divided gov & states

Definition: Divided government occurs when one political party controls the presidency (executive branch), and another party controls at least one chamber of Congress or the legislature.
Applicability: This concept can also apply at the state level, notably with governors.
Occurrence: Divided government is a phenomenon primarily observed in presidential systems.

Checks and Balances: Divided government creates an additional check on the power of both the executive and legislative branches.
- Institutional Barriers: These are existing mechanisms that prevent rapid policy changes when there is disagreement between branches.
Objective: The goal is to prevent abrupt changes in policy due to excessive democratic pressure, which might arise from impulsive or unscrupulous leadership.

Institutional Barriers: Existing checks within the constitution regulate the relationship between branches, independent of partisan influences.
Partisan Barrier: Divided government introduces partisan barriers on top of institutional barriers.
- Constitutional Silence on Parties: The U.S. Constitution does not acknowledge or anticipate the presence of political parties; however, the formation of parties became evident post-ratification.

Need for Compromise: The existence of divided government necessitates compromise not only at institutional levels but also among individual legislators and their preferences.
Gridlock: This refers to periods when little legislative progress occurs due to conflicting ideologies or disagreements.
- Not Exclusive to Divided Government: Gridlock can happen in either government configuration but is more frequently associated with divided government.
- Gridlock Interval: A term used for the ideological space in policy where no changes occur due to conflicting preferences.

Definition: Unified government exists when the same political party holds both legislative chambers and the presidency.
Historical Context: Significant shifts between party control of Congress and the presidency have been observed from 1855 to 2023.
- Visual Representation: A combination graph and table illustrates party control, using color coding: red for Republicans and blue for Democrats.
- Majority Size: The representation of majority sizes is denoted by lines traversing the table cells, highlighting the extent of party control during various terms.

Comparison Across Time: Observational analysis of how often various parties control the Senate vs. the House over time.
- Increase in Senate Turnover: The frequency of Senate party control changes seems to have increased in contemporary times compared to earlier periods, where control was often more stable.

Legislative Success: The effectiveness of a president in enacting desired policies is often influenced by divided or unified government.
- Batting Average Concept: A term used to denote the percentage of proposed policies that successfully pass during a president's term from 1953 to 2019.
- Axis Representation: The x-axis plots time, with distinctions made for each president's terms; the y-axis represents success rates starting at a baseline of 35.
- Shading: Yellow shading indicates periods of divided government while white signifies unified government.
- Historical Example:
- Ronald Reagan's Presidency: Served under divided government as Republicans did not control the House (1981-1989). Fluctuations in his batting average were notable during his term.
- George W. Bush's Presidency: Experienced unified government for most of his term but a dip to divided government in the final two years, with generally higher success rates.

Historical Perspective: Acknowledges that the federal government itself emanated from state governments; states are foundational to federal power.
Diverse Opinions: Different perspectives exist regarding state sovereignty.
- Support for State Sovereignty: Some argue states should maintain control and that the federal government ought to defer to states.
- Criticism of State Governments: Others view them as inefficient and duplicative, raising normative questions about their effectiveness.

Exercise: Examine and compare the state constitution read by students to the federal constitution.
- Key Considerations:
  - Elected Offices: What positions are defined in the state constitution?
  - Branch Powers: How are the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches defined and divided?
  - Rights Protection: What rights are explicitly protected?
  - Checks and Balances: How does the state achieve a system of checks and balances?
  - Amendments: Are there provisions for amendments within the state constitution?
Discussion: Students are encouraged to share insights and challenges encountered while reading different state constitutions, reflecting on variations in governance structures and processes across states.