Transcript 11 - Greenwich Public Schools

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Congress
Who Gets to Congress?
• Middle-aged, white, Protestant, male
lawyers: but not ideologically identical
• Safe vs. Marginal districts and Incumbency
• Incumbents have tremendous advantages
• Dems used to control House. A shift?
• Descriptive vs. Substantive Representation
– Carol Swain
• Senate more competitive- why?
• Term limits? For/against?
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Figure 11.1: Changing Percentage of First-Term
Members in Congress
Sources: Data for 90th through 103rd Congresses are from Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports. Data for 69th through 89th
Congresses are adapted from Nelson W. Polsby, "The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives," American Political
Science Review (March 1968): 146. Data for 1st through 68th Congresses are from Stuart A. Rice, Quantitative Methods in Politics
(New York: Knopf, 1928), 296-297, as reported in Polsby, 146. Data for Senate are from N.J. Ornstein, TlJ. Mann, and M.J. Malbin,
Vital Statistics on Congress, 1989-1990 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1990), 56-57, 59-60; and Stanley Harold
and Richard Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2001).
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Figure 11.2: Percentage of Incumbents Reelected
to Congress
Source: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 1999-2000 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional
Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18.
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Table 11.2: Incumbents in Congress Reelected by
60 Percent or More
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Table 11.1: Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in
Congress, 1971-2002
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Constituent Representation
• Representational
– Reelection important; affects visible issues
• Organizational
– Cues provided by fellow (party?) members
– Ideological/party reps on sponsoring cmte.,
state delegations.
• Attitudinal
– Ideological perspectives amped up
– Conflicting pressures lead to ideological
voting
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Organization and Procedures
• Party: majority/minority leaders and whips
– Leadership more important in House
– Party vote pressures: MMM
• Caucuses: ideological/interest-constituency
• Committees: Standing, select, joint,
conference. Subcommittees now powerful
• Staff: typically 16 today
• Staff Agencies: CRS, GAO, OMB
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The U.S. Congress: The U.S. Congress
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Table 11.5: Congressional Caucuses
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Table 11.4: Party Polarization in Congressional
Voting, 1953-2000 (percentage of all votes)
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How a Bill Becomes a Law
• Memorize This: roughly 5% become law
– Introduction
– Committee study (rules cmte in House)
• Open vs. Closed debate in House
– Floor Debate
• Committee of Whole in House
• Filibuster/Cloture in Senate; Christmas tree bills
– Conference Committee
– President’s Signature
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How Things
Work: How a
Bill Becomes
Law
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Ethics (Or lack thereof)
• Scandals Recently:
– Financial: Cuehlo, DeLay
– Sexual: Frank, Packwood, Condit
– Political: Keating 5, DeLay (again)
• Impact:
–
–
–
–
Self-policing effective?
Image in public?
PAC abuse?
Redistricting?
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Figure 11.3: Results of 1992 House Election by
Turnout:
Source: "House Republicans Scored a Quiet Victory in '92," Congressional Quarterly (April 17, 1993): 967.
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Table 11.3:
Republican
Vote-Seat Gap,
1968-2002
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