BIOL 206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Incumbent, Antonin Scalia, Campaign Finance
7 May 2016
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Sc justice scalia died: conservative: now court is evenly divided 4-4. Filibuster: way of killing a bill (60 votes end a filibuster) How are national concerns addressed: bureaucracy: cabinet level agencies ect, creates position-taking and credit-claiming opportunities. Grease the wheels: helps laws get passed. In perspective: earmarks<1% of annual outlays, members of congress would dismiss pork as a minor concern. Other institutions that promote reelection: perquisites of office. Donors want to give money to the expected winner: members of congress create institutions that insulate them from the electorate. Protect incumbency, determent challengers: gerrymandering: inefficient geographic concentration of voters. Draw district lines to give the party minimum necessary to win the seat. District lines can be drawn to favor a certain partisan outcome. Party that controls state legislature & governor"s office draws. Congress & collective responsibility district lines: problem is compounded by the committee system. Most of the work of congress is done in committees.
