevitable) How to control factions? → If it is a minority faction, voting can fix it → If it is a majority faction, a large republic can fix it (vote for representatives that have the knowledge to fix this)

federalist 51

Main argument: separation of powers Why the separation of powers? → "to the preservation of liberty, it is evident that each dept. Should have a will of its own, and consequently should be constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others → in other words, 3 branches of govt having as little control over each other as possible Judicial dept: why are judges appointed for life? → so that they are not dependent on the people appointing them (if your job is for 5 years, you are consistently dependent on who is appointed you and thus your rulings may be biased in order to keep your job → also appointed for life as to not be influenced by other branches Legislative Branch: necessarily predominates → madison argued to divide the legislature into diff branches each with specific duties and roles Usurpation: illegitimate claim to power → how would the govt guard against usurpations? → one person can't take all of the power if it is separated into 3 branches Why divide government? → to guard one part of the society against the injustice of other parts

Why did Donald Trump win in 2016?

Many narratives of extraordinary circumstances And in certain respects it was an extraordinary election! First female nominee; first reality TV star nominee... But could one argue it was in many respects rather ordinary?

describe Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann. 2006. "When Congress Checks Out."

One of Congress' key roles is oversight: making sure that the laws it writes are faithfully executed and vetting the military and diplomatic activities of the executive. Congressional oversight is meant to keep mistakes from happening or from spiraling out of control; it helps draw out lessons from catastrophes in order to prevent them, or others like them, from recurring. In the past six years, however, congressional oversight of the executive across a range of policies, but especially on foreign and national security policy has virtually collapsed WHY HAS Congress abandoned oversight when it is most needed? The most logical explanation, which has been confirmed by comments we have heard from many members of Congress, is that the body now lacks a strong institutional identity. Members of the majority party, including congressional leaders, act as field lieutenants in the president's army rather than as members of an independent branch of government. Serious oversight almost inevitably means a criticism of performance, and this Republican Congress has shied away from criticizing its own White Ho

partisanship as a "perceptual screen"

Partisans report different perceptions from the same set of facts. According to the perceptual screen hypothesis, this difference arises because partisans perceive different realities. ex.)Was unemployment rate in 2016 better or worse than in 2015? - Democrats:59% better; 10% worse - Republicans:18% better; 36% worse

bully pulpit/going public

President sells his programs directly to the American public. President's office is a "bully pulpit" (a position to inspire Congress & the nation to follow his political agenda) --> "a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue."

Broader Consequences of the Electoral College

Presidents routinely pursue policies that disproportionately benefit swing states --> get more federal grants --> get more disaster declarations

What is the difference between primaries and caucuses?

Primaries are like general elections Caucuses are a much more intensive and public form of political participation --> In presidential campaigns, a caucus is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions. A primary is a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates

So, what factors might predict who is more or less likely to vote and why? Describe different characteristics (race, age, gender, education etc.) and their relationship with the likelihood of voting:

RACE: presently, blacks and whites are approximately equal in their likelihood of voting (however, blacks were slightly below in the 2016 election and slightly above in 2012). Hispanics and other ethnicities were less likely to vote AGE: likelihood of voting consistently increases with age GENDER: women are consistently more likely to vote than men EDUCATION: likelihood of voting consistently increases with education level YET even though the public is becoming increasingly educated, voter turnout has been consistently declining

How do voters decide?

Retrospective voting --> do you like how things are going now? Major national issues (ex. Iraq war) Single issue voters Short-cuts

describe how Russian trolls weaponized Americans' social media feeds?

Russian trolls that are affiliated with the government set up fake social media accounts and spread fake/manipulated content hoping that Americans will see it and re-share it --> the idea is to further divide American society through this spread of false information (ex. fake video of man reacting to ISIS taking credit for a chemical plant explosion that never happened)

what is the argument of gerald rosenberg's article from "the hollow hope: can courts bring about social change?

SUMMARY: courts in the United States are highly constrained in bringing about social change --> though many think of the courts as "dynamic" drivers of social change, in Rosenberg's view the courts instead follow the other branches of government. They do not drive change but rather respond late to social changes and end up trying to catch up with trends in society --> in the last several decades, social movements have increasingly turned to the courts (civil rights and beyond) and these cases (think Brown v. Board or Roe v. Wade) are thought of as having immense social change (Dynamic court view) --> opposing view is that in Hamilton's words, the court is the "least dangerous" of the branches, because they lack both budgetary powers and powers of implementation (Constrained view) --> CONCLUSION: somewhere in the middle of these two views --> "the constraints (limited nature of const. rights, lack of judicial independence, and lack of powers of implementation) of the Constrained court view generally limit courts, but when political, social, and economic conditions have become supportive of change, courts can effectively produce significant social reform

what is the argument of Arthur Lupia and Matthew D. McCubbins article from "The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?"

SUMMARY: observers have concluded that Americans do not know enough about politics and government to make wise choices in voting and other political decisions. The "dilemma" in the title is that citizens are quite uninformed but are being asked to make weighty decisions, like who should be president. Lupia and McCubbins argue that most of the time, under normal conditions, citizens get enough information to make reasonable decisions MAIN CONCLUSIONS: - reasoned choice DOES NOT require full information; rather, it requires the ability to predict the consequences of actions. We define this ability as knowledge - people CHOOSE to disregard most of the info they could acquire, and base virtually all decisions on remarkably little information (short-cuts) - people often SUBSTITUTE the advice of others for the info they lack and this can give people the capacity for reasoned choice - relying on the advice of others involves tradeoffs - although it decreases the costs of acquiring knowledge, it also introduces the possibility of deception - a person who wants to gain knowledge form the advice of others must choose to follow some advice while ignoring other advice and people make these choices in systematic and predictable ways - political institutions can help people choose which advice to follow and which to ignore --> institutions do this when they clarify the incentives of advice-givers - understanding how people learn not only helps us better identify when presumed democratic dilemmas are real but also shows us how we might begin to resolve these dilemmas...

Excerpt From Power without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action by William G. Howell:

Summary: Unilateral policymaking has been used by presidents increasingly over the past century, and the policies created by these unilateral actions are more substantive than ever before. This is due to the rising expectation for presidents to adequately address the many social and economic problems in the U.S. It is also because presidential powers have expanded over time as a result of subsiding checks by Congress. Congress is less able to place checks on the president and pass its own legislation because of weakening political parties, which has led to the rise of subcommittees and ideological divisions which make gridlock a norm. Finally, presidents make unilateral directives more often today than ever before because they can make unilateral directives with a decent level of confidence and because they simply have more to address than ever before.

what happened with Trump's travel ban (trump v. hawaii)?

Supreme Court Upholds Travel Ban 3.0 in Trump v. Hawaii (2018) Trump's proclamation does not exceed president's statutory authority because president has "broad discretion" to suspend entry of non-Americans into the U.S. Also ruled proclamation did not violate the Establishment Clause

describe the "social choice problem" and how parties attempt to combat it:

The logic of the federalist - ambition must counteract ambition - the interests of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place - biases the system toward inertia... or sets the stage for gridlock! --> Parties combat this by creating bonds of shared interests (both within Congress and across institutions

executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

What is the tenth amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Voter turnout in the 2016 election was just 55.5% of eligible Americans. Why did so many people not vote? --> describe the "calculus of voting"/cost benefit analysis of voting:

Utility from voting = Benefits - Costs BUT... the probability of my vote affecting outcome is very low The best of all worlds is getting the benefits of my candidate winning without paying costs! This suggests it is rational NOT to vote... Unless I perceive benefits from the act of voting itself --> different Americans may perceive different benefits from voting (both in terms of their preferred candidate winning and in terms of the "expressive benefit of voting itself) --> Additionally, different Americans may experience different levels of cost in exercising their right to vote

describe Howell and Pevehouse's argument in "When Congress Stops Wars"

WITH THE nation standing at the precipice of new wars, it is vital that the American public understand the nature and extent of Congress' war powers and its members' partisan motivations for exercising or forsaking them. President Bush retains extraordinary institutional advantages over Congress, but with the Democrats now in control of both houses, the political costs of pursuing new wars (whether against Iran, North Korea, or any other country) and prosecuting ongoing ones have increased significantly.

unpacking generational change: what made the "greatest generation" civic leaders? what has changed?

What made the "Greatest Generation" civic leaders? - Unifying national experience - World War II - Mass mobilization of society on a war footing broadly transmitted civic and associational skills - Continued those associations after war What has changed? - The "Boomers" lacked that unifying national experience - contrast WWII and Vietnam, for example - No mass mobilization, so many lack skills that facilitate participation in civic and political life --> we are no longer a "nation of joiners"

Neustadts's iconoclastic View

When thinking about the presidency "weak" is "the word with which to start" Formal "powers" are no guarantee of "power" Presidents must navigate a system of "separated institutions sharing power" Ultimately, presidential power critically depends on the power to persuade Is persuasion the key? Two big changes since neustadt wrote: Congress is much more polarized than before Divided government is much more common

what were the conclusions of Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster in their article "the rise of negative partisanship and nationalization of U.S. elections in the 21st century?

\Regardless of the direction or strength of their party identification, American voters in the 21st century are much more likely to hold strongly negative views of the opposing party than in the past. A growing proportion of Americans dislike the opposing party more than they like their own party. The rise of negative partisanship in the American electorate has contributed to the highest rates of party loyalty and straight-ticket voting in the past sixty years. As a result, to a much greater degree than at any time in recent history, the outcomes of House and Senate elections reflect the relative strength of the presidential parties in the 435 House districts and the 50 states

what are the trends in political and community participation?

also steadily decreasing

Describe Hojnacki et. al's article "Assessing business advantage in Washington Lobbying"

attention to these variables. In this article, we examine whether business interests and other advocates get what they want from the policy process, and how their rate of success varies when they face different types of opponents. Our analysis begins with a description of the organizational (for example, business, citizen) and governmental (for example, congressional, executive branch) actors who align themselves on different sides of a random sample of policy issues. We then examine the patterns of opposition that emerge on these issues, with particular attention paid to how often one type of interest finds itself opposed by another or faces no opposition at all. Finally, we look at who comes out ahead in policy disputes between business and other interests. Importantly, our data demonstrate that in policy fights between business and citizen interests, business is no more likely than its opponent to win. In fact, it is only when business acts on issues that draw no opposition that it is more likely than other types of unopposed interests to achieve its policy objectives. Our findings also clarify how the nature and framing of issues and a favorable political climate can prove essential to business' prospects for achieving policy success.

Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002

banned soft money contributions to national political parties from corporations and unions; independent expenditures by corporations, labor unions, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations are sharply restricted

what is the role of "information short-cuts" in public opinion?

because the public is generally politically uninformed, they use various shortcuts in order to form their political ideas/decide who to vote for

fire alarm oversight

congressional oversight that relies on interest groups and citizens to inform representatives of unwarranted action Interest groups are the linchpin in "fire alarm" oversight When delegating authority to the bureaucracy over policy implementation, Congress creates opportunities for key interest groups to monitor new rules and to trigger a fire alarm if they oppose a policy

can elite cues drive polarization (climate change example)

cues from Trump --> tweet "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive cues from dems (AOC) --> Green New Deal THE RESULT: attitudes toward "global warming should be a 'very high' priority for the President and Congress" polarize

what is the "democratic dilemma" described in the Lupia & McCubbins article

people who are called upon to make reasoned choices may not be capable of doing so because they lack the political knowledge to make these decisions

The Rise and Fall of Superdelegates

superdelegate = an unelected delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party's national convention (unpledged delegate to the democratic national convention) -->The Democratic Party created "superdelegates" in 1980 to give party elites a measure of influence in nomination -->Battle over superdelegates in 2008 and 2016 led party to dramatically scale back their role in 2018

stare dicisis

the legal doctrine that courts should respect the precedent and resist overturning prior decisions

vox populi, vox dei

vox populi =popular sentiment or opinion --> the opinions of the majority SO, this translates to "the voice of the people is the voice of God"

what were putnam's culprits for the decline of social capital

work, sprawl, generational change, and TV

Robert Dahl: How Democratic is the American constitution? Chapter 2: What the Framers Couldn't Know

→ framers couldn't know how our definition of democracy would shift over time → conclusion: if the const. convention would have been held in 1820, would have had a very different constitution → delegates would have attempted to provide more support for and fewer barriers to a democratic republic → as to the undemocratic features of the const. The aspects that are most defective from a democratic point of view come from framer's inability to see how their govt would work under changing conditions that were to follow Some of the undemocratic aspects of the original design also resulted from compromises/ logrolling Overestimated the dangers of majority rule and underestimated the strength of the developing democratic commitment among Americans and as a result original aspects of the const. Were changed (sometimes by amendment, sometimes by new institutions/practices as in the case of political parties)

Robert Dahl Chapter 6: Why not a more democratic constitution?

→ the constitution regarded as sacred/untouchable when shouldn't be this way → did not achieve political equality with the constitution (women, african americans, and native americans are all unequal politically for centuries and still suffer from these institutionalized ideals)