Midterm Flashcards
electoral college
A body of electors in each state, chosen by voters, who formally elect the president and Vice President of the United States. Each state’s number of electoral votes equals its representation in Congress; the District of Columbia has three votes. An absolute majority of the total electoral vote is required to elect a president and Vice President.
Necessary and proper Clause
The last clause of Article 1, Section 8, of the constitution. This clause grants Congress the authority to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” and to execute those laws”
Enumerated powers
The explicit powers given to congress by the constitution in article 1 section 8. These include the powers of taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and provision for the national defense
Prisoner’s Dilemma
A situation in which two (or more) actors cannot agree to cooperate for fear that the other actor will find its interest best served by reneging on an agreement.
Political Institution
In a democracy, an organisation that manages potential conflicts between political rivals, helps them to find mutually acceptable solutions, and makes and enforces the society’s collective agreements. Among the prominent federal political institutions in the United States are Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court
Collective good
A good that is collectively produced and freely available for anyone’s consumption. i.e. it is non-excludable.
Free-rider problem
A situation in which individuals can receive the benefits from collective activity whether or not they incurred the cost of producing/consuming it meaning there is a reduced incentive to contribute to the activity .
“Take Care” Clause
The provision of Article II Section 3, of the constitution instructing the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments of the US constitution which were included in the constitution in 1791 to safeguard the population against the tyranny of the government. Madison announced the inclusion of these 10 amendments in the first congress of the new constitution.
(The bill of rights came as a result of ‘anti-federalists’ who convinced the ‘federalists’ that such important matters could not be “left to inference”).
Black Codes
Laws enacted by southern legislatures after the Civil War that prevented former slaves from voting and holding certain jobs, among other prohibitions.
Block grants
A road grant of money given by the federal government to a state government. The grant specifies the general area (such as education) in which the funds may be spent but leaves it to the state to determine the specific allocations.
Split-ticket voting
The act of voting for candidates from different political parties for different offices.
Grants-in-aid
Funds given by congress to state or local governments for a specific purpose.
Also known as “categorical grants”
Checks and balances
A constitutional mechanism giving each branch of the government some oversight and control of the other branches . Examples are the presidential veto, Senate approval of presidential appointments, and judicial review of presidential and congressional actions.
civil Liberties
Constitutional and legal protections from govt interference with personal rights and freedoms such as freedom of assembly, speech and religion.
Civil rights
The powers or privileges that are conferred on citizens by the Constitution and the courts and that entitle them to make claims upon the governement. Civil rights protect individuals from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment at the hands of the government.
Shays’s rebellion
Uprising of 1786.
Led by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, to protest the state’s high taxes and aggressive debt collection policies.
The rebellion demonstrated a fundamental weakness of the Articles of Confederation–its inability to keep the peace–and stimulated interest in strengthening the national government, leading to the Philadelphia convention that framed the constitution
Commerce Clause
The clause in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the authority to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states.
Divided government
A term used to describe government when one political party controls the executive branch and the other party control one or both of the houses of the legislature.
Dual federalism
A system of govt in which the federal gvt and state gvts each have mutually exclusive spheres of action.
unitary gvt
A system of government in which a single gvt unit holds the power to govern the nation.
Grandfather clauses
Statutes stating that only those people whose grandfather had voted before Reconstruction could vote, unless they passed a literacy or wealth test. After the Civil War this mechanism was used to disenfranchise African Americans.
The great comrpomise
The agreement between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention (1787) that decided the selection and composition of Congress. The compromise stipulated that the lower chamber be chosen by direct popular vote and that the upper chamber be selected by the state legislatures. Representation in the House would be proportional to a state’s population; in the Senate each state would have 2 members.
Home Rule
Power given by a state to a locality to enact legislation and manage its own affairs locally. Home rule also applies to Britain’s administration of the local colonies.
James Madison
One of the most famous and important Framers.
He was a ‘Federalist’ and wrote important papers such as Federalist 51 and Federalist 10 which respectively outlined his views on preventing the concentration of political authority in one individual or one strand of government and the divisions between federal gvt and state gvt.
Jim Crow laws
A series of laws enacted in the late C19b by Southern states t institute segregation. These laws created ‘white only’ public accommodation such as schools, hotels and restaurants.
Politics
The process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on as course of common or collective actions even ad they disagree on the intended goal
Tragedy of the commons
When the overuse of a public good leads to their depletion and thus other people’s livelihoods are affected.
An example would be the depletion of cod numbers in New England which came as a result of overfishing.
Populist demagogue
A political leader who tries to gain support by making false claims and promises and through utilising arguments which are based on emotion as opposed to reason.
A constitution
The set of rules and procedures that the government institutions (which it establishes) must and must not follow to reach and enforce collective agreements.
Power vs authority
Authority= acknowledged right for an office to make a particular decision
Power=an officeholder’s influence with other officeholders and thus over the government’s overall actions.
Transaction costs
Time, effort and resources used to reach and enforce decisions.
Conformity costs
Costs of forcing people to comply with policies they disagree with
Articles of Confederation
Ratified in 1781
- Weak federal gvt (couldn’t impose taxes and couldn’t enforce laws i.e. no power over internal security) and strong states
- no executive branch
- each (of the 13) state had 1 vote in congress
- to pass a major law 9 out of 13 states needed to vote yes
- unanimous votes needed to change articles
Madison’s goals for the constitution
Strengthen National government vs. states
Give large states more power than under Articles
Insulate government from popular passions?
Madison’s view on federalism
Supported dual federalism.
Outlined in federalist 45:
“the powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government are few and defined. Those which are to remain to the State Government are numerous and indefinite.”
10th Amendment
“The powers not delegated to the United States government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved by the States respectively or by the people.”
(significance: exemplified by the fact that many people tried to use this vs Obama care)
Kettl’s definition of Federalism
The vertical division of authority and responsibility between Washington and the States. In the United States it is a system of shared powers.
Separation of powers
Division if authority across institutions of national government.
Examples of cases demonstrating nationalisation
- McCulloh v. Maryland (1819)
=Maryland tried imposing heavy tax on fed bank (and all banks chartered outside of Maryland)
=Supreme court said that necessary and proper clause used constitutionally to protect fed banks for state laws. - Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
=Fed gvt limited wheat production by average on farms which prevented filbert from growing wheat to feed his own chickens (wheat not entering market)
=supreme court deemed constitutional to prevent Filburn’s wheat production under commerce clause because he disrupted interstate commerce by not purchasing wheat on market.
Race to the bottom.
Collective action problem where states compete for commercial investment by reducing taxes etc and make up for it by diverting funds from social welfare leading to a reduction in living standards of citizens (because of lack of provision of public goods).
This is one factor which incentivises nationalisation (i.e. propels federalism)
Edmund Burke on political parties
“A body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest, upon some poetical principle in which they are all agreed.”
Anthony Downs on Political parties
“a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.”
- arguably political parties in the US are more fitting of this definition then they are of Burke’s
- evidenced by Duverger’s law.
Party in government
Alliance of current officeholders cooperating to shape public policy.
Party-as-organisation
Dedicated to electing the party’s candidates.
Consists of groups, activists, consultants
eg: Democratic National Committee.
Party-in-the-electorate
Composed of those voters who identify with the party and regularly vote for its nominees.
Proportional representation
A system under which a party receives legislative seats in proportion to its share of votes.
This system is beneficial to smaller parties as voters don’t feel like they are wasting their vote.
Duverger’s Law
In any election where a single winner is chosen by plurality vote, there is a strong tendency for serious competitors to be reduced to two because people tend to vote strategically.
=voters are aware of the pattern of the two party elections and therefore vote for one of the parties as opposed to voting for a third party or an independent candidate in order to prevent their least favourite candidate getting into office.
How is party building a tool to achieve electoral goals?
- parties facilitate collective action (through coordination and discipline) which is necessary to pass policies
- party organisation helps to mobilise voters (alleviating free-rider problem)
- voters form an emotional attachment with parties they identify with
- voters use parties as a reputational cue that allows them to hold officeholders accountable.
Machine politics
Developed in third party system (1854-1894).
It is the practice of buying office by giving patronage appointments.
McGovern-Fraser Reforms
Reforms which aimed to alter the selection process for Presidential candidates in the Democratic party for the 1972 Presidential election onwards.
It required states to select delegates in open process.
Led to much more weighting being given to primaries.
It followed the selection of delegate Humphrey (a highly unpopular pro war candidate) which led to widespread anger among supporters of the democrat party.
according to a NBC-WSJ poll how many americans hold a positive view of the Tea party?
41% of Americans
only 35% have a positive view of Democratic party
only 28% for Republicans
according to a NBC-WSJ poll how many americans hold a positive view of the Tea party
41% of Americans
only 35% have a positive view of Democratic party
only 28% for Republicans
Evidence of Cohen et al. scepticism towards pres. candidate selection
Before 2010 8 out of the 9 cases in the Democratic nomination, party insiders had been able to form a united front behind preferred candidate and that candidate went on to win the nomination.
Spoils system
System of patronage appointments that incentivises party supporters and officials to campaign harder for a particular party to win an election.
Missouri Compromise
The compromise reached by congress on 1820 whereby Missouri entered the US as a slave state simultaneously to Maine’s entrance as a free state therefore maintaining the balance between slave states and free states. Furthermore it made Southern states accept that the Louisiana territory’s southern border was the northern boundary which slavery could not pass.
13th Amendment
Amendment ratified in 1865 which banned slavery
14th Amendment
Amendment ratified in 1868 which
- gave all people born in the US, US citizenship
- gave african americans due process and equal protection under law. if state didn’t allow black males to vote in state and federal elections the states seats in the HoR would be proportionally reduced.
15th Amendment
amendment ratified in 1870 which stated:
No state can deny right to vote on account of “race, color, previous condition of servitude”
Voting Rights Act
Act passed in 1965 which
- outlawed literacy test, poll tax etc.
- declared that Federal agents could be sent into states to register voters directly
- states had to obtain clearance by justice dept. before changing voting laws.
Australlian Ballot
Ballot system which allowed for blind voting.
It was adopted in the united states in the 1890s as part of the progressive reforms introduced to party politics and voting in general. It therefore helped contribute tot ht decline of parties which lasted until the 1980s.
Clinton 1995-1996 budget showdown vs. Newt Gingrich
Example of importance President’s Professional power.
Clinton didn’t compromise on demands for medicaid and therefore Republicans blocked bill from passing.
The irony of electoral connection
each candidate’s drive to focus on their own chance of reelection can lead to overall poor governance and representation.
Executive order
A presidential directive to an executive agency establishing new policies or indicating how an existing policy is to be carried out.
Wave elections
Elections where one party gains a significant number of seats in constituencies previously held by the opposing party.
One good example is 2010 elections where the Republicans gained a net quantity of 65 seats in the HoR.
Wave elections are usually related to party not incumbent performance.
Who said that the 112th Congress was the “worst ever congress” and why?
Norman Ornstein.
He said so because Congressman put party interests (partisanship) over country’s interests leaving the country on the brink of dropping credit rating and other long term economic dangers (despite the fact there was Presidential and bipartisan support for viable policies).
Sarah Binder on Inefficiency of Congress
“The polarization of the political parties has instead diminished Congress’s capacity as a law making body”
“Today’s intensely competitive parties more often promote disagreement.. even when consensus is in reach.”
What are David Mayhew’s beliefs on why Congress is inefficient?
Unified government fails to boost productivity because “policy factions” are more influential than “party factions”.
Other factors affect party performance:
-shifts in public mood
-Presidential cycles
-ideologically significant issues come and go.
Franking
When incumbent politicians take advantage of their ability to send mail for free in order to campaign and advertise.
Particularized benefits
Also known as pork or earmarks
Part of credit claiming, where politicians pursue projects which benefit their own constituency and attach their name to it thus making people believe they were crucial in bringing the project (or rather the result of the project) about.
An example may be naming a bridge after themselves.
What are the two most crucial institutions to exercise Congress’s constitutional powers?
- the parties
- the committee system
Standing Committee
A permanent legislative committee specializing in a particular legislative area. Standing committees have table memberships and stable jurisdictions.
They provide information to the house and the senate.
They look at and develop legislation, by listening to hearings (testimony and lobbyists). after that the rules committee vote on whether the legislation should be passed onto the floor.
Committee gatekeeping
Members of congress who represent districts where a certain policy point is very important might not allow a good bill that would danger that from moving along in the process (of the committee system) thus preventing legislation from reaching the floor.
Significance: can prevent legislation which may be popular on floor from getting voted on.
Rationale for having committees
- division of labour (increased efficiency)
- Specialisation
- they improve chances of reelection (committees are quote often strongly related to interests of their particular constituency)
Speaker of the house
The presiding officer of the HoR.
Elected at the beginning of each congressional session on a party-line vote.
As head of the majority party the Speaker has substantial control over the legislative agenda of the house.
Conditional party government theory
theory which dictates that party leaders will have the most power delegated to them when party members are already unified.
Seniority system
System by which the members of the majority party with the most years of committee experience are elected to head of committees and subcommittees.
Filibuster
A tactic used by the senate to halt action on a bill. It involves making long speeches until the majority retreats, Senators nice holding the floor, have unlimited time to speak unless cloture votes is passed by 3/5th of the members.
It gives individual senators a considerable amount of power.
Cloture
A parliamentary procedure used to close debate and to cut off filibusters. 3/5th of senate must vote for cloture.
Dual principals problem
Elected officials are the “principle”; bureau is the “agent”
In the US there are two principle “bosses”
President and Congress jointly control design, staffing, funding of bureaucracy
President controls everything that comes out of congress because of pre-clearance.
Delegation dilemma
Congress, when it creates an executive agency, might want to delegate lots of discretion to that agency because it will make the agency more efficient and because it’s less work for them
However, there is also always the risk that the agency will fall into the hands of people who have different intentions than the people who are creating it.
therefore parties may be hesitant to create agencies in divided governments.
Pendleton Act
1883
Instituted the merit system.
Stated that at least 10% federal jobs had to be awarded on merit.
That had expanded to 80% by 1933.
Iron triangles
A stable, mutually beneficial political relationship among a committee, administrative agency and interest groups concerned with a particular policy domain.
The implication is, that iron triangles often operate in contradiction to public wishes.
Agency Loss
the discrepancy between what voters would like their agents to do, and how the agents actually behave.
Issue network
A loose, informal, and highly variable web of relationships among representatives of various interests who are involved I’m a particular area of public policy.
Countermajoritarian difficulty
the difficulty that is presented by the fact that an unelected body (the court) can strike down legislation that Congress, an elected body, has written→unelected body can potentially go against the will of the majority.
bureaucratic drift
when delegation of legislation to bureaucracy (from congressmen) leads to legislation straying form the interest of the congressmen and thus of their constituents.
agency capture
a danger of iron triangles where when a bureaucratic agency forms too close a relationship with an interest group potentially serving that groups interests instead of impartially regulating them.
Supremacy clause
A clause in article 6 of the constitution declaring that national laws are supreme law of the land and therefore take precedence over any laws adopted by states or localities.
Creation of the judicial branch
Established after election of 1800.
Hamilton calls this the least dangerous branch (“no influence of either the sword or the purse”)
Jefferson opposed it believing each branch had right to decide interpretation of Constitution on actions.
Judicial review
The authority of the court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid
Textualism approach to constitution
Examples are judges such as Scalia.
Judges who four interpreting the constitution as it was written taking word for word its meaning.
Purposive approach to constitution
Examples such as Breyer.
Judges who favor focusing on understanding the purposes of laws and the framers intent when interpreting them in a court case
Political constraints on courts
- No ability to implements its decisions (e.g. Brown v. Board)
- Limits on agenda
- Appointment process
- Threatening the court (impeachment, court packing, amendments)
Argument against strength of constraint of appointment process
Egs such as:
-Earl Warren
-David Souter
= appointed by Nixon and Bush senior and both regularly vote liberal.
Writ of Certiorari
An order by the supreme court to lower courts to send up a case that the superior court has chosen to review. A means by which the court determines what cases it will hear.
Roe v. Wade
1973
Part of shift towards greater concern by courts for civil liberties and civil rights.
Bradley Effect
The idea that you’re going to say you’ll vote for a black candidate but you actually wont when there is nobody to judge you for not doing it
People were worried this would be a problem with Obama election but it didn’t end up being one
Specific form of the social desirability effect that happens when there is a minority candidate and a white candidate
Significant because it demonstrates ongoing racism in voter decision making, form of social desirability effect, also makes our polling unreliable for these types of elections
Ideologies
A comprehensive, integrated set of views about government and politics; an elaborate set of organized, internally consistent attitudes
Disturbance model
Argued by David Truman
Not only do we have these cross-cutting cleavages that keep our politics neutral from having permanent winners and losers but an organized group forms when shared interest is threatened by a “disturbance”
• Organized groups do not abuse “latent” (unorganized) interests too much—due to fear they’ll get organized in response
Due process clause
No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall bridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The incorporation of this law has meant that since the 1940’s Courts have been using judicial review to decide questions of individual rights.
One case of expanded reading of due process clause is
Griswold v. Connecticut (1967).
Griswold v Connecticut 1967
State law preventing the use of contraception
Estelle Griswold opened a clinic which distributed contraception and was arrested
Connecticut statute was found to be acting unconstitutionally as it violated a fundamental right to privacy.
Writ of mandamus
A writ issued by a court ordering a government official to perform a particular act or duty
Elite Polarization
Increased political polarization is due to elite polarization, rather than a high degree of polarization in the electorate.
Both red and blue state voters seem to be more centrist than the idea of the culture war suggests
Most Americans occupy the middle ground at the level of the individual voter
It is party elites who have become polarized along party lines → this limits voter choice as they are forced to choose between two extremes
Mass polarization
There is strong polarization among the electorate along social issues:
Congress is more polarized than it has been due to strong ideological difference
Pass media is highly polarized and they target voters reinforcing their political biases
Large minority of genuinely polarized American voters
The Communications Act
1934
Created the FCC
Created the equal time provision (required that broadcast media provide equal access to political candidates)
Media Agenda Setting
Where coverage of an issue can lead the public to identify that issue as a salient and pressing problem
Media Priming
Coverage of politicians can cause the public to weigh one or two issues more heavily than others when evaluating politicians
Media Framing
Media can affect citizens interpretations of events by forming consensus judgements
Pluralist model
This suggests that competing interests are organized along cross cutting cleavages. This suggests that individuals can have a multitude of identities that do not necessarily reinforce one another.
-• The key to forming a stable democracy is having sufficient cross cutting cleavages to ensure that interest groups will not form stable majority factions that dominate politics
The main resources for lobbying
- information (insider strategy)
- votes (outsider strategy)
- Money
PACs
Large groups that can raise lots of money for campaigns. There is a limit to how much money they can donate directly to a candidate, but no limit on how much money they can spend individually trying to get that candidate elected.
Culture War thesis
Thomas Frank and David Brooks
•Americans are much more politically divided than in past
•Divisions are centered on “social” or “cultural” issues rather than economics
•Working-class white voters vote Republican; educated white-collar voters lean towards Democrats
•This explains the sharp geographic divide in the electoral map
