posc 100

presidential level

"the period of no decision" no candidate received as much as 51% of popular vote 2 elections - electoral college chose a president who came in second in the popular vote

Critical election:

(or realigning election) - alters the existing electoral alignment altogether new groups enter the electorate or influential groups switch parties for good, solidifying the terms of political conflict for a generation or more

Chapter 12

...

How Interest Groups Influence Government

...

Overcoming Free-Rider Problem:

...

The Role of Electoral Institutions:

...

how a bill becomes a law: stage one

1. Sponsor: introduces a bill or resolution (with one or more cosponsors) 2. presiding officer then refers the proposal to an appropriate committee Multiple Referrals: sending the bill simultaneously to more than one committee or dividing it among several committees residing House speakers have used this because legislation has become more complex 3. chair gives bill to an appropriate subcommittee if the subcommittee chair and sponsor give the bill a high priority, the staff schedules hearings at which witnesses speak in favor of or in opposition to the bill subcommittee begins markup of the bill (revising it, adding and deleting sections, and preparing it for report ot the full committee- if majority of subcommittee supports the final product) 4.. Full committee may repeat the process (holding its own hearings and conducting its own markup) or may largely accept the work of the subcommittee

Natural Forces

1970s and 1980s - national political forces generated by presidents, parties, and economic conditions had reached a low point in their influence on congressional races Since late 1980s - national factors have reemerged as significant in races for Congress (as important as local factors)

Can Reforms Improve the System?:

3 topics that worry many would-be reformers: role of money in national politics apparent unfairness of some electoral institutions haphazard nature of the nomination process practices and laws that most bother reformers sometimes provide underappreciated benefits critics exaggerate distortions in the nation's democratic process Campaign Finance: The Role of Money money for campaigns comes from voluntary checkoffs on Americans' income tax returns and is distributed by Federal Elections Commission (FEC) matching funds= public moneys (from $3 check-offs on income tax returns) that the FEC distributes to primary candidates according to a prespecified formula Bush, Kerry, McCain, Obama - chose to raise funds themselves instead in order to not have spending limit that this places serious candidates unlikely to accept public funding in future - b/c changes in campaign finance law have doubled in size of contributions that candidates may accept from individuals and b/c internet allows them to raise large amounts from small donors

Chapter Summary 9

American political history has exhibited a series of party systems where each party has dependable support among particular social groups so that elections tend to be similar basic reason why parties have played such an important role in American history is that they perform essential organizing functions Americans do not hold parties in high regard Parties struggle for power and often act in self-interested ways to prevent this- nation passed a series of reforms aimed at undercutting the power of political parties major increase in interest groups since 1960s interest groups: important mechanism for increasing popular influence use strategies of electioneering,, grassroots lobbying, and public persuasion special interests better represented than general ones both interest groups and political parties have become better at representing popular demands than they were in the past

Evaluating American Political Parties:

Americans do not regard parties as a fundamental institution of democratic governance - indifferent parties do not always provide the valuable services of which the are capable party influence is a double-edged sword parties strong enough to organize politics are also strong enough to abuse their power many Americans think govt. would be better off if no parties existed Political scientists challenge this

Senate committee system is simpler than that of the House - has only major and minor committees

Appropriations and Finance (like House) - major committees Senate Rules Committee has far less power than its House counterpart Budget and Foreign Relations are the other major committees

The Organization of Congress:

Article I of the Constitution sets out structure and powers of Congress (national elected assembly) Most other world democracies are parliamentary assemblies choose chief executive do little more than parleying (talking) - approving executive's proposals US - presidential form of govt. - chief executive is elected directly by the people Legislatures - more independent & more powerful Bicameral: consisting of 2 chambers US: upper chamber with 100 members called the Senate and a lower chamber with 435 members called the House of Representatives many world's parliaments are bicameral makes legislative branch change policies slowly House and Senate have developed traditions that advance their work party leadership structure - effectively organizes large numbers of people to make decisions committee system - an extensive division of labor House places more importance on internal organizations because of large size

candidates

Candidates can't just pick the message Americans want to hear b/c they enter an election constrained by their own political histories and the alliances they have already formed. Candidates prospects depend on: quality of the opponents they face (anticipation of bad voter support may convince a candidate not to run) elections and public opinion matter more in the US toay than they ever have short-term election strategies(like what journalists focus on) matter less than most people think -rarely influence final decision of election main force guiding elections: long lasting/enduring mentality/dispositions of American voters problem is not that Americans lack influence, but that their electoral system is oriented toward giving even a divided public what it wants.

The Committee System

Congress does most of its work through committees 9,000 bills are introduced in each 2 year session of House only 5% eventually pass most bills that fail never make it out of committee House and Senate utilize several kinds of committees to accomplish their work

2nd party system:

Democratic vs. Whig (Jacksonian Democracy) after corrupt bargain Jackson mobilized another campaign(especially mobilized more of their potential support) and won world's first mass party Martin Van Buren - "father of parties" Whigs only won twice and b/c they were war heroes

1st party system:

Democratic-Republican vs. Federalist (Jeffersonian) important issue: establishment of national govt and the delineation of its power D-R wanted to keep national government small & wanted constitution to limit federal power favored ties with France Federalists wanted govt. to have more authority favored ties with Britain partisan competition was "bare-knuckled" - both had their own newspapers, Federalists passed Alien and Sedition acts (allowed them to jail people who criticized incumbent Fed. leaders), Federalists accused Jefferson of conspiring to abolish Christianity and overthrow all civil govt. Dem- Rep won presidency 7 consecutive times system fell when Andrew Jackson was denied presidency in a "corrupt bargain" after winning popular vote in 1924

proportional representation

Electoral system in which parties receive a share of seats in parliament that is proportional to the popular vote they receive

fairness doctrine:

Enforced by the FCC from 1949 to 1987 required stations to devote a reasonable amount of time to matters of public importance and to air contrasting view points on these maters eventually also required stations to give public figures who were attacked and opportunity to reply

The Senate Paradox

House - not very responsive to changes in the national mood because most members succeed at constructing political identities satisfying to their local constituencies Senate - 17th Amendment exposed Senators to popular election result: senators must stay sensitive to public opinion Senate: ⅓ elected every 2 years campaigns which must reach voters across whole states are very very expensive (must raise $28,000 a week) senators represent more diverse constituencies - harder to please offices more powerful and highly visible - covered much more by national media - more likely to face strong opponents

Financing Congressional Campaigns:

House elections - have become more expensive average winning campaign in 2008 - $1.4 million gap btw incumbents spending and challengers is wide + grown wider since 1980 huge advantage for incumbents is money - affects candidate visibility congressional challengers seriously underfunded Campaign spending yields diminishing returns: the more a candidate spends, the less impact each additional dollar will have campaign finance reforms that make it more difficult to raise or spend money - hurt challengers who most need money heavy spending by incumbent - incumbent is in trouble money can scare challengers into not running great advantage in campaign spending for incumbent reps

Difference between how journalists approach elections vs. how political scientists understand them:

Journalists - emphasize personalities and short-term campaign strategies. focus on how much money the candidates raised or how clever their ads were trace small shifts in the polls to recent campaign events Political scientists - emphasize long-term regularities that shape voting much of electoral behavior is predictable in advance public enters an election with attitudes and loyalties mostly in place most important question for voters - is how close the candidates' values and preferences are to theirs

Iran Contra Affair:

NSA attempted (1980s) to conduct a covert operation, selling arms to Iran and then diverting the funds to rebels in Nicaragua known as the Contras Congress had forbid such aid, resulting in better sentiments towards president Ronald Reagan

how a bill becomes a law: budgetary politics

Passage of bill does not guarantee that it will be implemented president may veto the bill if bill fails to win the required ⅔ majority in each chamber necessary to override the veto - the legislation is dead

4th party system:

Rep. v Dem. (Industrial Republican) period of Republican dominance Rep. party had 2 wings: old guard of pro- business conservatives and a progressive wing that wanted to reform American institutions Roosevelt split from Republicans - campaigned under Progressive(Bull Moose) Party label only time a third party candidate picked up more support than a major party nominee practical effect- put Democrats in White house 2 forces eventually undermined Republican's dominance: growing urban populations favored dem. stock market crash, Great Depression first time a major party had run a Catholic for pres. = Al Smith of NY (Democrat)

5th party System

Rep. v Dem. (New Deal) class based alignment like in modern Europe after Roosevelt's first term the Democrats became the party of the "common people" Republicans became more than ever the party of established interests Democrat monopoly over white house Democrats struggled to reconcile the south's expectations with those of liberals and African Americans in northern cities - began to wean off southern vote - took steps toward racial equality southerners aligned with Republican party after Democrats started favoring racial equality Nixon's victory ended New deal party system

3rd party system:

Republican vs. Democratic (Civil War and Reconstruction) Civil war produced most competitive electoral era in Amer. history

House committees fall into 3 groups b level of importance

Rules, Appropriations, Energy, and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees are highest in importance Rules Committee - "right arm" of the Speaker controls the flow of legislation to the floor and the conditions of debate 2nd level - deal with nationally significant policy areas: agriculture, armed services, homeland security, etc least important committees: include governmental "housekeeping" committees and committees with narrow policy jurisdictions such as Veterans' Affairs Budget Committee: special status - Members can serve for only 6 years in any 10 year period and its membership is drawn from other committees and from the leadership

Problems with bureaucracy:

Slow to change its ways They have expansionary tendencies; needing more money, personnel, or time to preform effectively difficulty in measuring their performance hard to know what conditions would be like without the agency's actions and what agencies can reasonably accomplish given its resources some of the expectations about the tasks that beuracrats must face are very challenging people agree on the end goals of what they want done, but not necessarily on the precise method that should be taking to achieve that goal efficiently. it is hard to satisfy everyone Red tape: any delay imposed by a government agency

Presidential Nominations:

US unusual among world democracies for its lengthy, participatory process of nominating candidates for chief executive in most democracies - party activists and leaders choose nominees

Iron Triangles

a close, stable connection among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees preconditions once necessary to sustain iron triangles are almost gone changes in congress have made the committees weaker interest groups have flourished, so most associations have rivals who will not leave their influence unchallenged citizen's groups can oppose the excess of special-interest groups media are less likely to ignore examples of special-interest profiteering Iron triangles melt in the glare of publicity 1940s and 50s: conspiracy of congressional committees, executive agencies, and interest groups dominated many policy areas these 3 actors worked hand in hand to form a subgovernment that was almost entirely responsible for the particular policy in question congressional committee provided an agency with budgetary support agency produced outcomes favored by the interest group interest groups provided campaign support to the members of the congressional committee

whips

a group of around 24 members (varies by party) who serve as links between leaders and the parties' rank and file explaining positions, outlining strategies, counting votes, and occasionally whipping party members into line assist both party's leaders

cacus

a meeting of candidate supporters time consuming Democratic party caucus: any registered Democrat is eligible to participate and proportional representation is required as well as equal male and female # of delegates Republican caucuses: less open - some use variants of proportional rep, some limit participation to party officials and workers, some use winner-take all voting procedures caucus turnout is extremely low unrepresentative of general pop. ideologically more extreme than party's broader base

senatorial courtesy

a method of exercising influence in informal rule that sometimes allows senators to block the potential nominees for positions within their states ir regions

party identification (party ID)

a person's subjective feeling of affiliation with a party responds to events and ideas gradually ensures strong continuity from election to election makes most elections predictable African Americans, urbanites, and Catholics - Democrat wealthy, rural residents, southerners, and white Protestants/evangelicals - Republican even independents usually closer to one party over the other "gender gap" - been growing stronger recently - (chart on pg 174-175) do not result from "women's issues" (like abortion) - which men and women view similarly rather stems from long-standing gender differences over the use of force and the responsibility of govt. to address social ills men - 50% conservative women - 47% conservative married women - have preferences much closer to men

foreign service:

a professional group of qualified careerists, consisting of the staff managing U.S embassies and consulates

political entrepreneurs

activists who take the lead in promoting collective goals many groups owe their existence to them get more advantages like power and money political activity is good business decision for them

reapportionment

after each census (every decade) the 435 seats in the House are apportioned among the states according to their populations 7 states so small that they only have 1 rep favored Rep. in recent decades - Northeast and Midwest lost House seats to South and Southwest as pop. shifted to predominantly Rep. Sun Belt

open primaries

allow any registered voter to select one party's primary and vote in it (even if that person is a member of another party) most southern and upper Midwestern states have open primaries

Unanimous-consent agreements:

an agreement that sets forth the terms and conditions according to which the Senate will consider a bill; these agreements are individually negotiated by the leadership for each bill so called because all senators with any interest in proposals agree to them specify terms of debate - what sort of amendments will be in order, how long they will be debated, when votes will be taken,etc

bay of pigs

an island in Cuba invaded based on orders by the CIA and at the request of the president in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro the CIA helped exiles plan a 1961 invasion, approved by President Kennedy no naval or air support was given, resulting in a failed attempt and the looming doubt over the CIA's ability to conduct large scale military operations

iron curtain:

armed barriers that prevented movement across boarders of Russia during the Cold War

Political Parties and Interest Groups

associations are created, extended, and worked in the US more quickly and effectively than in any other country - these associations have great importance in the development of opinion political parties and interest groups can block change - especially when public is divided political parties can serve as important conduits through which voters communicate with their govt. in between elections George Washington - warned citizens against forming political parties Constitution doesn't mention anything about political parties Parties serve as main connection between ordinary citizens and the public officials they elect Parties nominate candidates for office, shape the electoral process, and mobilize voters after elections - parties also coordinate the actions of elected officials in the govt.

Lobbying

attempts by group representatives (lobbyists) to influence the decisions of public/government officials directly draft bills for legislatures to introduce, testify before congressional committees and in agency proceedings, meet with elected officials and present their cases, and provide public officials with info corporations account for large share of traditional lobbying conflict-of-interest laws and regulations + investigative media make outright corruption in today's politics relatively rare Mostly - supply public officials with info and arguments to support their political goals

Grassroots Lobbying:

attempts to influence officials indirectly through their constituents, "the troops in the field" interest groups supplement their Washington lobbying with public- outreach activities, trying to persuade the "grassroots" Recently, specialized firms have cropped up that help companies and groups target local constituents (for hefty fee) especially effective now that Congress is decentralized through the committee system

Us- 3rd parties regularly arise but nearly all disappear quickly

b/c they are either a reaction to a particular problem that fades in importance b/c one of the major parties co-opts their main issues only once has a new group risen to become a major political party: the Republicans in the 1850s

Hatch act

barred federal employees from campaigning and solicitation (1939)

Who nominates the VP:

before: conventions now: presidential nominees

selective benefits

benefits available only to their members

Issue Networks

bigger, broader, and much looser connection of interest groups, politicians, bureaucrats, and policy experts

how a bill becomes a law: house

bills that are not controversial (trivial or narrow impact) can be called up at specified times and passed unanimously with little debate more important bills considered under a fast-track procedure = suspension of the rules (fast-track procedure for considering bills and resolutions in the House; debate is limited to 40 min, no amendments are in order, ⅔ majority is required for passage) 5. Legislation that is especially important and controversial goes to the Rules Committee before going to the floor holds hearings on the type of rule it should grant only members of Congress may testify in these hearings rule: specifies the terms and conditions of debate, specifies the time that the supporters and opponents will be allowed to speak, may regulate the introduction of amendments Closed rule: prohibits amendments Restrictive Rule: specifying amendments that are in order ¾ of all bills coming from the Rules Committee have been granted restrictive rules 6. Floor chooses to accept or reject the rule & debate proposal and vote on amendments & decides whether to adopt the bill most rules pass 7. Full House + Senate Debates and Votes on Passage extremely unlikely that the House and Senate will pass exactly the same bill 8. Conference Committee: each chamber appoints some of its members to participate in a conference committee that tries to reconcile the 2 versions of a bill Ideally, each chamber's conferees are committed to their chamber's version of the legislation and will negotiate a compromise as close as possible to their chamber's desired solution not likely b/c conferences for some complex bills involve 100s of members who support some parts, oppose other parts, and care little about still other parts - situation ideal for bargaining 9. House and Senate Approval = When a majority of each chamber's conferees agree to the final draft, the compromise bill is reported back to the parent chambers, where another floor vote in each chamber is required for passage Not all legislation moves through the process in exactly this manner House leadership may intervene, occasionally bypassing committees altogether, but more often negotiating compromises outside of committee and directing committees to shape legislation in particular ways

popular vote system

bring costs like encouraging discriminatory campaign appeals, forcing candidates to find resources adequate to compete for votes nationwide, and rewarding states that can find ways to pile up overwhelming majorities for their candidate of choice

Spending in the General Election Campaign:

campaign consultants oversee the expenditure of the large sums of money that are raised - replaced party leaders most important category of general election spending = for broadcast advertising (mainly television) 2008 - 54% of total campaign spending was for television and radio time campaigns increasingly advertising on internet - less expensive (5% of spending) campaign advertising is informative - voters exposed to ads know more about candidates and where they stand campaign ads are increasingly negative in tone - criticize opponents more negative near end of campaign - when voters pay most attention

electoral votes

cast by electors, with each state receiving one vote for each of its members in the House of Rep. and one vote for each of its members in the Senate each state selects the rules that determine which candidate(s) will receive the electoral votes if candidate wins more electoral votes - then total quantity of individual votes received nationwide is irrelevant smallest states have advantage b/c: every state has 2 senators - so influence is not proportional to pop. (numerical advantage) guaranteed that each state will each get at least one House member large state have tried to compensate for their disadvantage by assigning all of their electors to the candidate receiving the most votes = winner take all voting used in all states except Maine and Nebraska explains why candidates often win big Electoral College majorities despite modest advantages in the popular vote ex: Obama in 2008 - won 53% of pop. vote but 68% of electoral vote b/c large states have so many electoral votes to distribute - most attractive targets for campaign activity b/c large states tend to be diverse - usually competitive electoral arenas - draws candidate attention small state advantage helped Bush win in 2000 b/c many Bush states were small ones breaking up votes by state requires that a candidate have a broad appeal winning state overwhelmingly not as useful as winning lots of differents states electoral college may reduce importance of money - allows candidates to focus resources on undecided states electoral college may reduce corruption replacing electoral college with popular vote system - equalize political influence -would change very few elections

superdelegates

certain party leaders - members of the US house and Senate, governors, members of the national committee- who became automatic or ex-officio delegates used by Democratic party `

Committee power in the Senate is widely distributed:

chairs of major committees cannot chair any other committee or subcommittee each senator can serve on 1 minor and 2 major committees every senator gets to serve on 1 of 4 major committees senators sit on more committees than representatives do senators' legislative lives are not so closely tied to particular committees as are the lives of representatives

How a bill becomes a law

chart on page 251 http://www.mikewirthart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/howlawsmadeWIRTH2.jpg

Voting Behavior: The Importance of Elections

citizens exhibit considerable continuity in voting behavior - many people decide how they will vote before a campaign begins presidential elections → ⅓ to ½ of the electorate decide how to vote before the primaries ½ to ⅔ of the electorate decide how to vote before the fall campaign starts 79% -when Bush ran for reelection 60% in 2008 (no incumbent) elections are sometimes uneventful not because voters are powerless but because they exercise their power in ways that political actors can plan around Voter preferences accumulate for years - emphasize party loyalties and govt. performance, not policy proposals or candidate personalities Party Loyalties ⅔ of American electorate view themselves as Democrats or Republicans (aka party ID)

Bottom up reform

civil service reformers gradually eroded the spoils system 1880s: group of reformers (journalists, professors, clerics, and business leaders) took the name mugwumps: argued that government officials should be chosen on the basis or merit, not political connections

theories of committee formation informational theory:

committees primarily serve a knowledge- gathering function members frequently are uncertain about the outcomes that proposed laws will produce and thus wish some members to become experts in each subject area and to share their knowledge with the broader membership committee members gain power over a policy area only to the extent that they specialize in it and give the chamber useful, reliable information Committees that deal with complex public policies such as environmental or telecommunications regulations - informational function

The Incumbency Advantage

congressional elections - importance less obvious b/c rarely competitive Incumbents: sitting members of Congress often do not face serious opposition rarely lose - trend that has increased while effect of party has declined Political parties is dominant factor in winning House and presidential elections could be b/c voters know little about specific candidates only a third of the citizenry can recall the names of their incumbents - fewer can remember anything they have done for their districts only 10% can remember how incumbents voted on a bill lacking info, many people simply pick the party with which they generally sympathize Party control of the House rarely changes and House incumbents rarely lose b/c many House districts are safe seats = (a congressional district certain to vote for the candidate of one party) In House elections - 70% of all party identifiers stick with their party's candidate

2 principle resources that parties depend on:

control of patronage: the dispensing of government jobs and contracts control of nominations for office progressive reforms limited both of these controls through expansions of civil service protection (fewer appointments) and spread of direct primary communications revolution and post WWII increase in mobility lessened need for traditional parties better educated voters have less need of parties to make sense of politics

Joint Chiefs of Staff:

created by congress in 1947 in an effort to achieve better coordination It consists of the heads of all military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps) together with a chair and vice chair nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate instead of each division of the military acting separate from each other, the Joint Chiefs of staff attempt to work together

Pendleton Act

creating a Civil Service Commission to set up qualifications, examinations and procedures for filling jobs Civil service reform occurred from the bottom up, as low level, lesser skilled jobs were given to people with merit. This process gradually moved to higher level positions

Filibuster

delaying tactic by which one or more senators refuse to allow a bill or resolution to be considered, either by speaking indefinitely or by offering delaying motions and amendments Senate majority can end a filibuster by adopting a Cloture motion = motion to end debate in the Senate - requires 60 votes to pass 41 senators may stop the Senate from acting on any issue

dilemma of party and congressional power

delaying tactic by which one or more senators refuse to allow a bill or resolution to be considered, either by speaking indefinitely or by offering delaying motions and amendments Senate majority can end a filibuster by adopting a Cloture motion = motion to end debate in the Senate - requires 60 votes to pass 41 senators may stop the Senate from acting on any issue when party members disagree - likely to worry that powerful leaders might act against their interests institutional changes usually have followed changes in party unity leaders do not always do what the member wants an effective congressional party contributes to members' electoral prospects uninformed voters often choose among candidates on the basis of party image and performance congressional parties are increasingly active in campaign funding House and Senate campaign committees are controlled by the leadership and most members of the leadership have established their own political action committees members who have received campaign contributions from party leaders naturally feel some obligation to support those leaders members of Congress accept some party discipline because they see it as necessary for attaining important policy goals sticking with party's leaders increases the odds of real change

Interest groups:

differ from political parties in that they rarely seek mass membership and do not try to win political offices themselves tend to collect people according to relatively narrow political interests (by occupation, industries, leisure activities, or preferences on a single public policy issue) allow Americans to participate in politics indirectly by joining or supporting private associations - organizations made of people with common interests that participate in politics on behalf of their members little more than half of adult pop. votes in presidential elections - more than ¾ belong to at least one interest group - on average they belong to 2 and make financial contributions to 4 Americans are joiners more than citizens in other nations greatest and most diverse wave of group formation in American history occurred in 1960s and 1970s Ex: economic groups, government interest groups, shared- interest groups - "single issue groups" - narrow focus and political not all active interest groups have formal organizations explosion of groups was partly reactive and partly responding to opportunities expansion of govt activity gave people more reasons to form interest groups groups expand whenever a change in communications or transportation technology enables them to do so once a group forms on one side of an issue, the opponents usually need to get organized or lose the fight

Evolution of the Nomination Process:

direct primary is an American invention - a reform that swept across the states in early 20th century primaries did not determine presidential nominations happened a lot later than state and local primaries Rep. were first to move toward greater popular participation in nominating process

Rules Committee (controls agenda and floor debate)

dominated by party leadership

redistricting

drawing the boundaries of the new districts to equalize population most states - done by legislature 9 states - bipartisan commissions do it

gerrymandering

drawing the lines to benefit a certain group every district ends up with same population

roll call vote

each member declares a vote on the record risky b/c available to interest groups or opposition researchers seeking campaign issues

Constituency service

efforts by members of Congres to secure federal funding for their districts and to help constituents when they have difficulties with federal agencies electoral fortunes are less likely to rise or fall on the basis of ties to national political parties

single- member, simple plurality (SMSP) system:

electoral system in which the country is divided into geographic districts, and the candidates who win the most votes within their districts are elected prime source of inequality - disadvantages voting minorities winner-take all process

Select committees:

emporary committees created to deal with specific issues ex: House established a Select Committee on Homeland Security in 2002 that became a permanent committee later 111th Congress (2009-2010) = 20 standing committees in House and 16 in Senate these "full" committees subdivided into 170 subcommittees 4 "joint" committees with membership from both houses

Contemporary Party System

end of New deal party system did not lead to dominance by either major party Nixon's victory initiated decades of split election outcomes high rate of ticket splitting : supporting candidates of different parties in the same election parties became increasingly unified along ideological lines (unlike New Deal system) after 1960s independents and swing voters enjoy huge amount of political influence elections matter more than they have historically party control of White House fluctuates more life previous party systems, exhibits distinctive party alignments Rep. majority support from: men, whites, non union households, married couples, regular churchgoers, and high income people - do well in West and South Dem majority support from: women, blacks, hispanics, union members, unmarried, less religious, below- average income people

most other democracies support more than 2 parties

ex: Italy's system of proportional representation (vs. US's "first past the post") parties win a number of seats in each electoral district that reflects the proportion of votes they received - 9 different parties won seats in the Italian chamber of deputies in 2008

coercion -

ex: professional and occupational associations lobby governmental jurisdictions to hire, approve, or certify on their members

frank

free postage for official business congressional use of frank has grown and computerized mailing lists make the resource more useful

direct mail

groups compile computerized mailing lists of people who may look favorably on their leaders or causes and then send out printed or computer- generated materials soliciting contributions often exaggerates the threat that the group faces to scare or provoke recipients into contributing some groups depend almost completely on direct-mail funding for their budgets

Litigation

groups file lawsuits and concentrate on persuading legal community of the rightness of their causes liberal groups tend to be more active in courts not all legal tactics involve direct lawsuits: public demonstrations file amicus curiae - briefs in cases which they are not otherwise directly involved

Congress

has the power of the purse - House is lead actor all tax bills must originate in the House and all appropriations bills do too

Standing committees:

have fixed memberships and jurisdictions and persist from one Congress to another ex: Appropriations, Commerce, and Foreign Relations committees

embassy

house diplomatic delegations in the capital cities of foreign countries

open seats:

house or senate seat with no incumbent (because of death or retirement) critical to political change within a party b/c few incumbents lose primaries

Evaluating the Importance of Campaigns:

importance of campaign exaggerated → many presidential elections decided before campaign begins conditions in preceding 4 years and govt's response to those conditions determine the outcome ex: good economical conditions → advantage to incumbent party bad economical conditions → advantage to opposition also costly wars and international embarrassments social and economic conditions are the main explanations for who wins elections - not the strategic campaign decisions Ex: high gas prices, collapse of housing market, and rising unemployment made 2008 a bad year to be associated with the incumbent Rep. president - hurt McCain

Chapter Summary: 8

incumbancy advantages in congressional elections largely result from the effort that incumbents put into satisfying voters back home even senators must campaign continually to retain power American nomination process is far more open than the nomination processes of other democracies rank and file voters more influence in US + gives outsider candidates a chance by enabling them to pull off upsets in early primaries and caucuses serious flaw: campaign finance law, party activists, and media can run off or shut out candidates before ordinary voters have had adequate time to consider them Campaigning - not independent rather shaped by events and conditions in the years leading up to election campaigns limited in impact- most votes do not make up their minds on the basis of campaigns vote for parties they favor vote against leaders when they dislike the govt's performance consider policy differences when these are easy to compare weigh candidate traits relevant to governance only a minority decide how to vote late in the campaign - by using knowledge of candidates and things they say

government corporations:

independent organizations that fufil business related functions

Candidate Qualities

individual candidates are a major source of change in how people vote nature of candidate is a major influence personality is rarely the most important candidate quality value a candidate's intelligence, integrity, and experience over their religion and family life personality looks much more influential than it really is after the election there is a tendency to downgrade the loser's personal qualities and upgrade the winner's ex: Democrats praised Kerry as dignified war veteran before 2004 election and criticized him as indecisive and aloof afterward easier to blame messenger than admit that the electorate had rejected their message what people think about a candidate is based partly on political compatibility (whether they belong to the same party, whether the politician has performed well, and whether the politician has similar values)

Congress and the Bureaucracy

it is hard for the white house to be controlled because of this system

filing deadlines

latest date on which a politician who wishes to be on the ballot must file official documents with, and/or pay fees to state elections hardest fought primaries occur when a seat becomes "open" because incumbent dies, retires, resigns, or opts to run for another office

equal time rule:

legislation creating the FCC established this rule, specifying that if a station sells time to a legally qualified candidate, it must be willing to sell time to all such candidates the rule was expanded so that, for example, if a network carries the presidents state of the union address, it also nut carries the oppositions response

The Congressional Career:

legislators extremely sensitive to their constituents wishes (more than before) reasons: elected officials are more likely to think of politics as a job and wish to retain office -called a "professional legislator" members are full time legislators who stay for long periods prompts reps to be very electorally sensitive (anticipate threats to their reelection and act to avoid them) technological changes have made elected officials less able to hide their actions and better able to determine what voters want elected officials remain in office longer if they cater to tastes of local voters and provide the services that constituents demand

pork-barrel spending:

legislators seek generous spending bills that allow them to spread money around idely and perhaps wastefully critics compare process to standing around a barrel of pork and handing the meat around lavishly reps devote a great deal of attention to constituent assistance or "casework" citizens, groups, and businesses ask members for assistance in qualifying for government benefits or in complying with federal regulations

consulates

maintained in important cities of foreign countries but not capitals

district service

making sure that congressional districts get a fair share (or more) of federal programs, projects, and expenditures

federal reserve system:

manages the government's monetary policy (created in 1913) headed by a board consisting of seven governors appointed but the president and confirmed but the senate. Each fed governor holds office for 14 years the chair of the system serves a four year term the fed acts on the economy through the operation of its 12 regional banks, each of which oversees member banks in parts of the country

Theories of Committee Formation: distributive theory:

members choose committees relevant to their districts logrolling:The committee membership gets first crack at legislation in their issue area, and other members of the chamber go along with the committee in exchange for similar defence on bills they have shaped ensures that Congress will deliver benefits to each participant's constituency Committees that hand out money for public projects or fund important programs - distributive

Compensating for this increased scrutiny is the improved info that members of Congress have about their constituents

members travel more to their districts members can afford to conduct surveys if they want a scientific way to learn the views of constituents members of Congress can compensate for increased scrutiny by communicating with constituents directly

The Congressional Nomination process:

much simpler than president one nominee for House or Senate must win at most one primary election - not a sequence across many states most states: primary voters do job

riders

necessity of getting budget bills through the process, and their privileged status, sometimes tempts members of Congress to tuck other laws and regulations inside them - riders may have a better chance of passing than a separate bill because of the chaotic nature of the budgetary process

Revival of Party Organizations?

new uses for party organizations parties use direct mail tech. to raise large sums of money hired full time consultants and campaign experts/media strategists -made services available at low cost to candidates nationwide congressional campaign committees began actively recruiting candidates for office helped rejuvenate lower level party org. state parties provide campaign aid and recruit candidates more vigorously than before parties have built up some strength again but the same powers they once exercised

Government Performance:

not every voter consistently supports the same political party Swing voters react to the performance of current elected officials - not really to personalities or campaign promises assessing performance doesn't require hours of news watching/reading can judge economic and social conditions from their own experiences and from word of mouth stories

Persuading the Public

nterest- group advocacy: independent groups have sought to influence public opinion in election campaigns in an effort to defeat those who do not share their issue positions or (less often) to support their allies spending by these independent groups has grown dramatically sometimes outside of campaigns to generate public goodwill become increasingly aggressive

Direct Action

often used by social movements who lack access to power and resources to use other strategies (protests) - media communicate direct action protests to locales far beyond where they occur

Nomination Process:

one major function of political parties - simplify and clarify elections by nominating candidates for office which designates one person as the official party candidate for each office on the ballot

divided government:

one party holds the presidency but does not control Congress temptation to torpedo the other party's initiatives is especially strong when divided govt. exists b/c then voters will be unsure who is responsible for lingering social problems

Evaluating Congress:

only a minority of Americans have confidence in Congress or trust Congress to do what is right view members as having ethical standards only a bit higher than those who sell cars reputation of Congress has been repeatedly tarnished by scandals institution with most negative image Americans have a positive view of their particular senators and reps. voters reelect 90% or more of incumbents who run Fenno's paradox: gap between electoral approval of individual members and unhappiness with the collective Congress citizens rate their members of Congress far more favorably than they rate the Congress as a whole Members run for Congress by running against Congress criticize the institution and claim they are different from the members who cause problems

closed primaries

only party members can vote - and only in the primary of the party in which they are registered some primaries "semiclosed" b/c allow independents to select party primaries and to vote as well

President Pro Tempore

oversees the chamber in the absence of the VP (which is most of the time) has little power and ordinarily goes to the most senior member of the majority party Real leadership comes from the Senate's majority and minority leaders and whips not as powerful as the officers in the House

Evaluating Interest Groups:

participation is easier for people who have more resources affluent contribute more than poor/ people with more free time and less family ties contribute more/ large corporations contribute more free rider problem gives an advantage to narrow interests

national forces are regaining strength possibly b/c political parties have become more active

parties control more campaign resources that candidates want parties are more unified now differences between Rep. and Dem. are greater Congress contains few moderates Thus, voters today usually presented with clear choice btw two candidates who hold distinct positions on national issues such clear differences can overwhelm local factors or the candidates personal traits Interest groups help link congressional elections through issue advocacy

Seniority

parties customarily choose committee chairs based on seniority - aka the majority-party member with the longest continuous service on the committee is usually its chair 3 term limit on committee chairs "partisan theory" = suggests that the committee system has little independent influence

machines

parties exerted tremendous effort in campaigns - very high level of organization - referred to as machines a highly organized party under the control of a boss and based on patronage and control of government activities. Machines were common in many cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

How Strong are American Parties Today?

parties have never been as strong in US as they are in other industrialized countries - lack unified memberships in most of the world, major parties are more unified and more coordinated campaigns and organizations Historically, US did not have true national party organizations and party members in govt. have not been cohesive parties usually discussed in terms of adherents to the parties in the electorate - ordinary citizens who identify as Dem or Rep party organizations strongest at end of 19th century progressive reform movement in 1890s - parties went into decline

Committee system is formally under the control of the chamber's dominant party

party committees nominate members for assignment party members gather in caucus to approve those assignments more important committees are especially stacked in favor of the majority party

ambassadors

people who report to the secretary of state, and head the diplomatic delegations to foreign countries manage US embassies

Policy Proposals:

policies and programs are the essence of elections for the most politically active citizens votes rarely use policy proposals to determine their choice among candidates b/c policy debates often are complex - people have limited information (ex: very long 2010 healthcare reform act) voters may be uncertain where candidates stand may be to some candidates' advantage to remain vague on the issues occasional exception: social or cultural policy (ex: gun control, gay marriage, or abortion) such issues are easy b/c voters generally know where they stand - desired outcome and the policy that achieves it are the same yet even these "hot button" issues allow candidates to use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself. ex: John McCain opposed ban on gay marriage

Congressional Parties:

political parties help organize the legislative branch not to the extent that they dominate parliaments in other democracies

Minus Side of Strong Parties

politicians do not form parties to promote the public good - want to win elections and gain power each of the positive functions that parties can perform may be corrupted (allow for the abuse of power) can become elected dictatorship force voters to select btw 2 choices(people or issues) for which more than 2 options should exist may recruit celebrities or party hacks good at winning elections rather than qualified people good at administrating govt. may choose to suppress issues rather than address them parties may attempt to confuse responsibility so that they can escape blame for bad times and win credit for good ones rather than focus on solving public problem can focus on blocking governing party's attempts to do so

primary election:

preliminary election presidential level - ¾ of state choose delegates in primary elections and remainder choose them in a caucus

Vice President

president of the Senate has constitutional right to break ties

Speaker of the House:

presiding officer of House normally leader of the majority party - selected by majority party until a century ago - was the only formal party leader in chamber- rivaled president as the most powerful public official in US decide who would sit on all House committees controlled floor of chamber responsible for day-to-day operations: scheduling legislation coordinating committee activity putting together the coalitions needed to pass legislation negotiating with outside institutions plays significant role in the party: works to prevent minor spats and internal quarrels from developing into destructive feuds opposition party elects a counterpart - minority leader to provide similar services as the majority leader does Now, committee slates are identified in party steering committees, then elected within meetings of the entire party membership = party caucus (Democrats) and party conference (Republicans)

free rider problem

problem that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of group activity without bearing any of the costs most policy changes and social improvements are public goods: individuals receive the benefit regardless of whether they contribute "Special" Interests will be able to overcome free rider problem more easily than "public" interest will small groups that are organized for narrow purposes have an organizational advantage over large groups with broad purposes

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Nomination Process

problems/criticisms with nomination process: process starts before citizens are interested in the election and outlasts citizen endurance in recent elections, primaries have been "front loaded" = many states moved their primaries to early dates in hopes that the nomination contests would be decided more quickly and the winners would have more time to unify their parties and plan for the fall election campaign nomination process confers an advantage on candidates who appeal to activists by taking positions far from the center of the political spectrum, where the mass of Americans are located Democratic candidates more liberal and Rep. candidates more conservative than average vote = voters given choice between two extremes/ polarized candidates media gains influence from nomination process b/c journalists are responsible for interpreting primary and caucus developments for American people some claim that press trivializes elections by emphasizing matters other than policy and performance - press reports horse race (who is ahead and by how far) horse race aspect increased over time - ⅘ of election coverage focuses on horse race aspect media also give disproportionate coverage to early states and play up expectations for particular candidacies strengths of nomination process: shines bright light on candidates- revealing information about them that can be useful as voters make their choices

Appropriations process:

process of providing funding for governmental activities and programs that have been authorized specialized appropriations subcommittees in each chamber hold hearings and mark up a budget bill (called "the Cardinals of Capitol Hill") House - appropriations bills are privileged (take precedence over other legislation and motion to take up an appropriations bill can be offered at any time) usually pass through the Rules Committee appropriations subcommittees in both chambers must report bills, the rank and file in both chambers must pass them, and a conference committee must agree on every dollar before the govt. actually has any money to spend

2 party system

results from how US translates popular votes into control of public offices - elections take place within geographic units (states, congressional districts, city wards, and so on), and the candidate who attracts most votes ("first past the post") wins the electoral unit no matter how many candidates are in the race or how close the finish

Realignment

shift occurring when the pattern of group support for political parties changes in a significant and lasting way "party systems" - series of distinct electoral eras which feature stable party alignments

Chapter 10 - The Congress

smaller states get more federal money/grants than big states (small cities> big cities) each state gets .75% of total funds for homeland security - 60% left to be allocated based on "risk assessment"

Financing Presidential Campaigns:

soft money: money contributed by interest groups, labor unions, and individual donors that is not subject to federal regulations largely expanded by political party organizations Obama became first major presidential candidate since the FECA was enacted to reject the general election public funding - spent more than $300 million

social movement

some individuals don't free ride because they are caught up in the emotional and moral fervor of their movement

Political Action Committees (PACs):

specialized organizations for raising and spending campaign funds allow interest groups to influence who gets elected tend to give instrumentally, meaning they donate to incumbents regardless of party - especially to members of key committees most PAC contributions are small and intended as a way to gain access to public officials

containment

strategy implemented by President Truman (designed by George Kennan) called for stopping the spread of Communism in the United States and in other parts of the world but otherwise allowing the ill-considered system to collapse on its own espionage capabilities expanded drastically during this

Forming and Maintaining Interest Groups:

supporting a group requires the investment of personal resources (money and time) commit resources when the incentive to do so (expected benefit) justifies the investment different groups rely on different incentives 3 categories of incentives: solidary - join group for social reasons (usually nonpolitical groups) material - tangible benefits from membership declined in influence purposive reasons - committed to group's purpose groups that work only to improve govt. policy experience the greatest difficulty in attracting active members

Coattails

tendency of presidents to carry their own party's candidates for Congress into office declined in strength in the latter half of 20th century more voters today split their tickets (voting for presidential and congressional candidates of different parties)

Authorization Process

term applied to the entire process of providing statutory authority for a government program or activity before government can carry out the activities that Congress authorizes, funding must be approved for them

Incumbency advantage continued

the electoral advantage a candidate enjoys by virtue of being an incumbent, over and above his or her other personal and political characteristics grown from 2% in 1964 to 12% in late 20th century elections One reason why incumbents do so well → politicians have more information about voters than they did in the past incumbents know when they are in trouble and endangered incumbents frequently decide not to run for reelection - pumps up success rate of the ones who try to keep their seats Another reason = members of Congress work very hard to maintain good relations with their constituents

Federal Bureaucracy

the extensive network of federal workers living in every state as well as a giant concentration of employes in Washington DC organized to carry out assigned tasks efficiently americans get frustrated with agencies that they view as arrogant or non revealing of the truth (CIA sometimes) public is partly to blame for its own frustration the federal government encompasses 100s of agencies, most of which are grouped under one of 15 departments. these federal agencies report to a secretary that serves in the president's cabinet independent agencies: free standing entities that report either to the president or to a board ie: CIA

bureaucrats

the people who stave government bureaus and agencies they do not run for election constitution does not grant them formal authority the decisions they make in applying laws to real life circumstances give them unique political power scholars treat them as a separate branch of government many policymaking agencies in the executive branch need not answer to the president directly the president is seldom the only boss that bureaucrats have

counterinsurgency

the practice of battling a decentralized guerrilla force, requiring many troops and good relations with the local population if it is to be successful implemented during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

diplomacy

the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country's representatives abroad

popular vote

the total vote cast across the nation for a candidate presidential candidate who garners the most popular votes does not necessarily win 4 times in history - candidate who came in 2nd became president (like Bush) b/c of electoral college

patronage

the use of federal jobs as a political reward Spoils system: the practice of hiring workers on the pass of party loyalty suits the politicians, allowing them to use tax revenue as a indirect payment to campaign workers who took om arduous jobs

How Influential are Interest Groups?

there are so many groups and so many opposing groups that their efforts tend to cancel each other out particular interests were more influential in the past changes in American politics undermined the classic "iron triangles" that once governed areas of policy

Appointment of Congressional Districts

using electoral districts to determine the nation's legislators also frustrates the will of the majority effect obvious for Senate - 2 senators regardless of pop. House more complicated - reps run in election districts that shift periodically

two party system has altered significantly over the course of American history

usually changed gradually system as a whole remains stable shock of dramatic political event can result in more sudden or more sweeping changes (whole groups may enter or leave the electorate or swing their support from one party to another)

Caucuses

voluntary groupings of members with shared interests have become increasingly common smaller than a party caucus cross party, committee, and even chamber lines can support the efforts of party or committee leaders can pressure party or committee leaders to act or not act on particular issues can be a vehicle for cooperation across chambers, parties, or committees can obstruct the proposals of chambers,parties or committees

retrospective voting

voting on the basis of past performance - (shortcut for voters) good performance by govt. suggests competent leadership so voters reasonably choose not to "fix something that ain't broke" Bad times add credibility to any claim that someone else ought to get a shot at running the government ex: bad economy or unpopular war

Midterm Loss

when president's party loses House seats in off-year elections - voters use this to send presidents a message in election year without a presidential contest has been declining since 1998 in 2002 -president's party actually gained seats incumbent administrations do not lose as many house seats in midterm elections today as they did in the past

Plus Side of Strong Parties:

without political parties to organize political life, it is likely that democracy would be too disorganized to operate except at local level coordinate actions of many public officials coordinate activities across levels of govt. have incentive to fashion a party record worth defending at the polls parties need to maintain unity identify social problems, publicize them, and advance possible solutions help synthesize societal demands into public policy offer mix of benefits and burdens to everyone - must do this so it appears beneficial to general interest or suffer at polls help sort the field of candidates allow for 2 person race without them, candidates would lack party labels so voters would have to learn about each candidate to determine his or her preferences - politics would be more complicated