POLS 1101 1st edition Lecture 15Outline of Previous LectureI. Development and Evolution of the Party SystemII. Second Party System (look it up in book and slide)III. Third Party System - (look it up in book and slide)IV. Third Party System - (look it up in book and slide)V. Fifth Party SystemVI. Current System EmergesVII. De-alignment and RealignmentVIII. Media and MoneyIX. Sixth Party SystemX. Party DifferencesXI. PolarizationXII. Seventh party systemOutline of Current Lecture Current Lecture – CongressI. Congress Overview Congress is the center of policymaking and governmento Structure is designed to solve Madison’s dilemma He believed people should be allowed to express themselves and to organize themselves on behalf of causes However, when doing that there is the danger of some groups pushing government to enact policies that would harm other groupso There are two chambers that are needed to pass laws, serves as a check on each one Size of House-limits factions (in theory) Size of Senate-also limits factions If one crazy bill comes out of one chamber the other one will kill ito Electoral politics influences most decisions by members of Congress (MC’s)o Majority party sets the agenda in each chamber Congress separately likes to be responsible and do what is best for their district but together there are so many problems These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o It can be difficult to make things happen in congressII. Congress Goals Congress solve coordination problems Congress try’s minimize the transaction costs of making legislation Even incumbents are scared of losing because their biggest incentive is to get reelected Representatives/Congress help or their staff helps the constituentso Troubleshoot problems with federal agencieso Keeping voters formed via websiteso Navigating through the federal bureaucracy They bring back stuff from D.C. that will benefit the districtIII. Congress – The Electoral Connection Most Congress people are home on the weekends, they go back to their district to go to events and town hall meetings They dress like locals and try to act like locals so the people think their representative is more like them so they will vote for them MCs of Congress-their incentiveso They don’t want to do anything wrong or illegal because they want to be kicked outo Congress wants to be re-elected so they try to be good agents o They want their constituents trusts Gets them reelected They have staff in the district trying to create a relationship with the people and solve their problems so the people will like that representative Franking: sending mailers to the constituentso They want to move up in the government Reelection is never guaranteed so every representative works hard to win Always campaigning and fundraising How do they minimize agency losso Voters can kick out the
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