99 Cards in this Set
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what is science?
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the accumulation of knowledge
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what are two laws in political science?
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Duverger's law and MOC=SMSR (though not always true)
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define Duverger's law
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in single-member districts the winner takes all; therefore, there will be a two party system and it will stay that way
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in the article the senator-in-chief, how is Obama described?
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he is very Congress-centric and tries to keep himself on their good side; many of the people on his staff are from Congress
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in the article the senator-in-chief, what is said to be the problem with Congress?
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"it is a many-headed monster, ill suited to making hard choices or producing neat solutions."
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what is the difference between advocacy and journalism?
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advocacy presents one side of the story and journalism presents both sides
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what is the best institution for political scientists to study?
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Congress
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why is Congress the best institution to study?
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tons of data, institutional change, diversity of topics and actions, MOC=SMSR, more access to MOC, and much larger written record
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what are the three things political scientists do?
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analyze, explain, and evaluate
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who was Henry Clay?
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the SPeaker of the House in the early 1800s
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what did Henry Clay do?
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he created the first standing (permanent) committee system to decrease competition for the position of Speaker
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what happened in the House before Henry Clay messed with the rules?
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debate a bill on the floor, then ad hoc (temporary committee), then back to the floor
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what are the two types of standing committees?
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appropriations (allocate $, budget, have 3 subcommittees)
authorization (13 subcommittees)
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what are exclusive committees?
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the most important; if you serve on one, it's the only one you serve on; include appropriations, rules, ways and means (the ones in the House)
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what are the three categories of committees?
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exclusive, policy, and minor
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describe policy committees
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are in the House, the authorization committee are the authorizers; include agricultural, armed services, judiciary; can serve in multiple
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describe minor committees
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have smaller jurisdictions (veteran's affairs, small business, ethics, House administration committee)
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what are the prestige/super aid committees?
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appropriations, finance, foreign affairs, armed services
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what kind of committee is the rules committee
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minor committee in the Senate
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what two committees in the Senate are prestige/super aid committees?
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foreign affairs and armed services *because treaties are only in the Senate and everyone fashions themselves as a future president
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how does the conference committee give the committee system a lot of power?
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*because it has people from the original committee jurisdiction and there's a closed rule after a compromise is reached; majority vote needed
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how often are conference committees used?
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*rarely, mainly use ping-ponging or passing one chamber's bill
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what is an ex-post veto?
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*"after the fact," a conference committee can veto what was disliked in the H & S versions
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what are the concentric circles Fenno discusses?
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geographic, reelection (votes you'd get in a general election), primary (votes you'd get in a primary), and personal (people you confide in and rely on)
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what is the homestyle?
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how MOC present themselves in front of constituents and their home
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name the three strategies of homestyle
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qualification, empathy, and identification
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what is positive and negative about the homestyle?
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positive: it's consistent across the district (tells everyone the same thing)
negative: run for Congress by running against it (no incentive to participate in the good of Congress)
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what is the party performance rule?
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a person evaluates current conditions in society, decides whether they are good or bad, and rewards or punishes the governing body by supporting or opposing candidates
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what is the party position rule?
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when MOC are conflicted with whether to make themselves or their party look good, they will choose themselves
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what is individual responsiveness?
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the degree to which legislators' individual actions reflect their constituents' policy preferences
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what is the first face of democratic accountability?
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members vote in accord with their constituentsÂ
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what is the second face of democratic accountability?
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constituents punish members who vote against their wishes
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how much support is there for the two faces of democratic accountability?
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a lot for the first but little for the second
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when do members'a and constituents' opinions divide?
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when members have a personal or material stake in the outcome: civil service reform, congressional pay, campaign finance reform, and term limits
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what can be used to test the faces of democratic accountability?
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the issues that divide members' opinions from constituents'
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what can keep members in line with their constituents' preferences?
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competition in the legislature and at the ballot box
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what is the competition hypothesis?
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opposition in elections and in the legislature force MOC to forsake their own preferences
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what is the attention hypothesis?
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MOC forsake their own preferences when constituents attend to the fire alarm
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what is the retribution hypothesis
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consequences from roll call votes against constituents wishes causes MOC to forsake their own
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how strong is democratic accountability?
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very, why most incumbents are reelected
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at what two levels do MOC face competition?
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legislative between parties and electoral between challenger; competition increases democratic accountability
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what are the three advantages the majority party in Congress has?
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has more seats on the most important committees, controls the logistics of floor debate and the alternatives that can be debated, and more easily raises campaign contributions
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why will the majority party perpetuate its dominance?
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because minority embers retire at higher ratesÂ
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when do members and parties fear the public's wrath?
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when members decide the fate of proposed rule changes and when the public makes latent opinions
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what is the relationship between interest groups, the government, and citizens?
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interest groups serve to convey people's concerns to the government, and give political information to their members, foster political participation, influence officials
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currently, how open is US government?
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very, the decision process of Congress is open
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what connects people to the government besides parties, which are in decline?
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the media and interest groups
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how does mass media link the people and the government?
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campaign ads, politician communicate to the people
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what do interest groups do?
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lobby, testify at hearings, plan legislative strategy, contribute to campaigns, grassroots lobbying, and file lawsuits
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what do Americans do that's hurtful to our democratic system?
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don't participate in the process, are untrusting of government, don't know much about government, and switch opinions rather easily
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why do Americans do things that are hurtful to their democracy?
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participating is difficult, media shows us the worst cases (sells), education sucks. Vietnam and Watergate, MOC who run for Congress by running against it, democratic surge, interest groups that cancel each other out, competitiveness that brings out the worst
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how do Americans still perform their democratic duties?
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heuristics (if we personally like a candidate we politically like them), sometimes we do get engaged (Vietnam), politicians always worry the public will audit them, the 2 faces of democratic accountability, stupid people cancel each other out
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do reforms in campaign finance and sunshine laws (see more of the process) work?
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NOPE
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what are ENSID's?
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empathetic non self-interested decision makers; what we want but hard to find
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what is judicial review?
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when the court strikes down legislation because it's unconstitutional
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what is the courts influence on congress?
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judicial review, instigate legislation, hinder legislation, implementation of judicial decisions, and elections
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what is sabotage (legislative)?
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compromise leads to amendments that will eventually hurt or destroy legislation
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what is the principle agent?
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complex legal formula that makes sure that an agent carries out what the principle wants
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is it easy or difficult to implement legislation?
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difficult
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what is the difference between police patrol and fire alarm?
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police patrol is oversight (on the lookout) by journalists and lobbyists
media blow the alarm and people react to it
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what percentage of PAC's are corporate? non connected? trade/membership/health?
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corporate- 38%
non connected- 29%
trade/membership/health- 22%
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why do non connected PAC's contribute less?
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they get out the vote
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why are there so many interest groups?
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the political process (veto points: many people to choose from to convince), the declining power of parties, and the diversity of the US (religion, race, wealth, etc.)
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what is interest group pluralism?
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for every interest, there's and organization that tries to preserve it
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what are the assumptions of interest group pluralism?
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all major interests must be represented, lots of groups have members with lots of interests, there's no overall majority faction that always wins, resources have to be widely dispersed, transparency
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what are the three lobbying theories for interest groups?
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vote buying (literally or to enemies of their enemies), persuasion (change in position or focus), and providing info (positive feedback loop)
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*what are the constitutional powers of the president with respect to the legislative process?
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sign/veto legislation, can recommend measures to Congress, submit nominations, submit treaties, can call congress back into session
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what are the president's formal powers?
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executive orders, *signing statements (tells how the president feels about bills, helpful to the Supreme Court), submits budget to Congress, can ask for a declaration of war
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what are the president's informal powers?
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leader of his party, can put issues on the agenda (focal point for MOC, incentives for MOC to act, *can persuade MOC to go along), can bargain with MOC, can vote trade with MOC, can "go public," can provide personal favors
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what is a unified government?
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when the president is of the same party in the majority of the house and senate
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what is divided government? *
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at least one chamber is of the opposite party of the president
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what can the president and congress do when there's divided government?
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bipartisanship, cross-partisanship, or co-partisanship
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define bipartisanship
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when the president and opposition leaders work together
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define cross-partisanship
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when the president works with a group in the opposition party
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define co-partisanship
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when the president doesn't work with anyone in the opposition
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list Congress' influence on the courts
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confirmation, can shape jurisdiction, control their salary, impeachment, creates court system
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why do interest groups have a small effect on government?
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there are ones on both sides that cancel each other out, they just want veto players to exercise their veto (we need to solve problems), by now they have what they wanted so they're just preserving their turf (subsidies)
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how did the framers talk about parties?
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disliked them, G Wash warned against them and foreign alliances in his farewell address
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describe the legal status of political parties
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because of the nomination function, they have to abide by the law (white primaries are unconstitutional); they're a little ambiguous, but have stricter standards than corporations
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what are the solutions to the prisoners' dilemma?
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long shadow of the future (history repeats), design institutions that get them to cooperate, and hire a leader (pool $, which is given to the silent one)
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how does the prisoners' dilemma relate to congress?
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getting majority members to vote like the opposition is like talking: long shadow of the future (might repeat), can hire a boss like the party leader and give them more power as an incentive
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how can party leaders stop the prisoner's dilemma?
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committee assignments, can give favored status to your legislation, and can give access to $ (hold fundraisers)
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in what three realms do parties operate?
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in the government, electorate, and as organizations (PIG, PIE, PAO)
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what is the National Civil Service Reform League? *
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said Garfield's assassin was a disappointed office seeker, inspired the *Pendleton Act of 1883 that said you have to pass a civil service exam to work for the federal government
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what were the two things that decreased the power of parties as organizations?
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the *Pendleton Act of 1883: have to pass civil service exam to work for the government and can't force contributions from employees
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what happened during the Progressive Era?
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secret (Aussie) ballot, nonpartisan elections, direct primaries (bosses couldn't choose)
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what is the incumbent performance rule?
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people vote for or against an incumbent after looking at their voting record and deciding if it fits their opinions
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what shapes a congressperson's home style?
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how much time they should spend at home and how much of their staff to place in their home
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what affects how much time a congressperson spends at home?
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seniority, distance from Washington to home, and where their family's located
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explain the relationship between homestyle and Goffman's presentation of self
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they seek to control the response of others to him/her; what they say and what their body says; to get trust
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what are two kinds of homestyles?
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issue-oriented and person-to-person
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what kind of people usually become members of interest groups?
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upper class
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what is the connection between the Republican party and business?
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politically organizes it (IG) and supports it; because business can't win the popular majority on its own
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who is the majority whip?
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Kevin McCarthy
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who is the minority whip?
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Steny Hoyer
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how does an MOC sound the fire alarm?
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by introducing a bill consistent with with constituent opinion but inconsistent with members' opinions
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why would an MOC sound the fire alarm?
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because it would help them electorally or they're opposedÂ
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what is the legislative competition hypothesis?
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minority party members are more likely than majority party members to act in accord with their constituents' preferences
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what is the electoral competition hypothesis?
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electorally weak members are more likely than their more secure colleagues to act in accord with their constituents' preferences
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GOV 370L: Exam 3