Chapter 5 – Participation, Campaigns, & Elections

1. Chapter 5 – Participation, Campaigns, & Elections I. Public Opinion – aggregate of attitudes and opinions of individuals on a significant issue. A. Survey research • Public knowledge of politics (page 417, Table 11.2, next slide) • “Halo Effect” – people will lie in accordance with socially acceptable answers. 3. Inconsistencies – e.g. lower taxes and more spending 4. Instability – different responses at different times 5. Salience – people concentrate on a handful of issues considered important in their own lives.

3. II. Political Socialization – the process by which individuals obtain their beliefs about political values, beliefs and opinions. A. Sources of socialization: • Family – children usually take on their parents party identification. *If parents are different, which one? • School – e.g. salute the flag, civics, “good citizenship” values • Church – Traditionalism versus nonTraditionalism • Generational effects – historical events may shape political opinion. (great depression). • Media influence – tells us what to think about

4. III. Ideology and Opinion • Can we predict political opinion based upon self-described ideologies? For the most part, YES. IV. Demographics and Opinion A. Gender • Women appear to be more passive on issues involving use of force (i.e. war, death penalty, gun control). Women do not have significantly different opinions on non-force issues like abortion and domestic gender roles. • Gender Gap: Women = more likely to be Democratic (as of 80s). B. Religion (T-46, page 408, figure 11.3) • Protestants and Catholics more likely to identify as moderates or conservatives than liberals; Jews more likely to identify as liberals.

6. IV. Individual Participation in Politics A. Securing the right to vote (suffrage) 1. Elimination of Property Qualifications (1800-1840) 2. Fifteenth Amendment (1870) – black male suffrage 3. Continued denial of voting rights (1870-1964) a. “white primary” – Democratic party primary elections in many southern counties in the early part of the twentieth century that excluded black people from voting.

7. b. Literacy tests – all were required to pass (which few people could) difficult tests involving complex legal documents. 4. Civil Rights Act/VRA (1964-65) – abolished unequal registration requirements 5. 24th amendment – abolished poll taxes 6. 19th amendment – women suffrage (1920) 7. 26th amendment (1971) – eighteen year old suffrage 8. National Voter Registration act (1993) – “Moter voter” – can register when you get your drivers license.

8. VI. Turnout (TO=#voting/#eligible) A. Turnout since 1960 (Fig. 5.2) B. Why is it low? 1. Rational Voter (Anthony Downs) – is it really rational to vote? • your vote does not matter practically • the costs are much greater than the benefits (registration, weather, driving, lines…); Vote=Costs – Benefits + (intrinsic rewards) 2. Registration Burdens • registration typically occurs during times of low political interest. • 85% of registered voters turnout, while 50% of eligible voters vote. • Registration is supposed to prevent voter fraud

10. C. What causes it to increase or decrease? • Intense political competition • Political Alienation – when people feel that they are incapable of affecting the political process they are less likely to vote (this has happened since Watergate, 70s) • Intensity – extremists or ideologues are more likely to vote (this is why candidates are typically more extreme sounding during primaries and more centrist sounding during general elections) • Education: Most important; Income; Age (all are positively related; Fig. 5.3)

12. D. Explaining the Recent Decrease in Turnout in the U.S. • Despite the relaxation of voter registration requirements, voter turnout has still not improved significantly. Why? • Trust in Government and Efficacy Beliefs are down • Expansion of the electorate (18 year olds are less likely to vote) • Decline of Party Strength and Organization • Voter Mobility Up E. Comparative Voting (p. 134): The U.S. is near the bottom of voter turnout compared to other Western Democracies • Many include only registered voters • Many require voting

13. VII. Is Low Voter Turnout Bad? • George Will (Elitism) – Do we want the ignorant voting? Framer’s argument (fear of BOTH “tyranny of the king AND tyranny of the majority or masses). • What if nonvoting is a political statement being expressed in a democracy? 1. Indifference between candidates or general satisfaction with status quo. 2. Abstaining to send an electoral message to a party.

14. VIII. Elections and democracy A. Mandate – perception of popular support for a candidate’s political platform after he/she wins. B. Retrospective Judgment – voting based upon the past performance of and satisfaction with a candidate. C. Prospective Judgment – voting based upon candidate pledges about the future. D. Protection of Rights – “…without the vote, we can be certain that government would have very little incentive to respond to popular needs.” As LBJ said, IX. Who Runs for Office? A. Requirements and skills needed for office-seekers

16. B. Political Entrepreneurship – the ability to sell oneself as a candidate, to raise money from contributors, to organize people to work on their behalf, and to communicate and publicize themselves through the media (political success like business success). C. Communication skills – candidates must make many speeches and appearances, numerous appeals to special groups and contributors. How you say it, not what you say. X. Incumbency advantage • Since 1950, 90% of incumbent House members win reelection; 70% of incumbent Senators win reelection. • Even when Congress is collectively unpopular, people still reelect their own members.

17. A. Aids to IA: 1. Name recognition – people often prefer the “devil they knew” to the one they do not. 2. Campaign Contributions – groups who want to influence policy already give to incumbent candidates. Groups do not want to offend officeholders by helping challengers (Table 5.1). 3. Resources (advantages) of office • Franking privileges – free use of the U.S. mail • Tax funded travel allowances (make local appearances and speeches) • Large staffs (tax payer funded) working every day over many years to ensure reelection. • Casework (service to constituents) wins voters on at a time. XI. Raising Campaign money • Spending on the rise, everywhere: 1990-$446m Congressional races; Over $1b today. For president, $331 1992 and $713 today). B. Type of Contributions (regulated by Federal Election commission)

18. Individual - $2,000 max for persons; $5,000 organizations per election. Small donations (less than $200; 20% of funds) do not have to be reported to FEC. Soft money, money given to parties instead of candidates, now banned. Often, money is given to interest groups instead who buy Issue Ads (IRS code 527s) uncoordinated by candidates (e.g., Swift Vets for Truth and Moveon.org). • Political Action Committees (PACs) – organizations created by interest groups with the sole purpose of raising and distributing campaign money to candidates; usually from corporations who can’t give money directly to candidates. • Public money – taxpayer funded. Comes from the $3 box checked by 11% of taxpayers in April. If candidates take this money, they must agree to spending limits. • Candidate self-financing - 18 congressmen spent $1m; ½ of Senate and around 100 House members spent $100,000. Usually take out loans and then raise money to pay back. Unlimited.

19. XII. Presidential Campaign: • Primaries – election where voters choose their party’s nominees. • Open – any voter can vote in the party’s primary. • Closed – only registered party voters can vote in the party’s primary. B. Presidential Primaries Strategies • New Hampshire Primary – even though New Hampshire provides less than 1% of the delegates necessary to win nomination, it remains important because the media covers it so heavily and one’s performance speaks to one’s electability. Doing well early can result in more funding. • Front-End Strategy – Spending most of the money or attention allocated to primaries on early primary states. • Big-State Strategy – Spend time and money on the big-states mainly. Already strong candidates with well-funded campaigns are usually the ones who choose this strategy. By the time that most of these states are holding primaries, weaker candidates usually drop out.

20. C. Electoral College: (last page in book) 538 presidential electors apportioned among the states according to their congressional representation (plus 3 for D.C.) whose votes officially elect the president and VP. • The biggest prizes are CA (55), NY (31), Texas (34) and Florida (27) • It takes 270 or more electoral votes to win general election. If no candidate gets 270 (majority), then the election is decided in the House of Representatives where each state delegation gets one vote. XIII. Voter Decides A. Explaining voter decisions • Party ID – key determinant of vote choice • Group ID – (income class, race, religion, etc.). Gaps in race, gender, and church attendance and evangelical Protestant, education. • Candidate Image (Kennedy, Dole, Clinton, Reagan…) • Economy – if there is an incumbent president, retrospective; if not prospective evaluation. • Issue Voting (least significant explanation for a voter’s decision)

22. Chapter 7 (parties and interest groups) I. Political organization – parties and groups that function as intermediaries between individuals and government. • Political Parties – organizations that seek to achieve power by winning public office. • Interest Groups – organizations seeking to influence government policy. II. Political Parties and Democratic Government A. “Responsible” Party system – System in which competitive parties adopt principles, recruit candidates and direct campaigns based upon the platform, and hold their elected officials responsible for enacting it. (parties are powerful and essential). B. Winning trumps principle system – “Winning has generally been more important than any principles or policies” in the U.S. Parties in the U.S. are more concerned with vote-maximizing that platforms. Since more votes are at the center of the distribution, a middle-of-the-road approach is attractive in our system (Fig. 7.3). C. However, since the 1970s, we have seen steady partypolarization. See Table 7.1/Fig. 7.4

24. D. Erosion of Traditional party functions • today, parties play less of a role in recruiting candidates. • the primary system now selects the party’s nominee, not party leaders. • parties are not as needed as a means of communication with voters. Candidates can do that themselves (i.e. web, tv, radio…). • parties have little control over the politician’s behavior once in office. Politicians do not have to “play-ball” with party leaders. • American political parties no longer perform social welfare functions (trading off social services in exchange for votes) because government does that.

25. IV. Where is the Party? • Party in the Electorate – voters who identify with party • Party in the Government – Party members holding office • Party in the Organization – actual organization A.Party Voters • Party Identification (Fig. 7.5): Dems win over Reps narrowly) – “Generally Speaking, how would you identify yourself: as a Rep., Dem., independent, or something else?” • Independents – both parties have lost identifiers and independent identifiers have increased. • Dealignment – the decline in attractiveness of political parties to voters, or some group of voters. • Party Loyalty in Voting – party identifiers are highly likely to vote for their party’s nominee (less true for Dems with respect to Republican presidential candidates). • Realignment – Long-term shift in social-group support for various political parties that creates new coalitions in each party. (e.g., Jackson, Dems 1824, Lincoln, Republicans 1860, Bryan Democrats 1896, 1932 FDR Dems). • Are we experiencing realignment?

27. Yes: socioeconomic cleavages have largely given way to cleavages based on ideology, gender, religion, and race. Party in government is polarizing. No: No new majority party has emerged and it is happening too slowly to tell right now. VI. Who is in the parties? Income, education are positively related to Republican Identification. Other groupings: T-47, figure 11.4 p 410) VII. Why the two-party system? Many other democracies have multiple party systems; why not us? Third parties are not successful (Table 7.4 next slide) • Cultural Consensus – Americans share the same political values relative to most other industrialized democracies. • Winner-take-all-electoral system (U.S.) – winners are determined by plurality; winner takes all. Only one party or voting coalition can win an election. Losers get nothing. There is no incentive for a party to form and represent the views of a few percentage of the population (two main parties stay at the center where the majority of votes are).

29. In some countries, there is a system of proportional representation. Here, seats in a legislature are based upon the proportion of votes each party receives in a national election (if the socialist party gets 10% of the vote, they get 10% of the seats in the legislature). Advantages: more representative, more choices, more participation, sincere vote, minority representation Disadvantages: representation of extreme views, policy imbalance (party representing a minority of population making policy decisions) • Legal access to the Ballot – third parties face substantial barriers in getting on the ballot (raising money, receiving government help, filing petitions signed by up to 5 and 10 percent of registered voters in a state; both to get on and to stay on next time).

30. Interest Power • Interest groups attempt to change policy by influencing policymakers. • Groups check majoritarianism • Groups want policy outcomes that concentrate benefits to themselves and spread costs to millions of taxpayers in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, privileges and protections. There is a concern here for organizational sclerosis (so many special benefits that everyone’s standard of living is lowered). • Types A. Most dominant (endurance and resources) are economic interests (want financial gain from gov’t) • Business and Trade (e.g., Corporations) • Professional Associations (e.g., ABA, AMA) • Organized Labor (e.g., Unions like AFL-CIO) • Citizen’s Groups (come and go, less money) • Women’s Organizations (e.g., NOW) • Religious Groups (e.g., Christian Coalition, National Council of Churches, Israeli Public Affairs Committee)

31. Public Interest Groups (consumer advocacy, Common Cause, AARP) • Single-Issue Group (NARAL, MADD, NRA) • Ideological Groups (ACU, ADA) • Government Lobbies (NGA, U.S. Conference of Mayors) • Washington Lobbyists • Who are they? • Typically attorneys • Professionally trained • Former public officials (e.g., Dole; 125-150 former MCs) • What do they do? • Distribute campaign contributions • Draft legislation • Provide expertise on policy • Grass-roots mobilization • Protest/Demonstrate for exposure and issue-attention • Form coalitions with other groups • Open and maintain “access” lines (not much evidence of “vote buying”

32. Lobbying the bureaucracy • Iron-triangles (next slide) • Policy Networks (groups, policymakers, businesses, agency officials, all develop working relationships that often make policy-decisions on their own. • Revolving Doors – from regulated to regulating to regulated again

34. Chapter 11 Judicial Politics I. Judicial Power A. Constitutional Power of the Courts • Judges are appointed for life, not elected • Their salaries can not be reduced during their term • Federal judicial power extends to any case arising under the Constitution (very vague), cases in which officials of the federal government or foreign governments are a party, and cases between states or different state citizens. B. Interpreting the Constitution: Judicial Review • Judicial Review – power of the federal courts to declare laws of Congress, state legislatures, and actions of the president unconstitutional. • The Constitution is the “Supreme Law of the Land” (Article VI) • Judicial review does not appear in the Constitution. It is inferred. • Marbury v. Madison (1803) – officially established JR. Chief Justice John Marshall explained the concept in a syllogism (Const is the supreme law of land; SC interprets the Const; SC is the supreme interpreter of land)

35. Why controversial to people; Jefferson? An unelected 5 trumps elected branches; “run away court” C. Use of Judicial Review • However, the court strikes down few laws. The Court did not strike down a law after Marbury (1803) until Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). Since then, state laws have been overturned relatively frequently. All in all, the court has struck down fewer than 150 of the more than 60,000 laws passed by Congress (2 centuries). 1. Striking down Congress: • - Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): Missouri Compromise 2. Striking down the President: • Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952): Truman’s steel mill seizure 3. Striking down the states (most likely candidate for striking down law): • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): ended mandated state segregation in schools in 21 states.

36. Green v. County School Board (1968): required integration in state schools • Roe v.Wade (1973): struck down anti-abortion laws in more than 40 states. D. Interpreting Federal Laws: federal courts also interpret laws passed by Congress (statutory laws). E. Supreme Court’s Policy Agenda (where do they dominate?) • Answer: In policy areas that are not readily, sufficiently, and/or easily handled by the elected branches of government. • Civil Rights and treatment of women and minorities • Rights of criminal defendants • Freedom of press, speech, and religion • Resolving disputes with respect to federalism and the separation of powers. Why that is it about these areas that makes them appear on the court docket and not on the agendas of elected institutions? • Not much majority appeal; mostly minority interest.

37. II. Activism versus self-restraint • Judicial self-restraint – “the belief that judges should not read their own philosophies into the Constitution and should avoid direct confrontations with Congress, the president, and the states whenever possible.” In other words, exhaust every other governmental solution (legislative process) before stepping in. • Judicial activism – argues that the federal courts – rather than or equally in addition to – Congress, the president, or the states should decide all important matters. Judicial activists make new law through judicial interpretation. They typically use parts of the Constitution considered vague in order to become active. • Original Intent – an attempt to interpret the Constitution by trying to ascertain the values of the Founders.

39. *In interpreting the Constitution in the light of an ever-changing society, whose values should take priority, the views of a given justice or those of the founders? Should the moral views of unelected justices take priority over elected representatives? • Stare Decisis – letting past decisions dictate current or future decisions of the court (precedent). This is not always followed, of course (i.e. Brown overturned Plessy).

40. III. Structure and Jurisdiction of Federal Courts A. Jurisdiction – power of a court to hear a particular case • Appellate Jurisdiction – Courts power to review a lower court’s decision. • Original Jurisdiction – Court’s right to be the FIRST to hear a case. B. Types of Courts (Next slide) • U.S. Supreme Court (nine judges) – original and appellate jurisdiction; About 9,000 appeals are made to the S.C. They hear only about 100. • Courts of Appeals (12 Circuit Courts + DC Court; no original jurisdiction; 3 judge panels) Fig. 11.2 MS = 5. • Federal District Courts (each state has at least one and 94 total; only original jurisdiction; 1 judge; hear as many as 300,000 cases a year) • State Courts – there are 50 separate and independent state court systems. Appeals from state supreme courts must go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Must contain a “federal question” however.

43. IV. Special Rules of Judicial Decision Making • Cases and Controversies – courts wait until disputes are brought before them. They decide guilt or innocence in criminal cases and enforce contracts and award damages in civil cases. • Adversarial Proceeding – lawyers run the show, call/question the witnesses, expected to muster evidence and the truth comes out of the confrontation. Judges are dispassionate, observers, inactive, and serve as court referees not active participants. • Standing – Requirement that the party who files a lawsuit have a legal stake in the outcome (they can show clear harm). You can’t simply declare dissatisfaction (e.g. taxpayer can’t sue government for expenditure choice). • Legal Fees – It costs money to go to court, but the sixth amendment guarantees the “Assistance of Counsel” if one cannot afford to pay. • Remedies and Relief – decisions of a judge tocorrect awrong, not simply rule on the legality of an issue.

44. Appointments of Independent Counsels – Ethics in Government Act of 1978 grants federal courts the power, upon request of the attorney general, to appoint “special prosecutors” to investigate the president or high officials. V. Appointment Decisions • President appoints justices for life. • The Senate must confirm. We have moved from senatorial courtesy towards partisan contests at all court levels. • Ideology (e.g. Bork) • Filibustering nominees – Const requires only a majority to confirm nominees, but Dems have used the filibuster, which can only be ended with 60 votes to deny a vote on nominees. VI. Who is selected(Next slide) • Law Degrees (from most prestigious universities usually) • Judicial Experience (1/2 judges previously) • Age (50s typically) • Race or Gender (implicit quota) • Judge Roberts?

46. VII. Supreme Court Decision Making A. Granting Certiorari – agreeing to hear a case requires the approval of 4 justices (“rule of 4”) on the bench. B. Which cases most likely granted? • First Amendment • Civil Rights (14th amendment) • Criminal Justice (Due Process – 5th and 14th) • Difference between Circuit Court opinions or Lower Court opinions and the Supreme Court. C. Hearing Arguments • Attorneys submit written briefs on the issue. • Interested groups submit amicus curiae briefs • The Solicitor General presents or defends the government. • Each side usually gets between 30-60 minutes, although interruptions are frequent.

47. D. In Conference – Actual decisions are made in private meetings with the Chief Justice speaking first and the others speak in order of seniority. E. Writing Opinions – most opinions are written by law clerks. • Majority Opinion – one agreed upon by a majority of justices (assigned by Chief unless he is in the minority; most senior member writes it then). • Concurring Opinion – an opinion that agrees with the decision of the majority but for different reasons; often supporting a different policy position altogether. • Dissenting Opinion – opinion of a member or group of members in the minority. They disagree both with the majority’s decision and reasoning. Written in hopes of influencing future courts. • Voting Blocs – split three ways ideologically (Table 11.4 and 11.5)

48. VIII. Checking Court Power A. Perception of legitimacy is both a check and tool of court enforcement power. Courts rely upon the executive branch to enforce its decisions; they can’t do it themselves. Challenges to court legitimacy came in the Civil Rights era (i.e. Orval Faubus, 1957). Prayer in schools, however, has seen only gradual enforcement. B. Presidential influence • appointment modifies the composition of the court (i.e. 70% of the justices have been appointed by Reagan and Bush • Appoints Solicitor General who rarely loses

49. C. Congressional influence • Create courts and jurisdictions (i.e. cases between different state citizens must involve a dispute in excess of $50,000 by Congressional statute). • C could, but does not, change the number of justices • C can amend laws that are considered constitutionally questionable to the Supreme Court. • Amendments to the Constitution (i.e. Dred Scott and the 13th; Pollock v. Farmer’s Loan and the 16th). • C can impeach justices, but only 5 have ever been so.