ULTIMATE FLASH SUPPLEMENT Flashcards
Surge and Decline Theory
a theory proposing that the surge of stimulation occurring during presidential elections subsides during midterm elections, accounting for the differences we observe in turnouts and results
Bradley Effect
the difference between a poll result and an election results in which voters gave a socially desirable poll response rather than a true response that might be perceived as racist
First Past The Post
a system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast, also known as plurality voting. Voters are rational and do not want to waste votes
Dillon’s Rule
a legal principle that holds state power and actions above those of local governments and declares state governments to be sovereign relative to local governments
why government?
to protect common and private goods
John Locke
cool
Neustadt?
power to persuade, bargaining rather than arguing, professional reputation, public prestige
magna carta
cool
Mayhew: What drives Congressmen
re-election
Fenno: What drives Congressmen
Re-election, advancement within their chamber, career beyond their chamber, good public policy
How do members pursue re-election?
advertising, credit claiming, position-taking
Why parties?
To solve the collective action problem:
Facilitate position-taking-Party brand, voters pay little attention so easier to track party than an individual
Other Goals- Re-election $$$, advancement beyond their chamber
Hastert Rule
Bill is only considered if a majority of the majority party supports it
Byrd Bath
The Senate parliamentarian decides which partsof the bill are germane to the budget
clouture
motion to proceed past a filibuster using 60 votes
Irregular Order
More reliance on “Omnibus” legislation: that combinesmultiple spending bills▶Leadership control over major legislation▶Showdowns over must-pass legislation (debt ceiling,government shutdowns, fiscal cliff)▶The spectre of the Senate’s filibuster
Canes Wrone on ideologically extreme voting
punished at the polls but they don’t just respond to broad constituencies:Activists and interest groups have extreme preferences▶Primary voters vs. general election voters▶Gerrymandering
Congress checks the power of federal agencies through
budget and oversight
Weberian model of bureaucracy
organization structure that favors specialization, hierarchy. Hierarchical, specialized, and apolitical
Graham-Cassidy Bill
block grants
acquisitive model of bureaucracy
agencies are naturally competitive and power hungry
monopolistic model
agencies have no competition, stifles innovation
Alison: Conceptual Models of bureaucracy
rational policy, organizational politics, bureaucratic politics,
rational policy
nternational politics is like a chess match. Kennedy vs.Khruschev
organizational politics
Leaders don’t make decisions, government actions are the sumof organizations with standard operating procedures
bureaucratic politics
The organizations compete to use their favored technology▶State department favors diplomacy, military wants to bomb
federalism: Past and Present
previously a layer cake, now a marble cake
New Federalism
Decentralization of policies increases efficiency
Block Grants
Money sent to states with no strings attached
Categorical Grants
Federal money used to share costs with states, subject to administrative criteria
unfunded mandates
Obligations for states and local government withoutcompensation for incurred costs
venue shopping
Interest groups can choose between different institutions tochange policy
First chief justice and what established judicial review
John Jay, Marbury v. Madison 1803
Number of judges
1793: 6▶1869: 9▶1937: 16?▶2016: 8
Neustadt on sharing of powers
Separated institutions sharing power
starr
first among equals
Ideal Types from Segal and Spaeth
legal model: Legal doctrines guide all decisions▶\Unbiased search for the correct legal answer”
attitudinal model:Personal policy preferences guide decisions▶Bush v. Gore (2000)
constraints on judicial behavior
stare decisis, judicial restraint, strict construction,
stare decisis
decisions should be consistent with prior decisions
judicial restraint
judges should defer to elected officials as much as possible
strict construction
judges rely on the words on the page, not contextual factors
other actors
judges act with the legitimacy of the courts or spatial preferences in mind
agents of political socialization
Parents/family▶Friends/community institutions▶Media▶Political elites (leaders, elected officials)
how do we form opinions
low political information, heuristics, partisan filter
horserace coverage
continual media coverage of who’s ahead
party press era
Newspaper content was based on political partisanship
yellow journalism
Sensationalized coverage of scandals and human interest stories
muckraking
News coverage that exposes corrupt practices▶Integral to the Progressive era
Golden age of journalism
only 3 major broadcasters, NBC, ABC, CBS
partidan media
Outlets that de-emphasize “ideal of objectivity” and attract anaudience by providing more overtly ideological perspectives
soft news
News presented in an entertaining style
mass media starts with the radio
first president Warren starts with the era in the 1920s, FDR and his fireside chats
sunshine laws
transparency laws that require government disclosure
hypodermic needle
theory that the media can place information in a citizen’s brain. Empirically disproved
Effects of the media that is supported by evidence
agenda setting: media can choose which topics get attention
framing: process of giving a news story specific context
Misconceptions as argued by Fiorina
Divisions, activists, the media, people vs. choices
so what happened in culture war?
Elite levelpartisanpolarization is not re ected in mass levelpopularpolarization▶Sorting: voters are more likely to affiliate with theideologically \correct” party▶Key factor: Southern Realignment
Duverger’s Law
first past the post elections with single member districts lead to a two party-system,
Hillygus and Shields
Bush voted through moral values? But a lot of people in blue states voted against gay marriage. Is cuz “Moral” voters would have voted for Republicans anyways. Partisans were swayed by opinions on iraq war, terrorism or the economy. Independents best determined by iraq war. Controlling for party, abortion and gay marriage opinions had no effect.
three models of voting
retrospective voting, pocketbook voting, and prospective voting
retrospective voting
Voter looks at the candidate’s past actions and the currenteconomic climate
pocketbook voting
Voter considers personal economic condition to determine howto vote
prospective voting
Voter uses candidate’s past behavior to predict who will leadto a better future
election timing cycles
on-cycle: elections the same year as POTUS (11 govs)
Mid-Term: 2 years after POTUS
Off-cycle” the year after POTUS (NJ,VA) or 3 years after (LA,KY, MS)
who pays attention to state polictics? coattails on the president
response to national politics will affect how people vote in state level politics
State governer
Governors have tremendous power over legislative branch
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Full-year service, resources
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Statutory power
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Line item veto (Vanna White)
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Balanced budgets (crises, rainy day funds, etc.)
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Attention: citizens only care about the governor
Types of legislators + remember to know
Types of legislatures
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Professional: California: Mini US Congress, $104,118/year
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Hybrid: New Jersey: More typical, $49,000
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Citizen: New Hampshire: 450 members, 6 week terms, $200/2
years
Pros/Cons Term limits
Pros of term limits ▶ New blood, fresh ideas ▶ Increase diversity ▶ Cons of term limits ▶ In uence is a zero-sum game, TL shifts this to Governor/bureaucracy ▶ Helps lobbyists who develop expertise
takeaways on state politics
attention deficit, polarization, accountability low, and usually reactionary to important policy demands
direct democracy
referendum: yes or no vote by citizens on a law or candidate proposed by the state government
initiative: law proposed and passed by the voters
recall: removal of a politician or government official by the voters
effects of direct democracy
Can make legislators more responsive to the public (e.g.
marijuana)
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The “Gun behind the door” effect
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Legislators will be proactive to avoid direct democracy
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Dangers?
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Protection of minority rights: California’s Proposition 8 (2008)
and the 2004 gay marriage bans
Municipal govt: counties
mid level administrative units but can operate important functions
municipal govt: cities
Mayor-council: a structure of government with elected
legislative (city council) and executive (mayor) members
Council-member: a structure of government in which elected
members of the city council appoint a city manager to carry
out administrative functions
Election type: Partisan/NonPartisan
Pros: Low-information races, party cue is valuable
▶
Cons: Do not want to politicize service delivery
Shah and Marschall on ethnic diversity
racial minority no longer means African American. Growth in population for multicultural cities. Minority mayors and officeholders increased since the voting rights amendment
symbolic representation
- voters electing officials that share their demographic characteristics
- significant because the presence of a minority group in elected office transforms perceptions about the proper role of that group in politics Does it matter? symbolic effects of minority representation are often fleeting or present only when improvements in local services are conspicuous.
consequences of lax representation
corruption, lack of accountability, single party rule, media coverage.
negative freedoms
Negative freedom: protection from unwanted intrusions
positive freedoms
Positive freedom: right to enjoy and experience freedom
civil liberties
Limitations on government power intended to protect freedoms
civil rights
Guarantees that government will treat people equally and
decisions will be made on basis of merit rather than personal
characteristics (e.g. race, gender)
Procedural, Criminal, Individual
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civil liberties
Limitations on government power intended to protect freedoms
civil rights
Guarantees that government will treat people equally and
decisions will be made on basis of merit rather than personal
characteristics (e.g. race, gender)
Lacour and fake data but what actually worked: Broockman and Kalla
gay people didn’t change minds. Asking individuals to take transgender people’s perspectives did change their minds. No difference between transgender and non-transgender canvassers.
Right to Privacy?
privacy doesn’t appear in the founding documents but the founders sought a common law right to privacy and louis brandeis anticipated it with the 9th amendment, Griswold v Connecticut, and Roe v Wade
FISA court
meant to check clandestine operations
Equal Rights Amendment
No discrimination via sex period
lemon test
must not lead to excessive government entanglement, neither advance nor inhibit religion, for a secular purpose. Issues with free exercise clause and conscientious objectors.
14th amendment
the Equal Protection Clause gives all
people and groups the right to be treated equally regardless of
individual attributes
rational basis test
There must be a good reason for a discriminatory practice
▶
In courts, the burden of proof is on the individual or group
challenging a practice or law as unacceptable
jim crow laws
state and local laws that promoted racial segregation
grandfather clause
provisions allowing illiterate whites to vote in south
poll tax
annual tax imposed by some states before a person was allowed to vote; outlawed by the 24th amendment
red lining
financial institutions refused to provide services to African-Americans in certain neighborhoods
white flight
whites moving to suburbs after period of substantial black migration out of rural south to northern urban areas
de jure segragation
results from government action
de facto segregation
results from the private choice of individuals
Voting Rights Act
empowered the federal Department of Justices to approve subnational policies
glass ceiling
invisible practices that prevent.
affirmative action
use of programs and policies designed to assist groups that have been historically been subject to discrimination
title 9
prohibits discrimination in education on basis of sex
foreign policy
The strategy a country uses to achieve its goals in dealing with
other countries
who sets foreign policy
Alexander Hamilton: “A swift and energetic” executive
actors in foreign policye
The President ▶ Diplomats ▶ Military ▶ Congress
foreign policy outputs
Intelligence gathering ▶ Strategic planning ▶ Diplomatic relations ▶ Foreign trade agreements ▶ Declaration of war ▶ Maintaining a military ▶ Sign peace treaties
legislative branch foreign policy outputs
diplomatic relations foreign trade agreements declaration of war, military action for up to 60 days maintaining a military ratifying treaties
executive branch outputs for foreign policy
intelligence gathering, strategic planning, sign peace treaties. changed over time to favor power in the executive branch.
two presidencies thesis
presidency for foreign and domestic policy respectively. Presidents more successful in foreign than domestic policy. Clearer formal powers and informal powers Congress allows POTUS to speak. “Partisanship stops at the water’s edge”
bread and peace
it’s the economy stupid + if there is peace in our time.
since cold war, FP has become more partisan
Congress less willing to concede formal leadership on Foreign Policy
Where doe congressional influence lie in terms if foreign policy?
War Powers Act: executive military action for up to 60 days, Power of the Purse (defense is the larges discretionary portion of the budget), signals to foreign powers
Logan Act
forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments
isolationism
US should avoid foreign entanglements and keep to itself
liberal internationalism
proactive engagement in world affairs by cooperating in community of nations
neo-conservatism
aggressive use of power to promote values and ideals around the world
free trade
unfettered flow fo goods and services across the borders
protectionism
using tariffs or other barriers to prevent other countries from selling goods and borders
myth of isolationism
Louisiana purchase, Monroe doctrine, Mexican American war, manifest destiny, panama canal
Kellogg briand pact
outlawed war
WW 14 points
moralistic. League of Nations a failure.
American Moralistic behavior was A-OK in 20th century
Europen monarchies replaced by republican democracies. The US succeeded where Napoleon failed against Great Britain.
Cold War Myth
Us vs. Them… but there were problems with both
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Them: Communism was a united global force, the “rising tide”
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Us: America’s Coming of Age
strategy of containment
Needed to stop Communism at every turn ▶ The Marshall Plan (success) ▶ Fear of the Domino effect
George Bush justification of war on terror
9/11 had no links to Iraq, Iraq had WMDs and link to North Korea
military industrial complex
Comfortable relationship between government entities and
defense manufacturers
culture war: what hijacked American Democracy
Ascendance of the Purists ▶ Expansion of Government ▶ Rise of participatory democracy
ascendance of the purists
Professionals: “belief in compromise and bargaining… and
broadening public appeal”
▶
Purists: “emphasis on what they believe deep down inside,
rejection of compromise”
expansion of the government
Government has massive influence over people’s lives
rise of participatory democracy
proliferation of polls and participation in bureaucracy, media, and etc.
How fix
redistricting reform, get money out of politics, primary reform
citizens united
money = free speech
Leibovich
According to Leibovich, outside business interests have been
successful in lobbying the Trump White but in different ways
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Attacks on “The Establishment”
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Congressional Republicans live in fear of “mean tweets”
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Some Congressional Republicans have been more pro-active,
especially with foreign partners (like Graham/McCain)
what is trumpism
Religious, pro-life, white identity politics,
welfare reform, protect social security
impeachment
political question Starts in House (majority vote), Senate is then the trial (2/3
vote)
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No president has been removed via impeachment
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Political question: “going to Moscow for 6 months is not a
‘crime’ but is an impeachable offense” (Sunstein)
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25th Amendment: Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows
VP and majority of Cabinet to recommend the removal of the
president
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if he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”
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the House and Senate confirm the recommendation over the
president’s objection (2/3 vote)
things wrong with projects
What is judicial restraint? How does it differ from strict
constructionism? Judicial activism?
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Access to political information (through changing media) does
not entail retention of information, what can go wrong?
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Important to think about how direct democracy complements
traditional representative democracy
