POLISCI1 FINAL

Counter-Majoritarian Difficulty

Problem that arises when judges have authority to say law is not allowed, can go against the majority

• Judges are not elected by the people, so people worry that this is anti-democratic, goes against democratic concept of majority rule

• However, this is viewed as sometimes necessary to protect individual rights, make sure gov. does not violate constitutional rules--> balancing act

• When the judges, who are not appointed by the people, make a ruling but said ruling is not appeasing to the public

  • Roe v. Wade overturning

Judicial Review

The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid

• gives the Court the last word on much of public policy

• Judicial review appears to have been implicitly provided in Article III of the Constitution, debated at the Constitutional Convention with some Framers assuming that the final wording of Article III included it but others—most notably James Madison—arguing that it did not

Supremacy Clause

Constitution and State Laws are the laws in which every Judge must abide by

Federal » State

The Least Dangerous Branch (Federalist 78)

The judiciary branch has judicial independence where the judges are not under any pressure or influence, so they will make unbiased decisions that rely on the law and evidence

• Written by Alexander Hamilton

• This branch has no sword (military) or purse (financial) power, and it interprets the laws and applies the Constitution

• Establishes judicial review and the courts’ ability to strike down unconstitutional laws

• Plays important role in protecting individual rights of the people from majority rule

Judges can make any ruling they want without outside influence

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Judicial Review established

• John Adams’ “midnight appointee,” William Marbury, requested court order for James Madison to hand over his commission as Justice of Peace

  • Marshall doesn’t get appointment delivered as it occurs right at the end of Adams’ administration

• Thomas Jefferson orders his secretary of state, James Madison, to not appoint his commission

  • Marbury requests a writ of mandamus (court order) to be appointed the Justice of Peace

• Court wanted to appoint Marbury, as Marshall was under the Adam’s administration

• Instead, Marshall claimed lack of jurisdiction and declared the section of Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional

  • First time the SC claimed the law as unconstitutional

  • Court generates a precedent for judicial review without requiring anyone to do anything

    • Worked to advantage of Madison, as there was no requirement to take action

Stare Decisis

Let the precedent stand after the courts have decided unless things have changed greatly

• to stand by things decided

• if a previous court has ruled on the same or similar issue, the decision of that court will hold with the current one

Textualism and Originalism vs Purposive (“Living Constitution”) Philosophies

Flashcard: Different Judicial Philosophies

• Textualism & Originalism: Interpret laws based on original intent and text of the Constitution.

• Purposive ("Living Constitution"): Interpret laws in light of societal changes and evolving values.

• Textualism focuses on literal meaning, while Purposive considers broader context and intent.

• Originalism emphasizes adherence to the original understanding of the Constitution.

• Both Textualism and Originalism seek to limit judicial activism, while Purposive allows for more flexible interpretations.

Political Constraints on the Court

Constraint 1: Appointment Process

• makes it unlikely that the Court will be too far from a party in power for a long time

• Biden Adm. just replaced a conservative administration, if Democrats continue to dominate, the court would be more favorable to them

• not ideal constraint because after nominee is appointed, they are individual and not acting on behalf of a party

Constraint 2: The court typically lacks the ability to implement its decisions directly

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruled the separation of children in public schools as unconstitutional, but this did not go into effect until 1964

Constraint 3: Limits on Court Agenda

• Court has to wait for actual cases to be brought to them and can only work on a limited number of cases

Constraint 4: Threatening the Court

• Sanction available to Congress and the President

• can override statutory decisions

Writ of Certiorari

A legal order issued by a higher court, asking a lower court to send up the records of a case for review. Used to determine if any errors of law need to be corrected.

Court-Packing Fight (1937)

• In 1937, President Roosevelt lost his Court-packing battle in which Congress rejected his proposal to expand the Court in order to win its approval of his New Deal programs to fight the Depression

• It failed in Congress, but FDR won the war in preventing the Supreme Court from overturning any more of his New Deal economic recovery policies

• The conservatives on the Court began undoing precedents they had asserted only a few years before

• Soon, the Four Horsemen—the conservative justices who voted in unison against Roosevelt’s policies—left the bench and were replaced by justices sympathetic to the New Deal

Race in American Politics

The influence of race on political dynamics and decision-making in the United States. It encompasses issues such as racial inequality, voting rights, representation, and the role of race in shaping public policies and political campaigns.

how race affects culture, partisanship, and polarization

Trump utilizing race (white supremacy) in his election campaign

Civil Liberties

protection from the government

civil rights: protection from general discrimination (i.e workplace)

Nativism

Belief that favors native-born citizens over immigrants, often driven by fear or hostility towards foreigners. Advocates for strict immigration policies and preserving cultural identity.

Trump utilizing fear of immigrants stealing jobs

Asian-American Partisanship and the reason for it

Political alignment of Asian-Americans with a specific political party based on various factors like cultural values, socioeconomic status, and immigration experiences. It influences voting behavior and policy preferences. Reasons for Asian-American partisanship include diverse ethnic backgrounds, generational differences, and party outreach efforts.

Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses

• Due process clause definition: A clause found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution protecting citizens from arbitrary action by the national and state governments (can’t DO random shit to you)

• Equal protection clause definition: A Fourteenth Amendment clause guaranteeing all citizens equal protection of the laws. The courts have interpreted the clause to bar discrimination against minorities and women

Civil Rights

Protection from discrimination from gov

Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise in 1820 was a plan that matched Missouri’s entry as a slave state with Maine’s as a free state, thereby maintaining the balance in the Senate between free and slave states. Moreover, the South agreed to accept Missouri’s southern border as the northern boundary beyond which slavery could not extend in the future

no one is very happy about it but it is a compromise

Compromise of 1850

More power is given to free states relative to states that permitted slavery

• Compromise was that California enters free, but Fugitive Slave Law passes

  • Increases ability of slave owners to demand that the person be return to the South if captured in the North

• “Popular sovereignty” established in New Mexico and Utah territories

  • States use popular vote to decide the issue of applying as a free or slave state

• In 1849 California applied as a free state

The Wilmot Proviso

Efforts to assert that the land that the US took from Mexico would not allow slavery. Proviso fails, but displays how there's threat to balance

Banning slavery for economic reasons, not good reasons

Leads to civil war

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

The case of Dred Scott, an enslaved black man whose owners had taken him from Missouri, a slave-holding state, into Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was illegal

• When his owners later brought him back to Missouri, Scott sued for his freedom and claimed that because he had been taken into "free" U.S. territory, he had automatically been freed and was legally no longer a slave (wiki)

• Court rules that… 

  • He is not a citizen and cannot become one since he is not white

  • Government cannot prohibit slavery in territories

  • Once free, always free is not valid

• Court decision upends all the compromises that were established to prevent the inflammation of public opinion in regards to slavery and abolition

  • Inflames public opinion in the North

Reconstruction and failure of reconstruction

Post-Civil War attempts to redress the inequities of slavery

• Period after the American Civil War (1865-1877)

• Aimed to rebuild the South & integrate freed slaves

• Achievements: 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments

• Failures: Black Codes, violence against African Americans, & rise of Jim Crow laws

• Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877

Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson

Roe v. Wade:

• A legal case that established the right to abortion in the US.

• Decided in 1973 by the Supreme Court.

• Protected a woman's right to choose in the first trimester.

• 14th Amendment

Dobbs v. Jackson:

• A recent legal case challenging abortion rights in the US.

• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

• Could potentially overturn or limit Roe v. Wade.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case (1896) that upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. Legalized racial discrimination and set the stage for Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow Laws

A series of laws enacted in the late nineteenth century by southern states to institute segregation. These laws created “whites only” public accommodations such as schools, hotels, and restaurants

Dawes Act (1887)

Law that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual allotments, encouraging private land ownership and agriculture. It led to the loss of millions of acres of indigenous land and the erosion of tribal sovereignty.

Women’s Suffrage Movement

The fight for women's right to vote, advocating for political, social, and economic equality between men and women. It gained momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to significant advancements in women's rights worldwide.

Seneca Falls Convention

First women's rights convention in US (1848)

• Location: Seneca Falls, New York

• Organizers: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott

• Goals: Advocate for women's suffrage and equal rights

• Declaration: "Declaration of Sentiments" modeled after Declaration of Independence

• Impact: Catalyst for women's rights movement in the US.

Equal Rights Amendment

Proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equal rights regardless of sex. Introduced in 1923, it aimed to eliminate gender-based discrimination. Despite support, it failed to be ratified by enough states. Advocates continue to push for its passage to ensure gender equality.

Black Codes

Laws enacted by southern legislatures after the Civil War that prevented former enslaved people from voting and holding certain jobs, among other prohibitions

Fugitive Slave Law

The 1850 law compelling northerners to honor southerners’ property claims to enslaved people, passed in return for the South’s agreeing to admit California as a free state (and hence lose its ability to block legislation in the Senate)

Reparations

Compensation paid to individuals or groups who have been harmed or wronged, typically as a result of historical injustices or systemic discrimination.

Public Opinion

Those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed

Attitudes vs. Opinions

• Attitudes: Enduring predisposition to respond to a person, group, topic, or issue in a particular way

  • Includes feelings, beliefs, and thoughts

• Opinions: Result of underlying attitudes evoked by survey questions/ context

Framing

The way information is presented to shape perception, influence attitudes, and guide behavior, often through emphasizing certain aspects and downplaying others.

Heuristics

• Policy Proximity

  • Most demanding of these calculations to make

  • Scale of liberal and conservative where candidates stand

• Candidate Traits

  • Character, trust, personality

• Partisanship

  • One of the dominant factors when deciding who to vote for

• Retrospection

  • Looking back and seeing how the candidate has been doing

Elite Theory

• Political elites are polarized

  • Party leaders have been polarizing in their policy views

    • Trend is a bit stronger on the republican/conservative side

  • Evidence from congressional voting

• Masses are not as polarized

  • Fiorina: differences in policy preferences between residents of “red” and “blue” states are modest

• Are masses polarized on policy over time?

  • One would expect that the conservative side would lead towards a private plan and liberals would lean towards a gov’t plan

    • To polarize, each side would “pile up” on each side and there would be fewer people in the center

• Evidence from public opinion surveys

  • Policy issues, little evidence

• Disconnect between politicians or political elites and citizenry at large

  • Makes our current politics unstable

  • Representatives are polarized more than their districts

Sampling Bias

Non-random selection into sample

Ideologies

An elaborate set of organized, internally consistent attitudes that allow one to understand, evaluate, and respond to political phenomena

• liberal, conservative, libertarian

Partisanship

Shapes opinions and organizes other attitudes

• Democrat or Republic

Turnout

The percentage of eligible voters who participate in an election. It is a measure of civic engagement and political participation in a given election. High turnout indicates strong voter interest and engagement, while low turnout suggests voter apathy or barriers to voting.

Partisan Identification

An individual’s affiliation with a political party

• Plays a huge role in determining what an individual votes for, their beliefs, their community, etc. Signals to individuals what they should be supporting even if they are not particularly educated in a given topic

Retrospective Voting and Blind Retrospective Voting

• Retrospective Voting: The notion that voters make decisions based on their retrospective view of how the party in power has done over the past four years.

• Blind Retrospective Voting: Voting for or not voting for the party in power for circumstances beyond their control. For example, if the economy is doing poorly while Democrats are in power because of a massive earthquake, voters are likely to call for a change in leadership despite the cause being unrelated to the party’s policies.

• Significance: Highlights the uninformed ways voters tend to make decisions, without regard to actual policies.

Issue Voting

• Definition: When voters cast their ballots based on specific issues they feel are at stake based on the outcome of the election. For example, a pro-choice voter may vote for a Democratic candidate purely because they are more likely to support their side of the issue.

• Significance: Allows politicians to campaign on highly charged political issues in order to gain support, sometimes mobilizing voters purely in opposition to how the other party might handle the issue

Single-Issue Voters

• Definition: People who base their votes on candidates' or parties' positions on one particular issue of public policy, regardless of candidates' or parties' positions on other issues

• Significance: These voters are important because Single-issue voters can sway election outcomes, especially in close races (overlook policy differences and support candidate for issue); politicians emphasize specific issues/ tailor message they know these voters look out for, focus on certain policies compared to other; contribute to political polarization

• electoral blindspot

Adams’ Corrupt Bargain

• Definition: Not enough electoral vote to anybody shortly after Adams became President, he appointed Henry Clay as his Secretary of State, a position often seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Many believed that Clay had made a deal to support Adams in exchange for this high-level appointment.

• Significance: Led to a perception that the election had been manipulated, and it damaged the political careers of both Adams and Clay.  

• Andrew Jackson's supporters were especially vocal in their criticism of this alleged deal, and it fueled Jackson's campaign for the 1828 presidential election, in which he ultimately won and became the 7th President of the United States.

Mass Polarization

• Definition: Increasing ideological distance and divergence of political attitudes and preferences among the general public. It describes a situation where individuals in a society become more divided along ideological lines, with less overlap or common ground between different political, social, or cultural groups.

  • increase diversion of political attitudes

• Significance: It can lead to gridlock and governance inefficiency; can lead to decline in trust in institutions, democracy, candidates; lead to political instability, with protests, crises; increasing ideological distance and divergence of political attitudes and preferences among the general public. It describes a situation where individuals in a society become more divided along ideological lines, with less overlap or common ground between different political, social, or cultural groups; can be exacerbated by media landscape, can cater to specific groups and create echo chambers; can create challenges in constructive dialogue and create divisive public discourse 

Sorting vs. Polarization

• There are very few Democrats and Republicans who are modern, most crowd on center-left, center-right

  • Ideology is tightly lined with partisanship

• Sorting - People’s partisanship is closely associated with their ideology

• If you have extreme politicians, you are likely to have sorted masses

  • Politicians, by moving apart, force the voter to choose sides

Affective Polarization

Strong emotional attachment to one's own political group, accompanied by hostility and distrust towards members of opposing political groups.

Democratic Backsliding

The gradual erosion or reversal of democratic norms, institutions, and processes in a country, often through the manipulation of laws, weakening of checks and balances, and suppression of political opposition. It can lead to the consolidation of power by authoritarian leaders and the decline of democratic governance.

Primary Elections and Polarization

Primary Elections definition: An election held before the general election in which voters decide which of a party’s candidates will be the party’s nominee for the general election

Polarization definition: The process of public opinion dividing and going to the extremes, usually with political parties, ideologies, or groups

Legislative Subsidy

Financial support provided by the government to specific industries or individuals through the enactment of laws or regulations. It aims to promote economic growth, job creation, or social welfare. Examples include tax breaks, grants, or direct funding.

Types of Interest Groups

• Economic-based Groups (single company, trade association, or peak level)

  • Labor unions (Helped along by the fact the unions are required for certain jobs)

  • Farm groups (Big dispersed interests, but government made it possible to organize them to form groups)

  • Professional associations

• Non-economic Groups

  • Abolitionism, Prohibition, Women’s Suffrage

  • Civil Rights, Feminism, Gay Rights, etc.

Lobbying

Effort by an organized group or individual to influence the decision of the government

• Information (insider strategy): provides info to legislators to persuade or help them do something

• Votes (outsider strategy): Interest groups that have big following scare or encourage politicians to take their side

• Money

Insider vs Outsider Tactics

• Inside Strategy: Information (Hall and Deardorff)

  • Lobbying as a legislative subsidy

  • Time is scarce—Lobbyist make it “cheaper” for politicians to get in involved in an issue

  • Lobbying has incentive to be truthful (to a politician) in order to protect and maintain their reputation

    • Lobbying is a career

    • Lots of former members of Congress (and staff) become lobbyists

      • Congress and staff members are also well acquainted with lobbyists

• Outside Strategy: Votes

  • Interest groups that can marshall votes and get people to vote for or against an issue

    • It sends the message: back us or you will lose votes at home

    • Does not require access, if there is access, it might be unpleasant

  • Tactics: Media campaigns, demonstrations, protests, mobilizing members to send message to politicians

  • Delivering votes is key resource and gives a change for broad-based interest to compete

Political Action Committees (PACs)

• Definition: A federally registered fund-raising group that pools money from individuals to give to political candidates and parties

• However, corporations and unions were allowed to establish political action committees, or PACs, which could receive contributions from individuals within a union or business and use the funds to support candidates and political causes

Media Bias

• Beyond a bias in the tone and type of coverage, many people accuse legacy media outlets of having an ideological slant. The New York Times and MSNBC are thought to lean left, and the Washington Times and Fox News the opposite

• Politicians typically complain that the news media are biased and uninformed; reporters may charge that they, or the news, are being manipulated

Social Desirability Bias

• First, the respondent is afraid the person asking the question might judge them. 

• Second, even if respondents are told the poll/survey is anonymous, they don’t necessarily believe it. Clearly the person asking the question has his/her name and address and phone number.

  • Ex. socially desirable to turn out to vote, but truth is, a lot of people don't and people lie to make pollster not think poorly of them

Bradley Effect

• Polling suggested that white Democrats who held racist attitudes were afraid to admit to pollsters that they weren’t going to vote for Tom Bradley in 1982 California gubernatorial election

  • When they came to the polls with no one looking over their shoulder, they voted for the white guy

Traits vs Personalities

Traits are stable characteristics that define a person's behavior, such as honesty or extroversion. Personalities, on the other hand, encompass a broader set of characteristics that shape an individual's overall pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. While traits are specific, personalities are more comprehensive.

Motivated Reasoning

The tendency to interpret and evaluate information in a way that aligns with pre-existing beliefs, desires, or motivations, rather than objectively considering evidence. It can lead to confirmation bias and the rejection of contradictory information.

Steven Luke’s Dimensions of Power

• 1st Face of Power: Prevailing in open conflict

  • There is a clear winning and losing side

  • Ex. No public option in ACA

• 2nd Face of Power: Constraining scope of conflict

  • Keeping something off of the policy agenda, that could be considered as an alternative

  • Parties have negative agenda control in Congress

  • Ex. No single-payer alternative; no proposal or agenda item on raising minimum wage, even if it would pass

• 3rd Face of Power: Shaping the field of play

  • In American politics, the field of play displays  that socialism and communism are never active or success political ideologies or policy making ideologies

  • Not involving interest groups, but powerful sources in society

  • Ex. No socialism in the US