Unit 2 - Congress Flashcards
Differentiate between a marginal district and a safe district.
Marginal - won by small margin (>55% of votes)
Safe - won by big margin (<=55%)
Explain why incumbents win so easily (3 reasons)
- TV & Media
- Name recognition
- Create pork barrel legislation (do what people want w/tangible benefits = will vote for you)
All combined = incumbent easy win
Explain why there are switches in the majority party in Congress
When people dislike where country is going (the policies), they blame the current party and switch to the other one
Describe the representational view of member behavior
Vote according to what the voters want (to get re-elected)
Occurs when people have a clear opinion on policy (majoritarian politics)
ISSUES
* People don’t always have a clear view
* It’s not very strong if people don’t care strongly (people don’t notice your vote)
Describe the organizational view of member behavior
Vote according to what organization (rest of Congress, rest of party, rest of Committee, etc) wants
Occurs when public doesn’t have an opinion (& you don’t either) = vote with like-minded people = likely get results you’ll agree with
ISSUES
* Might not actually like outcome b/c not knowledgable on it
Describe the attitudinal view of member behavior
BURKE!!
Vote based on your own opinion and ideology (liberal vs conservative, usually)
Occurs when you have a strong opinion on something (& little pressure from the public or organization)
ISSUES
* Causes polarization
Explain why Congress has become more polar
View 1: “dissapearing center”
* Public more polar so Congress is more polar (especially because more extreme people tend to participate in politics more)
View 2: “attitudinal disconnect”
* Public isn’t actually polar, but media and Congress focus on polar issues leading to polar ideas
* Also, pressure from colleagues + public both cancel out, so it’s just the Congressmen’s ideology that’s polar
Identify who has leadership in Congress
Both chambers:
* Majority and Minority Party Leader
* Their whips
* Committee that assigns congressman to standing committee (standing committes are long-term, so members influence policies!)
House:
* Speaker of the House (regulates debate, introduces bills, assigns them to a committee)
Senate:
* President Pro Tempore DOES NOT have power
* Neither does vice president (only when a tie!!)
Differentiate between strict and loose party voting
Strict: 90%+ of that party votes the same
Loose: 50%+ of that party votes the same (more common)
Describe caucuses and their role
Caucus: group of members in Congress that advocate for an idea
Role: Change policy agenda (compete with parties on that)
Where is the power of a committee?
In it’s chairs!! (leaders)
Power of committee’s in general: experts on policy, shape and create policy, work with interest groups
- Most chairs are majority party, rest are minority party
- Standing committees most important (can propose bills)
- House = 2 standing commitee
- Senate = 3 standing committees (2 major, 1 minor
Chairs chosen by…
* most loyal to party leaders
* seniority
Decrease number of chairs and committees = decrease individual Congressmen power, increase leadership’s power
