american politics final

When was bicameral legislature created?

The constitution created it as part of the Great Compromise

How are members of the HoR elected and term length?

Members are popularly elected in biennial elections, meaning members serve two-year terms.

How old do you have to be to be in the HoR?

You have to be 25 years of age.

How are seats in HoR allocated?

Seats are allocated by population, every state gets at least one representative. The House is directly elected by the people during general elections.

What is the role of the HoR?

Designed to keep the house close to the people.

Making and Passing laws: writing bills (propose and vote on new laws in the Senate), controlling money (start all bills that raise taxes or deal with government spending), checking power (helps balance power by looking into govt actions and programs)

Special Powers: impeachment of federal officers and choosing a president (vote to pick the president if no candidate wins enough voted in the electoral college.

What is the total membership of the HoR?

Total membership has been fixed at 435 since 911.

2020 census says average district size is around 761,000 people.

How are members of the Senate elected and term length?

Senate members are elected by popular vote where each state casts direct ballots for their senators (established by the 17th amendment). The terms last 6 years, and they overlap so that only 1/3rd of the seats face election at any general election cycle.

Each state gets exactly 2 senators, regardless of population, making 100 members in the senate.

How old do you have to be to be in the Senate?

You have to be 30 years old.

What is the role of the Senate?

Shares legislative power with the HoR by proposing, debating, and passing federal laws. The Senate hosts “advice and consent” powers, which include confirming presidential appointments, ratifying treaties, and conducting trials for impeached federal officials.

The Senate serves as the dispassionate counterweight to the HoR.

How do states draw district lines?

States redraw their lines every 10 years using new population data from the Census though the process is managed mostly by:

• State legislatures: lawmakers draft and pass maps like regular bills in about 33 states, which are then subject to the governor’s signature or veto.

• Independent commissions: several states use citizen-led or bipartisan groups to remove politicians from the process to reduce political bias.

• Hybrid systems: states like NY and VA used a mixed method where a commission drafts maps and legislature reviews them.

What are the rules and requirements for drawing district lines?

• Equal protection: under the “one person, one vote” rule, distracts must have roughly the same number of people

• Federal Laws: the Voting Rights Act bans drawing lines that weaken or discriminate against racial and language minority groups

• Geographic Shape: Many states require districts to be fully connected and compact rather than strangely shaped

• Local Boundaries: mapmakers try to keep local communities of interest and political boundaries like cities and counties intact

Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)

Districts must have equal populations.

Thornburg v. Gingles (1986)

District lines cannot dilute minority representation and race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing them.

What is a common reason for gerrymandering?

If one party controls the legislature and governorship, it is easier to gerrymander.

What is the incumbency advantage?

Incumbents (current holder of a political office, job, or position) tend to fare better at the ballot box due to name recognition, established funding, and prior experience. However, the incumbency advantage has declined due to political polarization, nationalization of elections, and the rise of digital media.

What do electoral fates depend on?

Members’ electoral fates depend on a combination of national party fortunes and personal popularity. They can affect their chances most by distinguishing themselves to constituents.

What is Mayhew’s question?

If members were solely interested in reelection, what would Congress look like?

Three electorally useful activities are

• Advertising: getting your name out with a positive image

• Credit claiming: taking credit for outcomes, particularized benefits, casework, and work

• Position taking: making public voted and statements

Basic problems of Legislative Organization

To exercise its constitutional powers, Congress must acquire information, coordinate action, resolve conflicts, and work for common as well as personal goals. Two categories of problems: institutional problems and tensions between individual and collective member needs.

How are parties led in the HoR?

The majority party in the House is led by the Speaker of the House (chief assistants: majority leader and majority whip). The minority party has a minority leader and whips.

• Party leaders have resources to induce cooperation from free-riding members: committee assignments, direction of the legislative agenda, and help with election campaigns

What is the Committee System in Congress?

Bills are assigned to committees by jurisdiction. Membership is appointed by party leadership and reflects partisan ration of the chamber.

• Members typically stay on committees across sessions and develop policy expertise. Committee membership is often drawn from districts with strong interests in the policy area (ex. armed services → military base)

What is the House Rules Committee?

The House Rules Committee (dominated by the majority party and closely tied to the Speaker of the House) determined how a bill will be debated. Ruled can be open, restrictive, or closed.

• Controls the flow of legislation to the floor, sets rules for debate, and dictates how bills can be amended

• Traffic Cop Role: acts as a gatekeeper, meaning nearly every bill must receive a “special rule” from this committee before it can reach the House floor for debate and a vote

Why doesn’t the Senate have a Rules Committee?

Debate works via unanimous consent agreements. Individual senators can filibuster (hold the floor indefinitely). 60 votes needed for cloture, or to cut off the debate. Filibustering has become much more common.

• The supermajority of a malapportioned chamber is required to pass law. The rules can be changed through parliamentary procedure (Democrats did in 2013, Republicans in 2017)

How does a bill get stopped? What is the main takeaway?

1. In a committee: if the chair refuses to consider it of the committee fails to approve it

2. Before reaching the floor: if House or Senate leadership doesn’t want it considered

3. On the floor: if it fails a floor vote or the conference version is not approved

4. By presidential veto: if Congress cannot override with 2/3 votes in both chambers

5. Key takeaways: the system favors the status quo, and there are many veto points.

Is Congress representative?

No, Congress is not demographically representative of the American people. Nearly all members are college-educated professionals, and women and racial minorities are underrepresented.

Why are there so few women in Congress?

It is not about electability. When women run, they win just as often as men. The key barrier is candidate emergence, because women are less likely to run.

Lawless and Fox’s research about women

Women have lower political efficacy (25% vs. 40% of men see themselves as “very qualified”) and lower political ambition (41% of women vs. 56% of men have considered running).

• Causes include family socialization, political context, competitive experiences, and self-confidence

Descriptive Representation vs. Substantive Representation

• Descriptive representation: the number of seats held by members of a demographic group

• Substantive representation: the effects of their presence on policy outcomes.

• Theory: individuals from underrepresented groups are best equipped to represent group interests due to shared experiences

The Agender Setter Model (Cox and McCubbins)

• Members seek reelection

• Party brands matters for reelection and securing a majority

• Party brand depends on legislative accomplishments

• Legislative entails overcoming collective action problems

• These are overcome by delegation

• Partied delegate agenda-setting power

What are agenda-setting offices and their roles?

• Agenda-setting offices: committee chairs, slots on the Ruled Committee, and the speakership

Being in the majority means controlling these offices. The first commandment of party leadership is “thou shalt not aid bills that will split the party”. This is negative agenda-setting power, or keeping divisive issues off the agenda.

Spacial Model Key Terms and use of Spacial Model

• M: the ideal point (preferred policy) of the median voter/legislator (M). In any pair-wise vote, no other policy can beat M.

• Q: the status quo, or the current policy. If no vote is held, Q stays in place.

• S: the ideal point of the agenda setter (S).

• P: the proposal that S puts forward for a vote.

The electorate votes between P and Q. If M prefers P to Q, P will pass. If M is indifferent between P and Q, Q will be chosen.

A policy P beats Q only when |p − m| < |q − m| (when p is closer to m than q is).

• Key insight: Even in situations where a vote must be held, the agenda settler has tremendous power. In many scenarios, she can manipulate the vote to get exactly what she wants.

Spacial Model for Negative Agenda Power (Blocking Votes)

If S prefers Q to M (or |q − s| < |m − s|) then S will not allow a vote, because any vote would move the policy to M. If S prefers M to Q, they will allow the vote.

Explain this Scenario: s < q < m

s < q < m → S’ optimal strategy p ≤ q (proposes at/below status quo) → Q will stay

Scenario → S’s optimal strategy → Ultimate law

S’ ideal point is to the left of the status quo, which is to the left of the median. S proposes something that at or below q. The median voter prefers q to any proposal S could make that S would actually like, so the proposal fails and Q remains the law.

• The agenda setter “loses” the vote but protects the status quo, which is closer to her ideal than M.

Explain this Scenario: q < s < m

q < s < m → p=s (propose her ideal point) → s (agenda setter gets ideal)

Scenario → S’s optimal strategy → Ultimate law

The status quote is to the left of both S and M. S proposes p=s (her own ideal point). Because S is between Q and M the median voter prefers S to Q, so it passes.

• S gets their ideal policy. This is the best case scenario for the agenda setter.

Explain this Scenario: q < m < s

q < m < s → min of s and p = m + |m−q| − ε → min of s and m + |m−q| − ε

Scenario → S’s optimal strategy → Ultimate law

S’ ideal point is to the right of the median. Two subcases:

• A: if S falls within the range of policies M prefers to Q (i.e., |m − s| < |m − q|), then S proposes p=s and it passes.

• B: is S falls outside the range (|m − s| ≥ |m − q|), then S proposes p = m + |m − q| − ε (just barely inside the range M will accept). This is the maximum amount S can extract.

What are Insecure Majorities?

Historically, there were long periods of one-party dominance punctures by brief periods of strong competition.

• Since the 1980’s, a new era of party competition: similar numbers of Republican and Democratic identifiers, narrow party divisions in Congress, and more competitive presidential elections.

What is the key thesis of insecure majorities? What are the downfalls?

Increased competition for control of Congress fuels a more confrontational style of partisanship. There are benefits to defining and dramatizing party differences, which parties do via messaging.

• This is in tension with successful legislating, because bipartisanship is typically necessary to legislate but undercuts efforts to clarify how parties differ.

• Where parties stand affects the relative weight on legislating vs. majorities. This is shaped by the degree of two-party competition and whether there is a divided government.

If members are worried about constituents, why has polarization occurred?

Electoral incentives drive partisan behavior

Do citizens prefer bipartisan behavior?

• Hypothesis: Independents and weak partisans prefer bipartisan behavior; strong partisans prefer partisan behavior

• Key Finding: Strong identifiers negatively respond to the member when told he is engaging in bipartisan behavior. Weak identifiers and Independents are positively disposed to bipartisanship.

What is the public’s confidence in Congress with partisanship?

When Congress is framed as characterized by partisan conflict, people have less confidence in the legislative branch as an institution.

• Paradox: although the public generally rebukes Congress for partisan bickering, some citizens reward individual members for eschewing bipartisan cooperation. Members are individually incentivized to behave in a partisan manner, which harms the collective image of Congress. There is no institution to compel bipartisan cooperation.

This explains why Congress as an institution is unpopular (low approval), but individual members of Congress remain relatively popular with their own constituents.

Partisan Polarization in Congress

Measured using DW-NOMINATE scores derived from roll call votes. Polarization is the distance between the mean Republican and mean Democrat Scores.

• Polarization has been growing in Congress since the late 1970s and is also evident in state legislatures

• Polarization has been asymmetric: Republican legislators have moved further to the right than Democrats have moved to the left

Political Polarization for Citizens

At he state level, polarization is lowest in the South (more moderate Democrats) and Northeast (more moderate Republicans), and the highest in the West and North Central regions.

• Elites are more polarized than the mass public on both ideological and affective dimensions. There is substantial overlap between Democrats and Republicans in the mass public (consistent with Fiorina), but not much for elites.

What is Affective Polarization

Affective Polarization is the dislike and distrust of the other party. This is stronger than issue-based polarization for both elites and mass public.

• This leads to more gridlock and makes Congress less productive. The American constitutional system (bicameralism, supermajoritarian institutions) is not well designed to reap the benefits of polarization. Benefits include clearer voter choices and accountability.

What is Unequal Democracy (Bartels)?

Members of Congress represent the vies of their high-income constituents much more than those of low-income ones.

What is common reactions and debates to Policy Responsiveness?

• Common reaction: “of course the poor don’t get represented—they don’t vote!” But this is more complicated. Participatory inequality may not fully explain representational inequality.

• Key debate: is participation the mechanism? Verba, Schlozman, and Brady argues inequalities in activity lead to inequalities in responsiveness, but little empirical work has tested this directly

What is the role and history of the Chief Executive? (Article II)

The framers had opposing feelings about executive power. Article II vests executive power in the president but provides little specific administrative authority.

• Article II, Section II: appointments and treaties (with Senate consent). Section III is the Take Care Clause (“he shall take care that the Laws be faithfully executed”).

• The growth of the national government enhanced presidential control over policy. Tools: delegation from Congress, executive orders, and budgeting.

What is the unitary executive theory?

An interpretation of Article II that it means conferring broad authority for presidents to take any action not explicitly prohibited by law.

Is the President a Legislature?

The constitution gives presidents a modest legislative role (ex. state of the union and calling special sessions). Unified governments greatly increase the chance of passing the president’s agenda. Dividing governments (opposing party hold one or both chambers) can result in gridlock, especially when opponents refuse to compromise.

• In reality, presidents are central to policymaking. Party allies are key to legislative success but are not guaranteed. The president’s capacity to influence opinion varies by issue and depends on public approval of the president.

• The Veto: the president’s most formidable tool against an opposition Congress. This requires 2/3id majority in both chambers to override. Presidents average fewer than 10 vetoes per year.

How has the presidency has changed over time?

It has become more powerful, more central to political life, and more independent. Studying the presidency is difficult because there are few “instances” (only 47 presidents) and the nature of the office has changed dramatically.

The politics presidents make (Skowronek) typology

Presidents are elected facing either a resilient or vulnerable policy “regime” and the incoming presidents can be either affiliated or opposed to that regime. This creates 4 types of presidential politics:

What is a reconstructive president?

Type of presidential politics that, when elected, there is a consensus that something fundamental is wrong. They are opposed to a vulnerable regime and reject the old order and build a new one.

• Examples: Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, FDR, Reagan

What is a disjunctive president?

Type of presidential politics that is affiliated with a vulnerable regime (one that is falling). They govern at a time when there is consensus the current system is not working, but they are tied to it.

• Examples: John Adams, Hoover, Carter

What is a articulative president?

Type of presidential politics that is affiliated with a resilient regime, or one that is popular and working. They continue the work on the prevailing agenda.

• Examples: Monroe, Truman, LBJ, George Bush

What is a preemptive president?

Type of presidential politics that is opposed to a resilient regime, one that is still popular. They come to power despite opposing the prevailing governing philosophy.

• Examples: Eisenhower, Nixon, Clinton, Obama

What is the Principal-Agent Problem?

American bureaucracy involves two lawyers of delegation:

1. The people delegate to elected officials

2. Lawmakers delegate implementation to unelected bureaucrats

Principals possess authority and delegate it to agents. This is necessary when special expertise is required.

• Risk of agency loss: agents may serve their own interest rather than the principal’s, and their actions may be difficult or costly to observe.

What is the spoils system?

President Andrew Jackson advocated rotation in office by rewarding party activists with government jobs. Led to bureaucratization but also incompetence and corruption.

What is the Civil Service Reform?

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883: Created the modern merit-based civil service. Employees hired on qualifications rather than political connections.

• Problems with the merit system: career civil servants develop their own personal and institutional interests, and they are less connected to elected officials and ordinary citizens than rotating apointees were.

Three waves of regulation

1. First wave (late 19th/early 20th century): rapidly expanding market economy. Created ICC, FTC, Federal Reserve

2. Second wave (1930s): response to the great depression. Created FDIC, SEC, NLBR

3. Third wave (1960s-1970s): consumer protection era. Created CPSC, NTSB, EPA, EEOC

What are some congressional oversight strategies?

• Police Patrols (active monitoring, its costly and rare)

• Fire Alarms which relies on interest groups, media, and citizens to report problems (Congress relies more on this)

Who controls the bureaucracy?

The more the government does, the more discretion administrators get

How does the president control the bureaucracy?

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the president’s primary vehicle. Budget process lets presidents emphasize priorities. Presidents have special authority over diplomacy/national security agencies.

What are Iron Triangles?

Narrowly focused subgovernments composed of:

1. A congressional committee/subcommittee

2. An executive agency

3. Interest groups

They control policy in their domain

What is regulatory capture?

Regulators become “captured” by the industries they are supposed to regulate, serving industry interests rather than public interest.

What are interest groups? Pluralist theory?

An organized group of individuals or organizations that make policy-relates appeals to government.

• Predominantly economic, where most groups require members, money, and leadership. Group membership has an upper-class bias

• Pluralist theory: interest groups should form whenever the political environment warrants it. But in reality, groups form around only some interests, meaning there is a bias in which groups form and political decisions may reflect that bias

What is the logic of collective action?

It is a mistake to assume individuals will spontaneously form interest groups to promote shared interests. Small groups find is easier to organize than large ones (each member’s contribution is more noticeable and monitoring is easier).

• Free-rider problem: individuals have an incentive to benefit from group action without contributing

• Selective incentives: groups offer material, solidarity, or purposive benefits to make participation attractive and to overcome free-riding

• Political entrepreneurs: extraordinary individuals who organize an maintain groups, sometimes receiving personal benefits from doing so.

What do interest groups do?

1. Insider tactics: reciprocally helpful exchanges with officials (lobbying and providing information)

2. Outsider tactics: implicit or explicit threats (grassroots campaigns and public pressure)

Targets of lobbying are members of Congress, the president, the executive branch (the bureaucracy), and state-level officials.

What are PACs?

PACs, created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, give financial support, provide campaign workers, endorse candidates, produce advertising, advise on strategy, get out the vote, and recruit/train candidates. PACs are limited in how much they can contribute per candidate per election.

• Interest group PACs tend to spend much less than they are legally allowed, suggesting PAC contributions generate minimal returns.

What is the Benign Pluralist view? A less optimistic view?

Truman 1951 says those who care more about a policy have more to say. Interest groups compete like firms in a free marker, producing compromise and moderation.

• Criticism: “The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent” Most visible interest groups do not form a balanced cross-section of economic and social interests

Less optimistic view is that interest groups are particularly good at getting policies with concentrated benefits and diffuse costs. Small groups benefit from policies while costs are widely distributed among the tax-paying population. Individual cost-bearers are unlikely to notice or fight the costs.

What is the Judicial Review?

• The most consequential function of the federal judiciary is the power to declare enacted laws unconstitutional and nullify them.

• This is tremendously undemocratic, and little was written about it in the constitution

• Between 1790 and 1860, the Court struck down only two federal laws

Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Chief Justice John Marshall established the precedent of judicial review, claiming the power of the Supreme Court. The case attracted little attention at the time, and judicial review didn’t become truly consequential until the Civil War era.

• The case centered on William Marbury's undelivered judicial commission and Secretary of State James Madison's refusal to hand it over.

Eras of the court: Era I

Founding to Civil War: Generally low activity.

• Central question: national authority vs. state’s rights. Under John Marshall, the court favored national authority (McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819). Under Roger Taney, states’ rights resurged (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857). The Civil War established national supremacy.

McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

Established the implied powers of Congress under the Necessary and Proper clause and confirmed the supremacy of the federal government over state governments.

• The Necessary and Proper Clause (or the Elastic Clause) in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, gives Congress the power to make all laws needed to carry out its listed duties.

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857

Supreme Court decision ruling that African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Eras of the court: Era II

Civil War to 1930s: high activity

• Central question: can the government regulate the economy?

The court becomes increasingly conservative, defending property rights (Lochner v. New York, 1905). Overturned 12 New Deal statutes (1934-1937). FDR’s court-packing plan failed in Congress, but the Court got the message and started voting more liberally. Judicial review in this era was conservative.

Lochner v. New York, 1905

Supreme Court case that struck down a New York law limiting bankers’ working hours, establishing the “liberty of contract” under the 14th amendment.

Eras of the court: Era III

1940s-2000s: High activity

• Central question: individual rights vs. government authority (civil rights vs. civil liberties). A liberal federal judiciary overturned (mostly state) laws in favor of equal treatment and personal liberty. Judicial review in this era was liberal.

• Key cases: Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Engel v. Vitale (1962), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Roe v. Wade (1973), R omer v. Evans (1996).

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

Supreme Court decision that ruled racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. Rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine and the ruling of the 14th amendment’s Equal Protection Clause violation.

Engel v. Vitale, 1962

Supreme Court case that ruled state-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965

Supreme Court decision ruling that the Constitution protects a right to marital privacy. The Court struck down a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraception, establishing that privacy is implied in the Bill of Rights. Allowed birth control

Miranda v. Arizona, 1966

Supreme Court decision ruling that police must inform suspects of their right to remain silent and to have an attorney before custodial interrogation

Roe v. Wade, 1973

Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion, based on the right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment. Key elements include a 7–2 ruling, protection prior to fetal viability, and its eventual overturning in 2022.

Romer v. Evans, 1996

Supreme Court decision ruling that a state constitutional amendment in Colorado preventing protected status based on sexual orientation violation the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. The Court found the measure lacked a rational relationship to a legitimate state interest.

Eras of the Court: Era IV

The federal judiciary is now more conservative than at any time since the New Deal. Since Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Court has scrutinized new laws based on the commerce clause. Trump’s three appointments created a six-member conservative supermajority.

Ideology in Judicial Decision-Making

Civil liberties reflect the shifting ideological composition of the court

• Justices are obligated to interpret the Constitution objectively, but they often disagree about what objectivity prescribes. Personal and political ideologies are evident in almost every decision.

“Do Justices Defend the Speech They Hate?”

Studied 516 First Amendment cases (1953-2010). Liberal justices are overall more supportive of free speech claims than conservative justices, but both liberal and conservative justices’ votes reflect their preferences toward the speaker’s ideology, not just an underlying taste for or against the First Amendment. The Court can appear more or less supportive of free expression depending on whether it decides cases with speakers left, right, or center.

What is the Supreme Court’s place in Separation of Powers?

Judicial review seems to give the Court the last word on policy, but when the elected branches agree on a course of action, they usually prevail (ex. FDR’s New Deal and Obama’s ACA).

• The agreement violates majority rule but conforms to the Framers’ broader concern with checks and balances. as Federalist No. 10 shows, the Framers were wary of popular majorities exploiting their control of government.

• The rise of concurring and dissenting opinions: after the Judiciary Act of 1925 gave the Court control over its caseload, it focused on more controversial cases, increasing the number of non-unanimous opinions.

Federalist No. 10

An influential 1787 essay written by James Madison, it addresses the dangers of political factions, argues that a large republic is the best defense against them, and explains how representation refines public views.

Judiciary Act of 1925

Signed by President Calvin Coolidge which gave the U.S. Supreme Court control over its own case list by cutting down mandatory appeals and expanding the use of the writ of certiorari.

• Discretionary review: most cases from lower federal and state courts could only reach the supreme court is the justices chose to hear them

• Reduce caseload: stopped a huge flood of minor or direct appeals that were overwhelming in the Court

• Constitutional Focus: allowed the Supreme Court to focus mainly on big consequential questions and important public laws

Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights

• Civil liberties: protections FROM government power

• Civil rights: protections BY government on behalf of citizens

The transition on the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights originally only applied to the federal government. The 14th amendment (ratified after the Civil War) was used to gradually apply the Bill of Rights to state governments through selective incorporation.

• Selective incorporation happened gradually. 5th amendment property rights first, the 1st amendment (1920s-1940s), then the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments (1960s)

Privacy in the Bill of Rights

Not explicitly in the Bill of Rights but derived from the 9th amendment and penumbras (implicit zones of protected privacy) around explicitly guaranteed rights. Abortion remains intensely debated; states are now making decisions about abortion rights/restrictions. 

• Key cases: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965, birth control), Roe v. Wade (1973, abortion), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022, overturned Roe).

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1992

Supreme Court case that reaffirmed the right to an abortion, established the "undue burden" standard, and removed the rigid trimester framework.

• Ruling upheld most state restrictions on abortion while striking down spousal notification

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 2022

Supreme Court decision that held the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, officially overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).

Descriptive and Substantive Representation in Congress

Examines whether descriptive representation (shared identity between legislator and constituents) leads to substantive representation (policy action on behalf of that group). Studies women, racial/ethnic minorities, and military veterans in Congress.

• Finds that descriptive representatives engage in more substantive representation for their groups, even in “unilateral” actions not subjected to chamber rules or party agenda control.

Veteran support in Congress

Support for veterans’ programs is widely considered nonpartisan. Yet veteran legislators still advocate more for veterans, suggesting that political conflict/controversy is not a necessary condition for descriptive representation to produce substantive representation.

• Among veterans, substantive representation is most pronounced for legislators with active-duty (not just reserve/National Guard) service.

Are moderates really more electable than ideologues?

• Classic view (Downs, 1957): moderate candidates should be more electable because they appeal to the median voter

• Finding: while moderates historically enjoyed an electoral advantage in congressional elections, this gap has disappeared in recent years. By around 2008, ideologically extreme candidates and moderated become indistinguishable in their likelihood of winning. This change holds for both Democrats and Republicans.

• Measured using CF scored (campaign contribution-based ideology scores). Possible explanations: redistricting making districts more homogenous, changing primary voter behavior, growing public polarization.

What is the myth of imperial presidency?

The public, with the help on Congress and courts, do hold the president accountable. Presidents with strong approval ratings issue more significant executive orders than unpopular presidents. Low approval acts as a brake on unilateral action.

• Executive action does not systemically decrease presidential approval, consistent with the idea that presidents successfully anticipate public reactions.

• Most major executive actions taken by Bush and Obama received broad public support, precisely because presidents avoided actions likely to provoke backlash.

What is the Trump exception to the imperial presidency myth?

Trump used unilateral powers to end public opinion constrains unilateralism. Presidents anticipate the public’s reaction before acting unilaterally and adjust behavior accordingly act some of the most unpopular elements of his agenda (ex. the travel band and border wall). His legislative proposals were often more popular than his executive actions.

• This suggests he wither could not anticipate or did not care about aggregate public opinion, possibly prioritizing his base.

Do strict ID laws stop voters?

Stricter voter ID laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any subgroup defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. The laws also do not affect the relative vote share of Democratic vs. Republican candidates, as well as having no effect on actual or perceived fraud.

• The lack of negative turnout impact cant be attributed to voter backlash against the laws (no increase in campaign contributions or self-reported political engagement)

• Non-white voters are more likely to be contacted by campaigns (+4.7pp), suggesting parties mobilized supporters to offset modest effects on minority participation

Takeaway: efforts to improve elections may be better directed at other reforms. This contrasts with large participation effects of other election administration dimensions (registration laws, convenience voting, etc)

What is the logic of collective action and interest groups?

Core theory: the collective action problem states that rational, self-interested individuals will not act to achieve a common or group interest unless the group is small or there is coercive/external inducements.

• Public goods: benefits that are non-excludable (cannot be withheld) and non-rival (one person’s consumption doesn’t diminish another’s)

• Free-riding: reaping the benefits of collective action without contributing to the costs

• Selective incentives: private benefits (ex. insurance and discounts) provided only to contributing members to solve the free-riding problem

• Moral incentives: personal satisfactions from self-expression or supporting a cause