POLS 1101 1st edition Lecture 20Outline of Previous LectureI. Congress Party’sII. The benefits and disadvantages of committees in CongressOutline of Current Lecture I. Presidents, Success, Legacies, and CongressII. Conflicting GoalsIII. Presidential PowerIV. Bargaining Tool SetV. Formal Contacts/ConsultationVI. Going Public: Going over Congress’s HeadsVII. Bargaining Under Divided Government: Weak Incentives to CooperateVIII. Origins of this LogicCurrent LectureI. Presidents, Success, Legacies, and Congress Presidents want to pass their policies and build a positive legacy. They all want to be high up (or on top of) the historians’ rankings In order to do so, they must successfully negotiate with Congress There are conditions when success is more likely than others Presidents want to be remembered for doing a lot, they have a big ego Reagan was remembered for doing big things – he brought down income tax and reformed the tax code For the president to be able to get big things done they must be able to work with congressII. Conflicting Goals Congress and presidents have different constituencies and different goalso This means that the president must be willing to sacrifice some goals or policy components to pass the broader billo Especially during divided governmentIII. Presidential Power Richard Neustadt: presidential power is the power to persuade Power to persuade is the power to bargain You want to get other people in Washington to do what you want them to do when they otherwise would not, But you get them to believe that it is in theirinterest to do soThese 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.IV. Bargaining Tool Set Negotiating style, skill in interpersonal relationshipso Closer relations may help the president persuade members of congress to pass his/her policyo Being social and being good with one on one conversation helps the president Interpersonal tactics: Helps to interact with Members of Congresso Give Congress info, attend to the needs and wishes of Members of Congresso The White house needs information that Congress has and Congress needs information that the White House has so relationships and sharing information helps both sides Figure out how to use carrotso Reward cooperative Members of Congress with invitations to state dinners, free media, campaign help, etc…o Support pet projects Sticks: run challengers in primary, fund general election opponentso Be able to make credible threats Members of Congress are not afraid of Obama because he doesn’t use carrots and sticks very wellV. Formal Contacts/Consultation Relationships with Members of Congress can be key on the margins Resident sends envoys to Congress: VP, WH, Legislative Liaisono Deals with congressional leadership Coordinated through WH Leg. Affairs Office (WHLAO)o Distributes carrots already discussed Former WH aide: Members of Congress need constant attention, care and feeding Persuasion: WHLAO identifies pivotal Members of Congress and focus on them Policy formulation is more successful the more inclusive it isVI. Going Public: Going over Congress’s Heads President can go public, asking public to pressure Members of Congress to support the president’s agendao Members of Congress don’t want to make the public mad at them More likely to work with high popularity Less successful the more you do it Issue can’t be dead in the water in Congress or among the public Shrinkages in President’s audience over time has made going public more difficultVII. Bargaining Under Divided Government: Weak Incentives to Cooperate Presidential popularity and public’s opinion on the issue matters greatly here When opposition controls Congress, they have almost no incentives to work with the president Reach out on major issues with broad, ambiguous recommendations that may garner public support Become as self-reliant as possible: Executive orders or any other constitutional resource Goal of policymaking less important than winning the next election Cooperation falls apart, gives way to conflict A lot of threats occur and mutual retaliation Blame game: propose something high profile, but something other side will surely oppose. Pressure them to accept your planVIII. Origins of this Logic Trumans administration! Before parties were as polarized as they are today 1946: Aide James H. Rowe wrote a memo to president Truman after he lost congress His aide laid out a strategy to deal with congress GOP is not a united front working with Obama Polarized parties in Congress make it even worseo No immigration reform despite both parties wanting a dealo No budget deal, we may have a government shutdown in the next
View Full Document
Unlocking...