Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Bruce Schneier on the Growth of the Executive Branch

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2004/10/the_security_of.html

Also: Read Al Gore's speech on presidential limits

Friday, October 27, 2006

The Congress

THE CONGRESS

Who’s up for election in NY for Congress? NJ?

Founding

Founding Fathers believed that CONGRESS, not the executive branch, should be the most powerful branch in the government. Is this true today?

BICAMERALISM

Resulted in 2 houses (due to Great Compromise) – balancing equal representation and population strengths

Remember – the House of Representatives was always directly elected by citizens. Senators were indirectly elected until 1913)

The idea behind this – balance property and wealth with the whole population

TENURE DIFFERENCES – HOR sit for 2 years, Senators sit for 6

WHAT DOES CONGRESS DO?

Lawmaking

Process of establishing the legal rules of a society

Ex: Brady Gun Law, health care reforms, welfare reform

How are laws decided on?

Compromise and Log-Rolling (an arrangement by which 2 or more Congressmen agree to support each other’s bills)

Representation

Representing the desires and demands of constituents in members’ home district or state

There often is a conflict between national interest and state interest – and it is up to the representatives to decide which interests they will fight for (usually it’s state)

Fulfilling the Representation Function

Trustee View – Legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society

The idea is – they elected individual based on their competence and intelligence – not to represent dairy farmers only or Christian conservatives only

Instructed Delegate View – delegate should mirror the views of the majority of the constituents that elected them

So, if you’re elected in a very pro-2nd amendment city (where most of the constituents are against bans on firearms), it is not your right as a delegate to assume you know better and vote against their wishes

However – this is not clear-cut either. Sometimes, the constituents’ views are not well-researched and would lead to more problems if implemented (for instance – say 80% of New Yorkers are adamant that all troops be removed from Iraq immediately. This would be a disaster if this were to occur). Or, sometimes a constituency will be divided on a particular issue (privatization of Social Security), and the delegate has no clear direction on how to vote.

Usually – delegates combine these two approaches when deciding policy.

Service to Constituents

Is a major part of any delegate’s job. Congressmen/women and Senators are often the only access citizens have to the federal government, and will descend up on them with a myriad of favors to ask

Also known as CASEWORK – personal work for constituents. If a constituent has a difficulty obtaining a passport, for clerical reasons, the delegate can fix that. Or the delegate can promise to rename a local park in the honor of someone. Etc, and so forth.

OMBUDSPERSON – person who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies.

In many Euro countries, this is an independent position that is not elected. In US politics, delegates are supposed to serve in this function.

Ex: A British ex-pat needed to set up an Adjustment of Status (AOS) interview (part of the immigration experience) and had his file lost in the system, his interview pushed back again and again…so he wrote NY Senator Chuck Schumer, who conducted an inquiry and forced the INS to move his interview up

Oversight Function

Oversight – process by which Congress ensures that the laws and programs it has passed are being enforced throughout the country

Usually done through holding committee hearings, interviewing agency heads, and changing agency budgets to fit their objectives

Public Education Function

Congressmen/women understand that the American public needs to know that Congress is accomplishing something, and so they seek to publicize their accomplishments, hearings, etc (love the publicity). Also where AGENDA-SETTING comes into play. (Discuss)

Resolving Conflict

Politics is conflict. If one program is implemented, there are going to be groups who benefit and those who don’t. Deciding which laws to pass/programs to implement is a way to resolve this conflict, or decide it definitively

Powers of Congress – Enumerated Powers

These are: right to levy taxes/impose tariffs

Borrow money

Regulate interstate commerce

Establish weights and measures

Naturalizing citizens

Regulate copyrights/patents

Declare war

Raise/regulate army/navy

Let’s split up the houses and see what each does.

Senate: Ratifies treaties

Accept/reject presidential nominations of ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, and other officers of the US. Senate is generally the more powerful of the two houses.

Differences between Houses:

Senate is much smaller, and members are more powerful, and less loyal to the party.

Senate has fewer rules/restrictions, because there are only 100 people in there – in the HOR, 435, and harder to keep order, so many more rules

Rules Committee – standing committee in HOR that provides special rules of order through which bills can be debated, amended and considered by House

Senate has national leadership – whereas HOR has only very local leadership, if that

Nature of Debate

Filibusters – are very important. Use of senate’s tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.

Strom Thurmond – holds the record for the longest filibuster ever, speaking for 24 straight hours to block the passage of a 1957 civil rights bill

In the Senate,, debate can only be ended through CLOTURE – shuts off discussion of a bill, and initiates voting on it. Can be difficult to achieve – 16 Senators must first sign a resolution to end debate, then wait 2 days, and 3/5 of entire membership (not just those present, so that’s 60 Senators) vote for cloture. Even then, each Senator is allowed 1 hour each to discuss the bill.

Now – a final vote must be taken on the bill before 100 hours has passed after cloture.

Prestige – Because there are only 100 Senators in the nation, who usually pursue their own politics (as opposed to the party’s), they are more well-known among citizens. Most people can’t name their representatives, also because they are up for election every 2 years and may change frequently.

Who are the Congress?

Are usually older, white, male, lawyers or legally trained

Annual Congressional salary: $157,000

Much wealthier – 1/3 of all Congresspeople are millionaires (helps with campaigns too)

Diversity – 66 women (out of 435) in HOR, 14 in Senate (out of 100)

Minority – 15% of the house

Congressional Elections

Elections – conducted by state governments, but must adhere to Constitution

All states must have at least 1 Rep (but usually have many more)

Guam, PR, DC do not have voting representatives – should they?

Candidates

Sometimes, a candidate will come out of the blue and decides he wants to run.

More frequently, in areas that have very strong party affiliations, parties will go through their ranks and choose someone to stand for office

When running for national office, most (BUT NOT ALL) will have run for office before.

Exception: John Corzine – was Chairman/CEO of Goldman Sachs, before he decided to run for US Senate, now Gov of NJ

Congressional Campaigns: like most campaigns, more expensive

Avg costs for Senate - $5 million, for HOR - $890,000

Most candidates must win a direct primary to get their party’s nomination

Effect of the President – Congressional elections are very dependent on what is currently going on in DC. After the Clinton scandal with Lewinsky, Democrats in mid-term elections suffered, as they lost many races for Congress across the country.

Republican political analysts are concerned that the fallout from the Foley scandal will have a negative effect on ongoing Republican campaigns – we’ll see on Nov 7

Also called the “coattail effect” – if the president is popular and doing well (esp. in his first term), it’s expected his party will pick up seats in midterm elections (elections when the president is not up for election).

Usually – in the president’s second term, mid term elections will swing towards the other party. No president has really enjoyed spectacular late term popularity.

POWER OF INCUMBENCY

What is an incumbent?

An incumbent is the individual already holding office who is running for re-election.

Incumbents win a majority of races. 95% of House incumbents have been reelected. Fewer than 10% of House seats (30/435) “competitive.” But it’s very hard to defeat an incumbent because an incumbent has:

  1. experience in the job
  2. name recognition
  3. influence in the Senate/House
  4. have an easier job in fundraising for their campaign – more contacts, more support, than their competitors

Also – the process of GERRYMANDERING helps a huge amount.

Gerrymandering – Drawing of a legislative district for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage. An area is GERRYMANDERED when its district is manipulated by the dominant party in state legislature to maximize electoral returns.

In 1986, the SC ruled that it was not unconstitutional to do this. And so it’s continued, after every census.

Texas State Legislature: (read excerpt from BBC news)

Redistricting after 2000 Census

Done in two ways – “packing” and “cracking”

“Pack” – try to put all of the opposition’s supporters into one small district if possible – this way, they won’t elect as many party members

“Crack” – spread your party’s supporters over as many congressional districts as possible

Should redistricting be allowed? Does it allow for constituents to have their voices clearly heard? Or is it just politics, status quo?

The SC has moved from its 1986 ruling a bit – In 2000, the SC began to strike down redistricting that was largely racial in character (Louisiana). In 2001, famous Interstate 85 – electoral district basically followed Interstate 85 and included nothing else. SC knocked it down, saying this too was racially discriminating.

Why become a Congressmember? Perks and Privileges

Franking – enables members to send material through mail for free by substituting their signature for postage

Now – Congressmembers send out an equivalent of $60 mill each year

Permanent Professional Staffs

In order to stay on top of all activity on ‘The Hill,’ they need legislative staffers and assistants. Also, they answer constituent enquiries, manage media publicity, write bills and amendments, do necessary research on the impact of bills, and maintain local offices in home constituencies.

Some criticism – some critics wonder if all these staffers are necessary to support the senator, and if they’re just trying to win more votes for the election by doing extra favors

Legal Privileges

Cannot be arrested during their tenure in office

Cannot be tried for slander or arson – so they can call people whatever they want

Congressional Caucuses

Everybody joins one

Democrat/Republican caucuses – provide information to voters, guidelines on how to vote

Also, there are others – Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus

Used to be supported by public funds, but in 1995 restrictions were placed on this

More than 200 caucuses exist now- paid for by businesses/special interests

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

Both houses work completely through committee. Allows for people to specialize in a given area, and not have the responsibility of being knowledgeable on every single bill (there are thousands) that come onto the discussion floor

Power of Committees – have the final say on legislation. They can kill a bill by holding it up in committee indefinitely, or usher it through to a vote by putting it on the floor immediately

Discharge petition – a way a Senator/rep can force a bill out of committee and onto the floor for discussion and voting. Usually, not successful – only 24 successful ones from 1909 to 2005.

Chairpersons – very powerful. Decide committee matters, decide who/what gets a hearing, when those hearings take place, etc. You do not want to annoy your chairperson if you hope to accomplish anything in Congress.

Types of Committees

Standing Committee

Permanent committee in House or Senate, usually deals with a certain policy area (foreign affairs, veteran affairs, ways & means, etc)

Most standing committees have sub-committees, get the bulk of the work done, enable standing committees to work efficiently

Certain committees are VERY prestigious, and you have to pay your dues to get on them (usually given to high-ranking members of Senate who have been there a long time)

Appropriations Committee/Ways & Means Committee – control spending

If you control the $, you control everything – tremendous amount of influence

But, congresspeople also want to represent their constituents, so if they come from an agricultural district, they’ll want to sit on the Agri Committee

Select Committee- temporary legislative committee established for a specific purpose and limited time

Select Committee on Intelligence – an exception, continues indefinitely

US Select Committee on Ethics, US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Joint Committee – created by both Senate and House, and has members from each. Have handled economic and tax issues

Conference Committee – also created by Senate and House together. This is done to ease the passage of a law and write it together, to ensure greater success.

House Rules Committee – sets laws of debate/how long delegates may speak, determines how/if bill is amended. Can initiate legislation on its own.

Selecting Committee Members

Steering Committee – is the committee in Dem/Repub parties that decides who sits where

To choose a Chair – usually, long-serving Senators/House members are up for these positions

Seniority system – applies when designating who sits on what committee

THE FORMAL LEADERSHIP

IN THE HOUSE

Speaker of the House – now Dennis Hastert

Supposed to be non-partisan – but it’s always the leader of the majority party

3rd in the line of succession

Formal powers:

Presides over meetings, appoints member of joint and conference cmtes

Schedules legislation for the floor

Referring bills/resolutions to appropriate committees

Majority Leader of the House – exactly what it sounds like. Chosen to foster cohesion and unity among party members, and asks as spokesperson

Miniority Leader of the House – leads the minority, serves as spokesperson – who is it now?

Whips – member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader

Passes info from party leadership to party members

Used to: keep all party members in line, impose strict party discipline – everyone from one party votes in one way

Who was it until recently?

In the Senate

President Pro-Tempore: Technically, the VP is the President of the Senate. When he’s not there, someone takes that position – presides over Senate.

Senate Majority Leader – Leader of the Majority party in Senate – who is it?

Senate Minority Leader – serves as spokesperson for minority party, who is it?

Voting

Party leadership tries to build consensus, make sure the bills they want to pass will pass

Sometimes, form coalitions – doesn’t always have to be a D/R thing

Ex: Christian Coalition – alliance of Republicans and southern Dems who are socially conservative

“Crossing Over” – voting with the other party because you like the bill. Doesn’t happen too often, though

Government spending

Congress controls government spending, has to approve all budgets, also referred to as the “Executive Budget” – prepared by President, submitted to Congress for approval

Control Act of 1974 – requires president to spend the funds that Congress appropriates (Presidents used to kill programs by refusing to fund them)

One of last arenas in governance where Congress still reigns supreme

Preparing the Budget

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)- very important agency on the Hill

Manages the budget in the following way:

Spring Review – all agencies are asked to carefully comb through their budgets and programs, and see how well the budget has served them. On the basis of these reports, agencies will submit requests for the next year’s budget

Fall Review – OMB evaluates all budget requests, usually trims them down

Congress and the Budget

Authorization – formally declaring that x amount of dollars is available to a specific agency

Appropriation - when the money is actually given to an agency

Determining the Size of the Budget

Every year, the budget process is different – sometimes, politicians are looking to cut the budget, other times they’re looking for funding for specific programs and aren’t worried about financial constraints.

First Budget Resolution – passed by Congress in May that sets overall revenue/spending goals for the year

So – they guess how much money they’ll be receiving in taxes

And then decide how much of it they want to spend next year

Second Budget Resolution - Passed by Congress in September that sets limits on taxes and spending for the next year – so it formalizes the first budget resolution

Continuing Resolution – temporary funding guideline that Congress passes, only if appropriations have not been decided by October 1


Extra Credit

For the extra credit, I've decided that a current-events themed assignment will do. Find an article from a reputable news source (one of the newspapers/magazines on the list I handed out in the beginning of the semester), and write a one-page reaction to it. In the first paragraph, summarize the article and highlight the main points. In the second, explain how the event relates to what we've discussed in class (political science concepts). You can do up to 5, and can receive 1 point each.

Acceptable news sources may include, but are not limited to: New York Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, and The Economist. All these sites are free, but may require registration (also free) to read certain articles.

When handing in these assignments, please also include a copy of the article you are summarizing.

Please hand these assignments in by November 15 (Wednesday).

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Site on LBJ Daisy Ad

The Infamous Daisy Ad - Please Watch!!

Also, this week please decide on your topics for Paper I and have them approved.

See you tomorrow!

Notes for Wednesday...

Lesson Outline – Campaigns, Elections, and the Media

First – how many campaigns are running in the area?

Name a few.

Importance of Candidates

Must be more than one – give examples of one-sided races, or races with one strong man and one weak implausible candidate

It’s not always easy to get candidates for every elected position – water control boards, postmaster general, don’t generally have people leaping to be considered

Also, smaller parties and parties that are not likely to win have difficulty finding candidates – might not want to put in the effort, money, time, etc to participate in an election you know you’re going to lose

Ex: Dylan and the Conservative Party ticket

Presidential Primaries – probably the greatest example of American democracy. Colorful characters that have run:

Lamar Alexander – wore plaid everywhere

Steve Forbes

Dennis KUCINICH – (find article, pass out)

Why do they run?

Ask around

Two types: Self-started and appointed

Self-Starters:

Believe that they can solve America’s problems

Also feel that the other candidates/parties will not do anything to fix these issues

Not the only reason for running though

Resume – building – local lawyers/activists might want to move into the bigger political circles, and need a few political offices to get them there

Also – blind ambition leads some to scale impossible heights – Dennis Kucinich, what were his motivations?

It’s an Honor to Be Nominated….

Follow state laws, which favor two largest parties

Candidates submit petitions to local elections board (political parties may assist them in this)

Easier to get on the ballot if you’re a D or R – small parties (Greens, Conservatives, Libertarians, face significant obstacles)

Occasionally, a CAUCUS (small group) may make the final decision on who will stand as a candidate for the party

If this can’t be resolved, then a PRIMARY ELECTION (open only to REGISTERED party members to vote on the candidate). Ex: Mayoral election in NYC, Democrats couldn’t decide, so it was between Alan Hevesi and Mark Green (September 11, 2001)

Eligibility – you can read those.

Do you think 35 years is old enough to be President? Not young enough?

Who are Candidates?

Who do you think winds up being a candidate?

Overwhelmingly white and male – is this representative?

Women as Candidates

In Senate – 14/100 are women (9D, 5R)

In HOR – 59/435 (38D, 21R) – THREE PERCENT OF SEATS

US ranks as #10 on the % of seats held by women candidates

Ahead are: Norway, Iceland, Australia, Luxembourg, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium

Quotas: A certain % of electoral races must be led by women. Would we do better by introducing this system?

Too many lawyers? Lawyers are most drawn to drafting laws – understand legalese, and comprehend the implications of the bill

Also – have more flexible hours, more likely to be involved politically

CAMPAIGNS

Campaigns are also using new technologies, realizing how effective they can be in mobilizing voters and getting the message out

Campaigns are getting longer and longer – even now, it’s 2006, and we’re already getting ready for the 2008 presidential season. Ex: Wesley Clarke at Wagner (Comparison – in Britain, elections only take six weeks – legally mandated)

Campaigns start earlier now for a few reasons:

Need more money than ever: Presidential campaigns in 2004 cost: $367 m (Bush), $328 m (Kerry)

Already, there is speculation that, in order to be considered as a serious candidate in the 2008 elections, you will have to raise $100 MILLION

What is the money spent for?

Political consultants – who tell candidates how to wage campaign, which states to focus on, which issues to focus on

Political commercials and advertising – costs lots of money, but necessary to reach as many voters as possible, as well as respond to attacks by opponent

Polls – Candidates must conduct their own polls to find where they’re trailing, where they’re winning, etc, in order to plan an effective campaign

Letters, mailings, etc – direct mail is a crucial component of the campaign

Headquarters rent – Spitzer is located in a post Madison Avenue address. This costs serious money.

Campaigning is even more crucial now because of the dealignment of parties – candidates can’t expect party loyalty to propel them to victory any more, they have to reach as many voters as possible

Strategy of Winning

Anyone watch West Wing?

Candidate visibility and appeal – no candidate wins by being invisible. Also, they can’t be a clod. People point to Gore’s stiffness as a reason why he lost the election.

Opinion Polls – candidates are likely to bend their positions to capture the most popular opinion.

Focus groups – small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant to gather opinions on/responses to candidates and issues

Usually are segments of population – Urban African-Americans, Protestant Midwest farmers, etc so forth

How do candidates finance the campaign?

Donations, PAC contributions, party contributions, sometimes out-of-pocket from the candidate him/herself

It’s been recognized as a problem for a long time –

Corrupt Practices Acts – tried to limit size of contributions to candidates in campaigns, starting in 1925

Hatch Act of 1939 – restricts political involvement of government employees. Concerned that they were using work hours/influence to get certain people elected

Federal Election Campaign Act - 1971 – you can donate however much you want, but candidates can only spend X amount on television advertising

All contributions over $100 must be disclosed

1974 Reforms:

Federal Election Commission created - must oversee campaign contributions

Public financing is provided for presidential elections - done to make it seem more democratic, that the average man could enter into the race without being a millionaire

Presidential spending is limited

Buckley v. Valeo – decided by the Supreme Court in 1971. Declared the 1971 law unconstitutional – said no law could determine how much a candidate could spend on his own behalf

PACs and Contributions

Support candidates, but in a roundabout way that circumvents existing laws on campaign spending

PACs - committee set up and representing a group (corporation, organization, interest group)

1973 – spent $19 million

1999-2000 – spent $900 million

Soft money – not given directly to candidates, but given to party committees which then funnel the money to candidates

Issue Advocacy Advertising – advertising paid for by interest groups that support or oppose a candidate or his position on an issue without mentioning voting or election

Now the catch is – if it’s going to run in October/Nov of an election year – of COURSE it has to do with elections

Good example: MoveOn.org (hand out print outs)

Do these groups clarify candidates’ positions to the voters?

Independent expenditures - money donated that are not coordinated with a particular candidate – a favorite loophole of candidates. So, “Paid for By Friends of…”

Do you feel that all this backroom financing is an issue for democracy? It’s an open ended question

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Banned large, unlimited contributions to political parties (soft money)

Places limits on issue ads placed by outside special interest groups

Consequences

Democratic and Republican parties are no longer protected from growth of smaller parties

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

Reforming the Primaries

1968 Chicago Riots outside DNC – with the escalation of the Vietnam War, voters really felt like parties were not responding to their needs at all

So now – public has more of a say, in determining who will stand as the party rep for president. Ex: Howard Dean was done after Iowa because voters rejected that approach to campaigning

Types of Primaries

Closed primary – only official members of the party may vote.. So, you must be a registered democrat to vote in a closed Democratic primary

Open Primary – open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation

Blanket primary – you can vote for whomever you want for a variety of offices – for instance, you can vote for a Democratic candidate for governor, and a republican candidate for senator

Run-off primary – If nobody emerges as a clear winner in the first primary, they hold a second one.

Campaign strategy

It dawned on candidates that winning as many primaries as possible helps cement their bid for president. Hence, why NH and Iowa become so important

National Convention time –

Credentials Committee – determines which delegates can participate in the convention

Does it really matter? Conventions appear to be more predictable than ever – no “dark horse” candidates emerge anymore

The Big, Bad Electoral College

So the Founding Fathers didn’t trust the public enough to leave the election of the presidency to a popular vote – they set up a system which could, theoretically, prevent a despot from arising to the presidency

There are 538 Electors in total – presidents need 270 to win

How they determine it: States’ number of electors = states’ number of senators (two) plus # of reps

So, CA has 55, Florida has 27, Ill. Has 21, NY has 31, TX has 34

So, typically, the elector can vote however he/she wants – but, if the state votes in favor of a party, all the electoral votes go to that candidate. If NY votes Democratic, Gore gets 31 electoral college votes. There is no splitting.

EC does not always mirror popular vote. Bush in 2000, Ben Harrison in 1888.

Criticisms

Does not accurately reflect the wishes of the people

Critics also argue that the nature of the US government has changed – while it was founded as a “republic,” where representatives made decisions for the citizens, it is now more of a formal “democracy,” where public opinion should be the deciding factor

Elections Themselves

Opted for the “secret ballot,” also known as the Australian ballot – decreases vote manipulation, more people will vote how they really want instead of how their boss, party, family, wants, etc

Two ways that voting can be organized:

Office-block voting – where candidates are listed under the offices they’re seeking (disliked by parties), encourages split-ticket voting

Party-block voting – candidates are grouped by political party

October 8, 2006

News of an unexpected career break could come your way now, jax. This can be very exciting, and should make a bigger difference in your life than you think. However, this is definitely a time when some modesty is called for. If you act too proud or too thrilled, you might excite some envy among your not-so-lucky colleagues, and this could come back to haunt you later. Save your excitement for your family.

Voting by mail

Absentee ballots – when you are physically unable to be in your registered location on election day

But interesting situation in Oregon (discuss)

Increases voter participation

Problems with this – can’t verify who’s actually doing the voting

Also – is the voter informed? Has he/she heard all the candidates?

Vote Fraud

A serious issue, but not easy to prevent

Voting by felons, unregistered voters – very hard to catch in absentee ballots as well

Mistakes by Voting Officials – Kathryn Harris in Florida

Low Voter Turnout – has never been very high in the States. In 2004, 51%. Midterm elections (when a president is not up for election) are even lower.

Effects: Disengagement with politics, change the nature of our government (is it still a democracy is nearly half don’t participate?), possibility of more radical leaders

However, some say low voter turnout just means people are pretty happy with the way things are

Factors Determining Voter Turnout

  1. Age - the older you get, the more likely you are to vote.

  1. Educational attainment – the higher you get, the more likely you are to vote

  1. Minority status – whites still have the highest voter turnout

  1. Income level – the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to vote

  1. two party competition – how competitive elections are. In hotly contested races, ex: Forrester and Corzine, people are more likely to vote. In less contested races, or races perceived as a runaway (Spitzer vs. Faso), voter turnout will decrease

Why don’t people vote?

Bad media coverage/negative campaigning People get sick of attack ads pretty quickly, and just assume that both candidates are equally unappetizing. Also, lack of real journalism coverage on issues leads voters to be frustrated by elections that don’t deal with real problems

Rational Ignorance Effect If you think your vote will not matter in the end anyway, you will have no motivation to vote.

Improving voter turnout

Internet voting

Absentee ballots

Registering to vote when you apply for a driver’s license

Make Election Day national holiday

Give voters 3 weeks to vote

Voting on Sunday, like they do in most European countries?

Who can vote?

At founding of country, only white males with property

Now, it’s nearly all naturalized citizens over the age of 18

Felons are not allowed to vote – is this a good thing?

REGISTER TO VOTE NOW

Media and Politics

Functions of the media:

  1. Entertainment

TV and Radio would be long gone if it didn’t devote hours to entertaining programs – and some of them get political

West Wing, other news coverage of major stories – AIDS, medicare, etc

  1. Reporting the news

Gathers information from around the globe to give people a clearer idea of what is happening in the world

Can you imagine a world without a source for news?

  1. Identifying public programs

Setting the public agenda – issues perceived by the political community as meriting public attention and governmental action

Media decides what will be discussed in politics, it is claimed. This is why so many interest groups have their own media campaigns to raise awareness of issues.

  1. Socializing new generations

Youth and immigrants – are taught by the media how to be Americans.

  1. Providing a Political Forum

Politicians need to reach as many voters as they can to be elected – and so use the media for their own ends as well. Chuck Schumer, senior Senator of NY, is very adept at this – he holds a press conference every Sunday, and it’s usually carried by news stations.

  1. Making Profits

Advertising revenue is key – so they have to be careful (TV stations, newsmagazines, etc) not to piss off advertisers. Example: SUVs accounted for a substantial amount of Newsweek’s ad revenue, and they couldn’t do a story on carbon emissions from SUVs for years because of it. ALSO – CBS AND TOBACCO (The Insider)

PRIMACY OF TELEVISION

Politicians were not immediately aware of the impact television could have if they used it for their purposes.

News Programming

In the past, only took about an hour of total programming time. But with the advent of 24-hour news channels (CNN in 1980), the big three needed to catch up. Now – 2 hours a day of local news, half hour of national/international.

Interesting tidbit: The total budget of NBC News is 0.5% of the entire GE budget. Yet, international news desks are closing. Go figure.

TV’s Influence

It’s a VISUAL medium – so IMAGES assume a new importance.

Think: Mission Impossible Bush stunt

Also – sound bites reign supreme – quotations can only last 30 seconds max, and so politicians who want to get their face on the news must sum up their arguments in this time

Leads to an OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF THE ISSUES

Media and Political Campaigns

The Daisy advert was really the turning point in using television as a means to lure voters. A landmark ad. I’ve put the link up on the website if you want to see it.

Management of News Coverage

Candidates are always competing for face time on television – is this diluting their message/position?

Presidential Debates

JFK vs Nixon – one was tv savvy, knew how to work it

Wore a blue shirt

It’s really all about perception – if you look competent, have good answers, are unfazed by attacks on your opponent, the American voter will be attracted

Political Campaigns and the Internet

How many people have received some sort of political email in the past 3 weeks?

Candidates are becoming more internet-savvy…

Gerstein said the Lamont crew "did a brilliant job of using technology to build a support base and organize a campaign" in the primary. The campaign benefited from its own and a nationwide crop of independent blogs , from e-mail fund-raising and volunteer-drafting efforts, as well as from a general Internet buzz that catapulted a political unknown into a contender against an internationally recognized three-term incumbent . "Ten years from now it will probably be looked at as a model for how campaigns will be run," Gerstein predicted. Soon, he said, voters will receive get-out-to-the-polls text messages on their cell phones on election day.

Media’s Impact on Voters

Very hard to quantify

Some people are more affected by tv ads than others – some are blasé about it

Government Regulation of the Media

Telecommunications Act (1996) – meant that companies could own more than one type of media enterprise (phones, internet, movies, cable, etc)

Led to…

Media Conglomerates – Clearchannel, NBC Universal, Bertelsmann, Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney Company

FCC wanted to expand those rules, let media conglomerates run amok and amass media markets everywhere – is this good?

Govt control of Content – FCC and American Family Association

Saturday, October 07, 2006

I have sent out the Midterm Review packets. If you did not receive one via email, please email me (JSJacobsen@gmail.com) to request a copy.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Great sites for Assistance with APA format

APA Formatting and Style Guide

APA Style: Electronic Resources

Citation Styles Handbook: APA

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Because we've been talking about anti-terror measures a lot lately....

German Tap Lessons

Posted September 2006

Germany has been eavesdropping on its own citizens for decades. Yet its vast system of surveillance hasn’t helped the country convict terrorists or detect terror plots. Why does the United States think it can do better?

When it comes to keeping tabs on its own residents in the ongoing war on terror, there’s a lot the United States could learn from Germany. Interestingly, the lessons would not be from Nazi Germany, where average citizens were encouraged to report on their neighbors, or from East Germany, where hundreds of thousands of people provided damning evidence about their friends and families. Neither regime lived up to its popular reputation as an all-knowing spy state.

It’s modern Deutschland—where West German police created a vast system of wiretaps and surveillance databases in the 1970s—that can offer the United States crucial insights into domestic espionage. And unfortunately for believers in this approach, the lessons from Germany aren’t encouraging: Its extensive internal surveillance has seen little success in detecting terrorist plots or putting conspirators behind bars.

Germany’s aggressive history of domestic intelligence began in the 1970s in response to a terror threat from the Red Army Faction (RAF), a left-wing guerilla group devoted to overthrowing the government. As RAF attacks increased in the late 1970s, Horst Herold, head of the German federal police and a firm believer in data mining and electronic tools, poured his agency’s resources into gathering information on the group’s members. In the 1980s, when changes in immigration laws and lenient student visa policies expanded Germany’s sizeable immigrant community, the snooping increased considerably. As it became clear that members of radical Muslim groups were using these policies to take refuge in the country, German authorities realized they would need to keep tabs on people who stirred suspicion.

September 11 and revelations of a Hamburg cell’s involvement gave authorities added incentive to increase the surveillance. During the past decade, Germany has increased its use of wiretaps by 500 percent. In 2004 alone, more than 29,000 wiretaps were approved, seven times the number authorized by U.S. courts that same year. The bulk of these taps are focused on common criminals—money launderers, extortionists, and the like. But a small percentage is aimed at people who fit the profile of potential terrorists.

Yet German authorities cannot point to a single successful prosecution of a terror suspect identified from these blind wiretaps. The colossal volume of information produced from tens of thousands of these taps often obscures real threats, while dead ends are pursued. Authorities quite simply do not have the time to listen to and process it all. In the one case in which such surveillance was used to detect a terror plot (and has yet to lead to a conviction in court), the authorities—thanks to old-fashioned investigative methods—already knew the identities of the alleged plotters. It’s hardly a ringing endorsement for the kind of all-encompassing, warrantless surveillance that the United States government wants its citizens to accept.

In reality, Germany’s best successes against terror groups have had little to do with wiretapping. Ihsan Garnaoui, a Tunisian immigrant accused in 2003 of attempting to set up a terror training camp in a Berlin mosque, was turned in by informants. Abdelghani Mzoudi, charged (though eventually acquitted) of lending aid to the September 11 terrorists, gave himself up to authorities. When Lokman Mohammed was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to seven years in prison in January for helping terrorists travel into and out of Iraq, police relied on basic data such as immigration violations and cell phone thefts—not records of his phone conversations—to track and arrest him. And when authorities rounded up a ring of terrorists in Düsseldorf in April 2002, they broke the case because a member of the ring decided to turn in his fellow suspects. In all these cases, German authorities found that wiretapping doesn’t necessarily work better than less-technological and more time-consuming, old-fashioned detective work.

That’s not to say that wiretapping doesn’t have some uses. In December 2004, the German police successfully used a wiretap to break up an alleged plot by three men to assassinate Ayad Allawi, then prime minister of Iraq, during a visit to Germany. But this success was not due to random listening alone. Authorities stumbled upon the plot while investigating Mohammed and tapping his known associates, the kind of surveillance that, in the United States, a judge could approve with a warrant.

So, why haven’t wiretaps yielded much information about terror operations? Part of the reason is that terrorists have become savvier. They’ve learned not to discuss sensitive matters by telephone. They use couriers and shared e-mail accounts to send messages instead. But, more important, there is simply far too much information for authorities to wade through. Key points are hidden by the reams of data that modern society generates. Increasing the number of wiretaps often just increases the size of the haystack, making the needle that much harder to find.

If a nation with a quarter of the U.S. population and seven times the number of wiretaps is not able to show better results, can there be hope for the United States? If anything, Germany has shown that an overreliance on technical methods keeps authorities from using basic detective tools to weed out terrorist elements. The same can already be seen in the United States, where some of the major successes in the war on terror have come through concerned community members who alert authorities to suspicious activity.

Given the German experience, why does the United States think it can make better use of more surveillance? Perhaps U.S. authorities have better technologies at their beck and call. But perhaps it’s just a matter of appearances: If the government can argue that it is using surveillance technology to keep tabs on terrorists, it can argue that it is doing something proactive. Based on these German lessons, however, the United States should think twice before adopting the false security blanket that more surveillance means more success in fighting terror.

Niels C. Sorrells spent a year researching German surveillance policy with a grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He is currently based in Berlin as a correspondent for the Bureau of National Affairs and is writing a book comparing German and U.S. surveillance tactics.

A pattern in rural school shootings: girls as targets

Monday's deadly shooting in Nickel Mines, Pa., was the fourth such incident in five weeks.

| Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor
The scene Monday at the buff-colored, one-room schoolhouse in the gentle heart of Amish country was wrenching, but also distressingly familiar.

One of four fatal school shootings to beset rural America in just over a month, the rampage that killed five young girls raises anew a host of old concerns - about campus security in countryside settings, access to guns by unstable individuals, and "copycat" violence advanced by media attention.

Read more....

POLITICAL PARTIES

I. Parties-here and abroad

A. Decentralization

1. A party is a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label (party identification)

2. Arenas of politics in which parties exist:

a. In minds of the voters as label

b. Organization recruiting and campaigning for candidates

c. Set of leaders in government

3. American parties have become weaker in all three arenas

a. As label, more independents and more ticket-splitting

b. As set of leaders, organization of Congress less under their control

c. As organization, much weaker since 1960s

B. Reasons for differences with European parties

1. Federal system decentralizes power in U.S.

a. Early on, most people with political jobs worked for state and local government

b. National parties were then coalitions of local parties.

c. As political power becomes more centralized, parties did not do the same

2. Parties closely regulated by state and federal laws

3. Candidates chosen through primaries, not by party leaders, in U.S.

4. President elected separately from Congress

5. Political culture

a. Parties unimportant in life; Americans do not join or pay dues

b. Parties separate from other aspects of life

II. The rise and decline of the political party

A. The Founding (to 1820s)

1. Founders' dislike of parties, viewing them as factions

2. Emergence of Republicans, Federalists: Jefferson vs. Hamilton

a. Loose caucuses of political notables

b. Republicans' success and Federalists' demise

3. No representation of homogeneous economic interests-parties always heterogeneous coalitions

B. The Jacksonians (to Civil War)

1. Political participation a mass phenomenon

a . More voters to reach; by 1932, presidential electors controlled mostly by popular vote

b. Party built from bottom up

c. Abandonment of presidential caucuses

d. Beginning of national party conventions to allow local control

C. The Civil War and sectionalism

1. Jacksonian system unable to survive slavery and sectionalism

2. New Republicans became dominant because of

a. Civil War-Republicans rely on Union pride

b. Bryan's alienation of northern Democrats in 1896

3. Most states one-party

a . Factions emerge in each party

b. Republicans with professional politicians (Old Guard) and progressives (mugwumps)

c. Progressives moved from shifting between parties to attacking partisanship

GILDED AGE –

Gilded Age – unprecedented social, economic, industrial expansion

“Gilded” – because only the very top got money

Also, an era of CORRUPTION – corrupt state governments, massive fraud in cities (Chicago, NYC), political payoffs, gov’t corruption (Ulysses Grant)

In the 1890s, Republicans became POPULIST (Populism – representation of the common person, the working class, the underdog, etc)

Support for the Republicans surged because they were anti-inflation (and it was believed that inflation would reduce the value of your paycheques)

Ex: Boss Tweed’s Tammany Hall

Political bosses emerged, controlling city machines

1. Ward captains turned out voters on election day
2. Jobs handed out as political favors, as were tax breaks and licenses
3. While some machines provided welfare services, opportunities for corruption were great

a. Boss Tweed in New York's Tammany Hall controlled 60,000 jobs. He was arrested, bribed his way out of jail, escaped, re-caught and finally died in jail.

Responsible for 60,000 jobs in City

Motto: “Vote early, and vote often” – used to take the names of dead people

Political machines are dying out – but one still exists

Nassau County – Republican Political Machine

The political machine consisted of three elements: part bosses or a county committee, which governed the party, machine and controlled the politicians; election district captains who mobilized and organized support at the neighborhood level; and party loyalists who supported the machine with votes and financial support in return for jobs, favors and help provided by bosses and election district captains.

The Republican Party of Nassau County, New York, for example, retains control of more than 20,000 patronage jobs in the county.

D. The era of reform

1. Progressive push measures to curtail parties

a. Primary elections and direct elections of Senators

b. Nonpartisan elections at city and (sometimes) state level

c. No party-business alliances-corrupting

d. Strict voter registration requirements

e. Civil service reform

f. Initiative and referendum

2. Effects

a. Reduction in worst form of political corruption

b. Weakening of all political parties

III. The national party structure today

A. Parties similar on paper

1. National convention ultimate power; nominate presidential candidate

2. National committee composed of delegates from states manages affairs between conventions

3. Congressional campaign committees

4. National chair manages daily work

B. Party structure diverges in late 1960s

1. RNC moves to bureaucratic structure; a well-financed party devoted to electing its candidates

2. Democrats move to factionalized structure to redistribute power

3. RNC uses computerized mailing lists to raise money

a. Money used to provide services to candidates

4. DNC adopted same techniques, with some success

5. DNC and RNC send money to state parties, to sidestep federal spending limits

6. RNC now tries to help state and local organizations

7. Democrats remain a collection of feuding factions

C. National conventions

1. National committee sets time and place; issues call setting number of delegates for each state

2. Formulas used to allocate delegates

a. Democrats shift formula away from South, to North and West

b. Republicans shift formula from East to South and Southwest

c. Result: Democrats move left, Republicans right

3. Democrat formula rewards large states; and Republican rewards loyal states

4. Democrats set new rules

a. In 1970s, rules changed to weaken local party leaders and increase influence of women, youth, minorities

b. Hunt Commission in 1981 increases influence of elected officials and makes convention more deliberative

5. Consequence of reforms: parties represent different sets of upper-middle class voters

a. Republicans represent traditional middle class-more conservative

b. Democrats represent new class-more liberal

c. Democrats hurt since traditional middle class closer in opinions to most citizens

6. To become more competitive, Democrats adopt rule changes

a. In 1988, number of superdelegates increased while special interest caucuses decreased

b. In 1992, three rules:

(1) Winner-reward system of delegate distribution banned

(2) Proportional representation implemented

(3) States that violate rules penalized

7. Conventions today only ratify choices made in primaries

IV. State and local parties

A. State-level structure

1. State central committee

2. County committee

3. Various local committees

4. Distribution of power varies with state

B . The machine

1. Recruitment via tangible incentives (money, jobs, political favors)

2. High degree of leadership control

3. Abuses

a. Gradually controlled by reforms

b. Machines continued until voter demographics and federal programs changed

4. Machines both self-serving and public-regarding

5. New machines a blend of old machine and ideological party traits

C. Ideological parties--extreme opposite to machine

1. Principle above all else so contentious and factionalized

2. Usually outside Democratic and Republican parties-third parties

3. But some local reform clubs in 1950s and 1960s

4. Reform clubs replaced by social movements with specific demands

D. Solidary Groups

1. Most common form of party organization

2. Members motivated by solidary incentives (companionship)

3. Advantage: neither corrupt nor inflexible

4. Disadvantage: not very hard working

E. Sponsored parties

1. Created or sustained by another organization

2. Example: Detroit Democrats controlled by United Auto Workers (UAW) union

3. Not very common in U.S.

F. Personal following

1. Examples: Kennedys (MA), Talmadges (GA), Longs (LA), Byrds (VA)


V. The two-party system

A. Rarity among nations today

B . Evenly balanced nationally, not locally

C. Why such a permanent feature?

1 . Electoral system-winner-take-all and plurality system

2. Opinions of voters-two broad coalitions work, although times of bitter dissent

3. State laws have made it very difficult for third parties to get on the ballot


VI. Minor parties

A. Ideological parties--comprehensive, radical view; most enduring

Examples: Socialist, Communist, Libertarian

B. One-issue parties-address one concern, avoid others

Examples: Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition

C. Economic protest parties-regional, protest economic conditions

Examples: Greenback, Populist

D. Factional parties-from split in a major party

Examples: Bull Moose, Henry Wallace, American Independent

E. Movements not producing parties; either slim chance of success or parties accommodate via direct primary and national party convention

Examples: civil rights, antiwar, labor

F. Factional parties have had greatest influence

G. Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996


VII. Nominating a president -By tradition, the party "out of power"-the one not holding the presidency-holds its convention first.

A. Two contrary forces: party's desire to win motivates it to seek an appealing candidate, but its desire to keep dissidents in party forces a compromise with more extreme views

B . Are the delegates representative of the voters?

1. Democratic delegates much more liberal

2. Republican delegates much more conservative

3. Explanation of this disparity?

a. Not quota rules alone-women, youth, minorities have greater diversity of opinion than do the delegates

C. Who votes in primaries?

1. Primaries now more numerous and more decisive

a. Stevenson (1952) and Humphrey (1968) won the presidential nomination without entering any primaries

b. By 1992: forty primaries and twenty caucuses (some states with both)

2. Little ideological difference between primary voters and rank-and-file party voters

3. Caucus: meeting of party followers at which delegates are picked

a. Only most dedicated partisans attend

b. Often choose most ideological candidate: Jackson, Robertson in 1988

D. Who are the new delegates?

1. However chosen, today's delegates are issue-oriented activists

2. Advantages of new system

a. Increased chance for activists within party

b. Decreased probability of their bolting the party

3. Disadvantage: may nominate presidential candidates unacceptable to voters or rank and file

VIII. Parties versus voters

A. Democrats: have won more congressional elections than presidential contests

1. Candidates are out of step with average voters on social and taxation issues (hmm.. rather strange assertion here! Clinton has a 70% aqpproval rating!)

2. So are delegates ... and there's a connection

B. Republicans had same problem with Goldwater (1964)

C. Rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans differ on many political issues

1. But differences are usually small

D. Delegates from two parties differ widely on these same issues

1. Delegates (and candidates) need to correspond with views of average citizens

2. But candidates must often play to the ideological extremes to win delegate support.

Electoral and Party Systems

  1. Section introduction
    1. The U.S. traditionally has had a two-party system:
      1. Federalists vs. Jeffersonian Republicans
      2. Whigs vs. Democrats
      3. Republicans vs. Democrats
    2. Most democracies have multiparty system, in which three or more parties have the capacity to gain control of government, separately or in a coalition
  2. The Single-Member-District System of Election
    1. The nation chooses its officials through plurality voting in single-member districts, which discourages minor parties
      1. Each constituency elects a single candidate to particular office, such as U.S. Senator or representative
    2. By comparison, most European democracies use some form of proportional representation, in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to a party's share of the popular vote
  3. Policies and Coalitions in the Two-Party System
    1. Seeking the Center
      1. The two parties stay close to center of political spectrum (shifts are costly)
      2. The true balance of power in American elections rests with America's pragmatic and moderate voters
      3. Nonetheless, the Republican and Democratic parties do offer somewhat different alternatives, an at times a clear choice
        1. Roosevelt vs. Hoover
        2. Johnson vs. Goldwater
        3. Reagan vs. Carter
      4. Public opinion is the critical element in partisan change
    2. Party Coalitions
      1. The groups and interests supportive of a party are collectively referred to as the party coalition
      2. European parties tend to divide along class lines
      3. American parties: Broad range of interest
      4. Since the 1930's, the major policy differences between the Republicans and the Democrats have involved the national government's role in solving social and economic problems
      5. The Democratic party's biggest gains recently have been with women
      6. The Republican coalition consists mainly of white middle-class Protestants
        1. The GOP has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians
      7. The differences in the party coalitions was clearly evident in the 2000 presidential vote
        1. Women, minorities, and lower-income Americans cast a majority of their votes for the Democratic nominee Al Gore
        2. Men, whites, and higher-income Americans aligned primarily with Republican nominee George W. Bush
      8. The larger a party becomes, the greater is the likelihood that conflict among the groups within it will occur
  4. Minor Parties
    1. Section Introduction
      1. Only one minor party, the Republican party , has ever achieved majority status
      2. Minor parties in the U.S. have formed largely to advocate positions that their followers believe are not being adequately represented by either of the two major parties
    2. Single-Issue Parties
      1. Right-to-Life Party
      2. Prohibition Party
      3. Single-issue parties usually disband when their issue is favorably resolved or fades in importance
    3. Factional Parties
      1. Factional conflict within the major parties has led to the formation of minor parties
        1. The Bull Moose party
        2. The States' Rights party
      2. Deep divisions within a party can lead to a change in its coaliton
    4. Ideological Parties
      1. Other parties are characterized by their ideological commitment, or a belief in a broad and radical philosophical position
      2. Modern day ideological parties
        1. Citizens party
        2. Socialist Workers party
        3. Libertarian party
      3. One of the strongest ideological parties in the nation's history was the Progressive party
      4. The strongest minor party today is the Green party
      5. Before the 2000 presidential election the strongest minor party was the Reform party
    5. Are Conditions Ripe for a Strong Third Party?
      1. The Perot and Nader candidacies are the first substantial third-party presidential candidacies in a quarter-century
      2. The U.S. electoral system frustrates smaller parties
      3. There is no powerful issue on the horizon that could serve as a rallying point for a strong third-party movement
      4. Although, 30 percent of Americans, surveyed in 2000, believe a third party is needed

Party Organizations

  1. The Weakening of Party Organizations
    1. Nomination
      1. Until the early twentieth century, nomination s were entirely the responsibility of party organizations
      2. Progressives argued for nominating primaries
      3. Primaries are the severest impediment imaginable to the strength of the party organizations
      4. Different types of primaries
        1. closed primaries
        2. open primaries
        3. blanket primaries
      5. Party organizations also lost influence over elections because of a decline in patronage
      6. In the process of taking control of nominations, candidates have also acquired control of most campaign money
      7. In Europe, there are no primaries
  2. The Structure and Role of Party Organizations
    1. Section Introduction
      1. Although the influence of party organizations has declined, they still provide support:
        1. fund-raising
        2. polling
        3. research
        4. media production
      2. U.S. parties are loose associations of national, state, and local organizations
  3. Local Party Organizations
    1. In a sense, U.S. parties are organized from the bottom up, not the top down
    2. Local parties tend to be strongest in urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest
  4. State Party Organizations
    1. At the state level, each party is headed by a central committee made up[ of local party organizations and state officeholders
    2. In recent decades the state parties have expanded their budgets and staffs considerably
    3. They play a smaller in campaigns for national or local offices
  5. National Party Organizations
    1. Organizational structure
    2. Day-to-day operations
    3. Republican National Committee (RNC)
    4. Democratic National Committee (DNC)
    5. Committee structure
    6. Campaign finance laws
      1. Soft money limits

Candidate-Centered Campaign

  1. Running for Office
    1. Seeking Funds: "The Money Chase"
      1. High campaign costs force candidates to spend much time raising money
    2. Creating Organization: "Hired Guns"
      1. "New politics" centered on consultants, pollsters, fundraisers, etc.
      2. EMILY's List - fundraising organizations for liberal women candidates
    3. Devising Strategy: "Packaging the Candidate"
      1. Today, candidates' media images are crucial
    4. Going Public: "Air Wars" and "Spin"
      1. Candidates use TV ads and appearances and seek to put favorable "spin" on news coverage
    5. Internet Politics: "In the Web"
      1. Although television is still the principal mechanism of election politics, some observers believe that the Internet may eventually replace it, particularly in congressional races

Parties, Candidates, and the Public's Influence

  1. Candidate-centered campaigns
    1. Advantages
      1. Provide flexibility and new blood to electoral politics
      2. Encourage national officeholders to be responsive to local interests
    2. Disadvantages
      1. Prominent influence of special interests and stress on campaign funding
      2. Can degenerate into personality contests and "attack politics" (Robb-North)
      3. Blur the connection between campaigning and governing