1/28

Introduction

1/30

Constitutional Structure

Read the US Constitution. What do you notice about it? What comes first? What kinds of details are included? Not included?

(ER) Annotated Constitution, from O’Connor and Sabato, Essentials of American Government (New York: Pearson Longman 2006) pp. 63-99.

2/1

Federalism

What policies are written at the national level and what policies are decided at the state level? Is this distribution ideal? What are the advantages of standardized national policies? What are the advantages of local policy autonomy?

Logic 81-100

2/4

Presidential Elections

What is unique about presidential elections? How does the Electoral College affect the campaign strategies of presidential candidates?

Logic 453 and (ER) Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson, Debating the Presidency, “Resolved…” (Washington: CQ Press 2006) pp. 30-45.

2/6

The Presidency

What role does the president play in the policymaking process? Is the president more of a single leader, a follower, or is he on equal footing with Congress when crafting domestic policy?

Logic 276-298

2/8

Congress

How is the House organized differently from the Senate? Why are they organized differently? How important are political parties to the organization of Congress? Why are committees important to Congress’ organization?

Logic 227-254

2/11

Bureaucracy

What is a bureaucrat? What is “the federal bureaucracy”? Who do they report to? What do they do? Why do we complain about them?

Logic 303-322

2/13

The Judiciary

What does a judge do? How do judges make their decisions? What cases are heard by the Supreme Court? What power do judges have over national policy? Should courts be restrained in light of their lack of democratic legitimacy?

Logic 345-366

2/15

Civil Liberties I

What is a civil liberty? What is the most important civil liberty to you? Why do so many civil liberties deal with the rights of accused criminals? When is it OK for the government to infringe on civil liberties?

Logic 155-176 and 182-193

2/18

Civil Liberties II

Opponents of the Bill of Rights argued that writing a list of rights down on paper would inevitably limit personal freedom. Has that been the case? How has the Supreme Court expanded and contracted the text of the constitution?

Logic 177-182 and 193-201

2/20

Interest Groups

What can groups do in order to lobby Congress? If they lose in Congress, where else can they go? In what ways are interest groups good for democracy? In what ways might they be problematic? What is the difference between “grassroots” and “Astroturf” lobbying? What alternative strategies are available to groups who consider “insider” strategies to be outside the reach, or incompatible with their goals?

Logic 515-537

2/22

Parties

Why do political parties develop naturally from democratic government? 

What makes the two major political parties different? How are they similar?

Logic, Parties chapter.

 When you read pages 494-495, make a note of which position you agree with more for each issue. Do you really identify with the party you thought you did?

2/25

MIDTERM

Midterm Review Sheet

2/27

Why Government? Why Politics?

What assumptions about human nature do the authors make here? What do they conclude about politics based on those assumptions? Based on their arguments, under what conditions is government necessary? Why are rules and institutions important?

(ER) Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Part 1, Chapter 13.

James Madison, Federalist 51, found at the end of the Logic book.

2/29

Why OUR government?

What were the framers’ motivations in designing the US Constitution? Were they enlightened statesmen or regular politicians, or both? Does this story challenge your view of the Framers and their motivations? How does the Constitution itself reflect the personal experiences of the Framers? 

Dahl, chapters 1 and 2

3/3

Why not A DIFFERENT government?

Why does Dahl argue that the US Constitution is undemocratic? What modifications could make it more democratic? What are problems with those recommendations? Do you agree with his argument?

Dahl, rest of the book

3/5

Introduction to Collective Action Problems

What is a collective action problem? The tragedy of the commons? The free rider problem? Can you think of examples of these phenomena in every day life? Why are they so difficult to overcome?

Logic 10-26, 224-227, 95, 284-285, 372-373

3/7

The Free Rider Problem: Becoming Informed

How would you characterize American citizens’ level of political knowledge? Can a democracy function effectively based on that level of knowledge?

(ER) Walter Lippman, “The Phantom Public” in Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd, The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity (Baltimore: Lanahan, 2007) pp. 413-417.

(ER) Thomas E. Patterson, “Voter Competence” In Stephen C. Craig, ed., The Electoral Challenge (Washington: CQ Press 2006) pp. 39-57.

3/10

The problem of producing a public good: The Media

In what way is consumption of news a public good that is subject to the free rider problem? What five W’s does the author argue really control news content? What factors increase the production of soft news? What does the author mean by “race to the bottom news coverage,” and what produces it? What kind of news do YOU prefer to consume, hard or soft? How do you think that preference affects news production? How do economic incentives lead to herding behavior among journalists?

(ER) James T. Hamilton, “Economic Theories of News” from All the News that’s Fit to Sell (Princeton University Press, 2004), pp. 9-39.

3/12

The Media II: Who can you trust?

Do the media provide the information needed for Americans to make informed political decisions? If not, why not? Whose fault is it?

MEDIA PAPER DUE

3/14

The Free Rider Problem: Participation
What are some ways in which individuals can participate in the political process? Why do these authors argue that Americans do not participate enough? Who is less likely to participate and why? Does “who participates” systematically bias the outcomes of the political process?

SURVEY ASSIGNMENT DUE

Logic 424-436

3/26

The Participation Problem II: Generation Me

Is the free rider problem worse for your (our) generation? What problems does Twenge’s argument pose for the future? What can you do about it?

(ER) Jean Twenge, Generation Me (New York: Free Press 2006)  pp. 44-71 and 137-158.

3/28

The Free Rider Problem: Forming Groups

How do collective action problems make it difficult for groups to form? What kinds of groups are easier to organize? Are those groups representative of the whole population? What are “special interest groups?”

(ER) Mancur Olson, "The Logic of Collective Action" excerpt from Kernell and Smith, Principles and Practice of American Politics 2nd edition, Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004. 

4/2

The Free Rider Problem: Why should social movements take place?

As you read, think about: What alternative strategies are available to groups who consider “insider” strategies to be outside the reach, or incompatible with their goals?

(ER) Sydney Tarrow, Power in Movement (New York: Cambridge University Press 2004) pp. 9-27.

4/7

Does a member of Congress need to face a tough re-election bid to be responsive to his constituents?

Why do incumbents win re-election at such high rates? What factors affect the outcome of a congressional election? What is the role of professional political advisers in campaigns?

(ER) Gary Wasserman, Politics in Action: Cases in Modern American Government, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006, Chapter 6.

4/9

Redistricting Simulation: Bring your laptop to class!

4/11

Do Members of Congress care about their constituents?

Mayhew, chapter 1.

4/14

Who do members of Congress really represent? Do PAC contributions buy votes? How do members of Congress think about their constituents? Who do they pay the most attention to? Who do they pay the least attention to? How do their re-election needs affect their voting decisions and other behavior in Congress?

R. Douglas Arnold, The Logic of Congressional Action (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990) pp. 60-87.

4/16

Who does the President represent?

How does the system by which we select the president influence who runs, who gets nominated, and who wins? If you don’t like your options, how could you change the rules of the game to get better ones?

(ER) David Wasserman and Larry J. Sabato, “Invisible Primaries: The Crystal Ball’s Magnificent 7 in ‘07”, University of Virginia Center for Politics, May 11, 2007. www.centerforpolitics.org

(ER) Christopher Hanson, “Voices: the Invisible Primary: Now is the Time for All-Out Coverage”, Columbia Journalism Review March/April 2003.

Also:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=1754637

4/18

Congress’ Collective Action problem

What organizational problems face members of Congress? How do they overcome them?

Mayhew, chapter 2.

4/21

Presidential Power

What is the constitutional framework of the presidency? Where does the president’s strength come from?  Why might many political scientists argue that presidential power is the power to persuade?

(ER) Richard Neustadt, “The Presidency” excerpt from Presidential Power in Kernell and Smith, Principles and Practice of American Politics 2nd edition, Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004 pp. 274-294. 

4/23

Congress vs. the President during times of War

How have Americans’ interpretations of presidential war powers changed over time? Why do you think that is the case? Do you think that is appropriate?

(ER) Louis Fisher, “What is the Appropriate Role of Congress in National Security Policy?” in George C. Edwards III, ed., Readings in Presidential Politics (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006), pp. 263-290.

4/25

Politics: Should regulatory policymaking be political?

By what mechanisms can we democratically control the bureaucracy? How have those mechanisms changed over time? If it’s a debate between neutral expert policy and democratically controlled policy, which do you prefer?

Gardiner Harris, “Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised,” New York Times 11 July 2007.

Cornelia Dean, “Scientists Criticize White House Stance on Climate Change Findings,” New York Times 31 January 2007.

Gardiner Harris, “Bush’s pick as FDA Chief faces long road to vote, The International Herald Tribune 17 March 2006.

Cass Sunstein, “On the Unitary Executive,”
New Republic.com, accessed 20 August 2007.

4/28

Politics: Should judicial decision-making be political?

How are judges like politicians? How do they balance the struggle between private beliefs and adherence to precedent? How do they deal with the court’s legitimacy problem? How did Chief Justice Warren confront the legitimacy problem with Brown I and Brown II?  Why are judicial nominations so politically controversial? Is it a good thing that judges are appointed not elected? Why or why not?

(ER) Antonin Scalia, “Common law Courts in a Civil-Law System: The Role of the United States Federal Courts in Interpreting the Constitution and its Laws,” from The Enduring Debate ed. David Canon, John Coleman and Kenneth R. Mayer (New York: WW Norton 2003) pp. 233-240.

(ER) Stephen Breyer, “Our Democratic Constitution”from The Enduring Debate ed. David Canon, John Coleman and Kenneth R. Mayer (New York: WW Norton 2003) pp. 240-253.

(ER) David O’Brien, “The Court in American Life” from The Enduring Debate ed. David Canon, John Coleman and Kenneth R. Mayer (New York: WW Norton 2003) pp. 220-226.

4/30

Does our system protect against majority tyranny?

What makes our government just? Fair? Could the government become illegitimate to you? What constitutes legitimate protest? Illegitimate protest?

Could any national security conditions ever make it OK to restrict the civil liberties of an ethnic group?

James Madison, Federalist 10, found in Logic pp. 608-610.

(ER) Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” from The Enduring Debate ed. David Canon, John Coleman and Kenneth R. Mayer (New York: WW Norton 2003) pp. 74-82.

“Debating the Issues: Racial Profiling and Fighting Terrorism”, from David T. Canon, John J. Coleman, and Kenneth R. Mayer, The Enduring Debate (New York: W.W. Norton & Co.,  2003).

5/2

IMMIGRATION DEBATE

Immigration paper due

5/5

NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATE

National Security paper due

5/7

JUDICIARY DEBATE

Judiciary paper due

5/9

GLOBAL WARMING DEBATE

Global Warming paper due

5/12

Final Review

Review sheet