POLI 2051 : Exam 2 Review
Review
Monday, March 20, 2017
8:37 PM
Bicameralism = splitting power between two complimentary legislative bodies
• Renders legislative branch slow and inefficient
Virginia Plan = representation proportional to population size
• Congress has more power (and more responsibilities)
New Jersey Plan = equal representation
• Congress has less power (and less responsibilities)
Great Compromise
• House - representation based on population size
• Senate - equal representation independent of population size
Delegate Approach (House) = closely mirrors constituent preferences (2 year terms)
Trustee Approach (Senate) = more freedom to use one's own judgment
• As a result of a boost in prestige accompanied with the position of Senator, the Senate has
become much more stable
Reapportionment = redistribution of House representatives based on the changing population
• Apportionment Act of 1911 addressed population growth
• States win and lose seats based on population gains and losses
Redistricting = redrawing district lines to reshape a legislative's constituency
Gerrymandering = drawing political boundaries to give your party a numeric advantage over an opposing
party
• Neither fair no compact
Descriptive Representation = compositional similarity between representatives and the represented
• Measures the disconnect between ideal and practical implementation of representation
• Doesn't a lack of diversity in Congress make it hard for policies to address underrepresented
groups?
Responsiveness = extent to which a legislator's actions confirm or conform to the preferences of their
respective constituency
• AKA Substantive Representation
• District Service = effort by members of Congress to secure federal funding for their districts
• Casework = helping constituents when they have difficulties with federal agencies
• Three examples of relationships between representation and responsiveness
i. Winner-loser framework
ii. Racial Representation
iii. Gender Representation
Minority-majority (MM) Districts = district in which a racial or ethnic minority makes up a large enough
share of the electorate to assure that the community has a reasonable chance to elect the candidate of
their choice
Goals of the Framers
i. Balance regional with national interests (the US has changed since then too)
ii. Form a government led by the people but also insulated from the people
o A need for bicameralism
iii. Ensure "fair" representation
Why is polarization such a problem?
• Deep divisions and gridlock consistently breed mistrust and dissatisfaction from the people
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Elite Polarization = situation where Democrats and Republicans become divided, where ideology
matches partisanship (sorting), in which the parties have little incentive to work together
Political Cleavage = national, ethnic, linguistic and religious divisions that can affect political allegiances
and policies
• Cumulative
o Cleavages have become cumulative over time
o Constraint - conflict on issues distills down into sharp ideological divisions that extend across
a wide range of issues
• Cross-cut
External Causes for Polarization
i. A Polarized Electorate - the mass public causes polarization
o In actuality, the public is not that divided
ii. Southern Realignment - new Republicans in the South were increasingly religiously conservative
iii. Gerrymandering
iv. Primary Elections - the individual candidate matters as far as who will run for the general election
v. Economic Inequality
o Inequality = measure of dispersion, which captures spread of differences in income
distribution
o Gini Coefficient = measures the degree of income inequality
• Lower the number, lower the inequality
o Increased inequality produces electoral support for conservative economic policies, pushing
Republicans further to the right
• Brings about gridlock
vi. Money in Politics - the people that put money into politics are typically further to the edges of the
spectrum than the average voter
vii. The Media
o Exacerbates mass polarization by creating tension where none exists
o Provides a free conduit for legislators to engage public displays or extremely providing
further cues that rile up the public
Internal Causes of Polarization
i. Rule Changes - procedural changes to rules in the House allow for amendments to be added to
almost any bill
ii. Majority-party Agenda Control - the House controls policy agenda, meaning it controls which
issues get addressed
a. Allows parties to form "brands" and prevents intraparty divisions
iii. Party Pressures - as leadership strengthens, they have more control over members
a. Makes it harder for members to defect
iv. Teamsmanship - when political power is evenly divided, there is an incentive to play for the other
team too
v. Breakdown of Bipartisan Norms - because of an increase in social distance between Congressmen,
there is less civility
Consequences of Polarization
• Increased policy differences shrink compromise options
• The people at the extremes "can drive the bus" when there's a supermajority
• Makes it difficult for social risk policies to be adjusted
• 75% of major issues reach some sort of stalemate
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Party Caucus = all Democratic members of Congress
• Elect party leaders, ratify choices of the committee leaders, and debate party positions on issues
Party Conference = all Republican members of Congress
Speaker of the House = the presiding office of the House of Representatives; majority of the party
Majority Leader = speaker's chief lieutenant in the House; manages the floor
Minority Leader = speaks for the minority when dealing with the majority
Document Summary
Bicameralism = splitting power between two complimentary legislative bodies: renders legislative branch slow and inefficient. Virginia plan = representation proportional to population size: congress has more power (and more responsibilities) New jersey plan = equal representation: congress has less power (and less responsibilities) Great compromise: house - representation based on population size. Senate - equal representation independent of population size. Delegate approach (house) = closely mirrors constituent preferences (2 year terms) Trustee approach (senate) = more freedom to use one"s own judgment: as a result of a boost in prestige accompanied with the position of senator, the senate has become much more stable. Reapportionment = redistribution of house representatives based on the changing population: apportionment act of 1911 addressed population growth. States win and lose seats based on population gains and losses. Redistricting = redrawing district lines to reshape a legislative"s constituency.
