US Politics

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Overview

•Structure

•Organization

•Functions

–Legislative Process

–Representation

•Reapportionment and Redistricting

•Gerrymandering

•Elections/Demographics/Democracy

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

435 members

2 year term

local districts

100 members

6 year term

state

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

Must be 25 years oldUS citizen for 7 yearsResident of state

Must be 30 years oldUS citizen for 9 yearsResident of state

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives(435)

Senate(100)

257 Democratic

178 Republican

56 Democratic

41 Republicans

2 Independents

1 race undecided yet

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives(435)

Senate(100)

360 Men

75 Women

83 Men

17 Women*

*Highest total ever

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives(435)

Senate(100)

364 White42 Black25 Hispanic4 Asian

94 White

1 Black

3 Hispanic

2 Asian

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives(435)

Senate(100)

Average age: 57

Average Age: 62

Powers

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

Impeach federal officals

Originates all revenue raising bills

Convict federal officals for

impeachable offenses

Advise and Consent role on

presidential powers

Procedures

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

More formal rules

More partisan

Fewer rules and restrictions

More individualistic

Prestige

Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

More local/regional power base

More local media exposure

Greater national leadership

More national media exposure

Organization

•Both chambers rely on two overlappingorganizational features to get workdone:

–The Party System

–The Committee System

Organization

•Parties determineleadership in bothchambers

•Leadershipdeterminescommittee structureand assignments

Party System in House

•Majority Elects

–Speaker

–Leader

–Whips

•Minority Elects

–Leader

–Whips

Official House Leadership Webpages:

http://www.house.gov/house/orgs_pub_hse_ldr_www.shtml Campaign Finance of Leadership

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp

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Nancy Pelosi(D, CA)

John Boehner

(R, OH)

Party System in Senate

•Majority elects:

–President ProTempore

–Leader

–Whips

•Minority Elects

–Leader

–Whips

Official Senate Leadership Webpages:http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htmCampaign Finance of Leadershiphttp://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp

President of the Senate

(Vice President)

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Mitch McConnell (R, KY)

Robert Byrd (D,VA)

Harry Reid(D, NV)

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Party in Congress

•Over the past 20 years we have seen amarked increase in partisan divide inCongress

•Party unity scores (the number of times thatmembers of party vote with other members ofthe party) have increased dramatically

•Bipartisan agreements are more difficult toobtain (e.g., stimulus package vote)

Committee System

•Three (3) types of committees

–Standing

–Select

–Joint

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Committee System

•Three (3) types of committees

–Standing

•Semi-Permanent (they can be changed, butrarely are) committees in House and Senatedevoted to relatively narrow area of publicpolicy

links: http://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtmlhttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm

Committee System

•Three (3) types of committees

–Select

•Temporary committee established for a limitedtime period and for a specific purpose

–House select committeeshttp://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtml

–Senate select committeeshttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm

Committee System

•Three (3) types of committees

–Joint

•Legislative committee composed of membersof both chambers of Congress

•Most common is the “Conference Committee”which reconciles competing House and Senateversions of a bill

Functions of Congress

•Lawmaking

•Representation

•Constituent Service

•Oversight

•Public Education

•Conflict Resolution

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Functions of Congress

•Lawmaking

–Enumerated Powers(most are in Article I,section 8)

–Implied powers of“necessary andproper” clause

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Legislative Process

•Click here for a quick video descriptionof the legislative process

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dVo3nbLYC0

Representation

•Basic Theories ofRepresentation

–Delegate:Elected officialattempts todetermine as best aspossible the views ofthe electorate andvote accordingly

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Representation

–Trustee: Elected official attempts todetermine what is in the best interest of theelectorate and vote accordingly

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Representation

•Politico:Combination of the precedingtwo

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Representation

•Representation in the House requiresstates to divide themselves intolegislative districts, based on a numberdetermined by the state’s population

–Each state required (Art. I, clause 3) tohave at least one (1) representative

Reapportionment

•Up through 1910census, size of theHouse membershipexpanded as thepopulation expanded

•1911 Congress cappedthe membership at 435,so since 1920 censusCongress mustreapportion seatsamong the states toreflect shifts inpopulation growth rates

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Redistricting

•Redrawing legislative districts within states toreflect population shifts and reapportionmentresults

•Occurs every 10 years, after the decennialcensus

•Next census is 2010

•Districts are drawn according to stategovernment plans (some states use thelegislature, some use special “commissions”

Gerrymander

•Drawingcongressionaldistricts for partisanadvantage

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Gerrymander

Packing

Gerrymander

Cracking

Redistricting

•Since the 1960s though, districts arerequired to contain roughly the samenumber of people

–Baker v. Carr (1964)

–Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)

–Drawing gerrymandered districts is moredifficult now than it was, but it can still bedone

Elections

•Impact of districting:

–fewer “competitive” seats

•2008 New Jersey datahttp://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=NJ&year=2006

–higher re-election ratesfor incumbents

•see chart in text for datafrom 1946 through the2004 election

•2008 results: 95.3% ofincumbents reelected

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Elections

•Other factors contributing to incumbentadvantage:

–Fundraising

•Check the Center for Responsive Politicswebsite for the spending differentials amongchallengers and incumbents

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.asp

Elections

•Other factors contributing to incumbentadvantage

–Name recognition among electorate

–Easier access to media

–Easier access to electorate

•“franking” privilege

Useful Links

•Overview of the Legislative Process:http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

•Rules of the 110th Congress (House)http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/house_rules.htm

•Process in the Senate Legislativehttp://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.html