PLCY 220 - Lecture notes all PDF

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Dr. Kreitzer “Evidence based policy” How politics interfere with public policy NO Textbook The Policy Brief Project: - Scaffolded Assignments - Annotated Bib - Fact Sheet (draft & final) - Policy brief, 2 pages (brief & final) - Workshop series - Research skills - Graphic design and infograp...

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Dr. Kreitzer “Evidence based policy” How politics interfere with public policy NO Textbook The Policy Brief Project: - Scaffolded Assignments - Annotated Bib - Fact Sheet (draft & final) - Policy brief, 2 pages (brief & final) - Workshop series - Research skills - Graphic design and infographics - Peer review (twice) - rebeccakreitzer.com/briefs/

8/24 1870- these laws were put into place to take away rights from black people (60k people in NC) 1.) Fake News and the Role of Government a.) US government creates the weather data and warnings 2.) Consuming the News a.) It is a grey area- news may or may not be objective b.) 1.) Is the source of information actually in a position to know what s/he.they claims to know? 2.) Does the source of the claim provide evidence to support it or the conclusion inferred from it? 3.) Can you find any other credible sources making the same report?

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Don't read vertically - read laterally, preferably across a range of sources - Fact check the author and the source - There should be multiple sources - The information should be verifiable elsewhere Know the difference between news and opinion Know the difference between biased/partisan news and fake news

FUNCTIONS of GOVERNMENT - Social institution that controls the behavior of people - Providing security - Offering services (hospitals, water, police, social security) - Serving the public good (EPA, Transportation) - Managing and resolving conflict WHAT IS POLITICS? - Who gets what, when and how - Space where rationality is no guarantee of agreement WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT - Hoover v. FDR (and much later) - Hoover: - Voluntary cooperation - pure form of self governance - Self government - We value our individualism- we volunteer our efforts to help others - Opposed to expanding the bureaucracy. - FDR: - The first obligation of the government is the protection of welfare and well-being. Indeed the very existence of its citizens. - Obama - Citizenship - Country works when we accept obligations to each other and future generations - Look after our other country people - Put in effort to succeed - Because of free enterprise, we have growth and prosperity - Mostly agrees with FDR, but also some with Hoover THE FEDERALIST - Conservative organization that shadow nominated people to the Supreme Court - Trump expanded several programs

Hoover felt that the main purpose of the government is to secure and preserve liberty. If that's the case, how can the President and citizens ensure that people’s welfare (well-being) is protected Meanwhile, FDR felt that the main purpose of government is to promote the general welfare. If that’s the cae, how can the President and citizens endure that individual liberty is preserved

8/26 Key Terms and Concepts - Theoretical Framework - Elite Theory - Pluralism - Factions - Two Faces of Power - Scope of Conflict THEORIES OF POWER & WHO GOVERNS What is a theoretical framework? - Lenses of analysis - Don’t just describe, they generalize - Useful or not useful - More than one framework may be useful Aristocratic Origins of Elite Theory - Power lies in the positions of authority within key economic and political institution - Elites have different resources (intelligence, skills, etc) Elite Theory - Elites fundamentally different - Why are elites in power? - Three categories of people - Elites - Middle Category - The masses - Preventing and causing revolution - Influencing policy and each other - Their values and beliefs become homogeneous - In general they tend to respect civil liberties and constitutional principles - Retain power because they are helping the people - Top three elites (Corporate, Political, Military)

Mill’s Elite Theory - Who governs - The power elite - Their power is continuing to grow - A lot of political elite come from corporate elite - Since the Nixon Admin, more than 70% have been filled by corporate veterans Power Elite continues to dominate American politics

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Influence what issues get discussed and what perspectives get considered as administrators grapple with policy questions - Whose voices get heard may be distorting our policies at the expense of all but the wealthiest Americans What is a faction? - James Madison and constitution Pluralism - Groups are natural - Multitude of groups govern, most people are bystanders - Political stratum (who we call activists) - Tenants of Pluralism - Competition among groups - Multitude Centers of Power - Compromise - Consensus - Interest diversification - Outcomes are fair Elite Theory v. Pluralism - Borth observe that most Americans are not involved in politics - For elite theory, this is a problem - For pluralists it isn’t. Why? Bachard and Baratz - Elitist (sociological) versus pluralist (political science) approaches. Both are wrong - Elitist: - Look for who is in charge and generally find someone - Assume stability of power structure - Conflate reputation with influence - Pluralist: - Power may influence what is on the agenda - No objective distinction for importance of issues Two faces of Power 1.) Ability to influence decisions (Direct) 2.) Ability to influence agenda (indirect) “When a person or group creates or reinforces barriers to the public arising of policy conflicts, that person or group has power.” Schattschneider - The allegory of the bar fight - Scope of conflict - Who does it - Why is it risky - Privatizing or socializing conflict - localizing or nationalizing conflict - Who wins is determined by the audience

The second face of power is all about behind the scenes 8/31 Key Terms: - Mayhew’s Three Activities - Credit claiming - Advertising - Position taking - Fenno’s concentric circles - Fenno’s Three Goals - Career Phases (expansionist and protectionist) - Visibility and Traceability - Path Dependency INCENTIVES and GOALS - We tend to be impacted by negative incentives, instead of positive - Three assumptions of incentives - Rational actors - Unitary actors - Future orientation Mayhew: The Electoral Connection - Single minded seeker of reelection - Activities they engage in - Advertising - Credit Claiming - Taking positions - Activity Patterns - Two electorates (primary and big election voters) Density of her voters is the same as the density of voters - Cherie Berry Fenno’s Concentric Circles 1.) Geographic (district) 2.) Re-election (supporters) 3.) Primary (strong supporters) 4.) Personal (intimates) 5.) (shared group identity0 Career phases - Expansionist and protectionist

1,)Minimax behavior 2.) Visibility and Traceability 3.) conflicting goals (fenno's three goals) 4.) Path dependency - Large set up or fixed costs - Learning effects - Coordination effects - Adaptive expectation

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Stare Decisis - “let the decision stand” , respect precedent - Judges and justices who overturn precedent are called judicial activists - Conservatives tend to be more judicial activists recently Is abortion in the Constitution Medicalization of abortion. It was restricted in the 1920s Roe v. Wade (1973) - Penumbra of rights to privacy established in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) - Trimester Framework- where did this framework come from? - Decision to terminate pregnancy solely at discretion of women and doctors - State could regulate (but not outlaw) abortion in the interests of women’s health - State should regulate or outlaw abortion in the interest of potential life except when necessary to preserve life or health of the mother - There must be a “compelling state interest” to justify the restrictions

9/7 -

Different types of federalism (dual, cooperative, regulated, new, opportunistic) Different types of power (expressed, implied, reserved) Constitutional terms (supremacy clause, full faith and credit, privileges and immunities) Focusing events Preemption

Ailments of State Constitutions 1.) Content and length 2.) Ease of amendment (“amendromania”) 3.) What is a majority How do you define a majority?-

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Majoritarianism - sounds good in a democracy right? Types of majorities - Plurality (whoever got the most ) - Simple - Absolute - Super

Equal RIghts Amendment Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any state on account of sex Section 2: The congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation Section 3: Ratification of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) - Written in 1923 - Passed in 1972 Federalism - Entity of government that is divided by hierarchical levels

A quote from Justice Alito - The system of federalism established by our consti. Provides a way for people)

Federal government - expressed powers, implied powers, supremacy clause State government - reserved powers (10th A) , coercive/police power Relationship between states (full faith and credit, privileges and immunities) Preemption - A law passed by a higher authority takes precedence over a law passed by a lower one - Ripper bills (19th century) - Supremacy clause - Partisans vary on support for preemption at different levels - GOP opposes preemption at federal level, but supports it at the state - Vise versa for Dems Types of Federalism - Dual federalism (1789-1937) - Cooperative Federalism 1960s- on - The state can decide what to do with the money given to them by the state - Regulated Federalism - New Federalism (nixon and Regan) The big thing is what kinds of strings the government is placing on things to the state

Layer Cake is Dual Federalism (doing different things) Cooperativism (marble Cake) they mix together Natural Disasters (Birkland and Waterman) - States and local should have a big sway

Federalist 10 (James Madison) - Factions in democracy are inevitable. We must control their effects. Institutionalize uncertainty Federalist 51: - Ambition must be made to counteract ambition- if men were angels no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither - But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches and to render them by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit

How to counteract ambition - Separation of Powers - -Checks and balances (mutual vetoes) Separation of Powers - Electoral College (nominated by state legislatures)

Gridlock: Difficulty of passing laws because the votes are evenly divided, or in which two legislative chambers or the executive are from different parties, or otherwise cannot agree. Increase in polarization between parties Legislative Checks and Balances - For each of these next slides, what are the most important C and B, and how have these changed over tie - Bicameralism/ chambers have different rules, but must pass identical bills - Senate Filibuster - Override Veto - Confirms judicial and some executive appointments - Cloture is a vote to end the filibuster Judicial Checks and Balances - Judicial Review

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Some say now the supreme court is the most powerful

Suspension of the Rules Rules Committee Committee of the whole Motion to Recommit Unanimous Consent Agreeement Vota a Rama Filibuster Cloture Holds Conference Committees

9/16 Responsible parties Chamber Rules - Suspension of the Rules - Committee of the whole - Motion to Recommit - Unanimous Consent Agreement - Filibuster - Cloture Committees - Rules - Conference - The Wh

Committee of the Whole (100 people in the chamber) 60% of congressman work on fundraising for their campaign Motion to Recommit with Comments (bypassing committees) - Minority party in the house, this is their only power - Political tool to force a vote on political stance Cloture is the only way to end a filibuster

9/21 -

Delegate and Trustee Models of Representation Four types of representation - Substantive, descriptive, symbolic, surrogate Essentialism Majority Minority Districts

Unanimous consent agreement - “important procedural vote” Finally, bill goes to the President - Sign - Veto - Pocket-Veto - Can only happen at the end of the legislative session - Fewer than 10 days left - President could do nothing about it - “Effectively a Veto” - (signing statements) Representation is unnecessary if there was always a factual agreement to agree on something - Representation is impossible without logic Styles of Representation - Delegate (amplify concerns) - Trustee - How are these in competition? Four Types of Representation 1.) Substantive/ Policy elected representative has the same policy orientation as the constituents 2.) Descriptive: elected representatives should represent not only the expressed preferences of their constituencies (or the nation as a whole) but also those of their politically relevant descriptive characteristics a.) What groups need this ? b.) How would you characterize the groups? 3.) Symbolic: descriptive representation devoid of substantive impact a.) Example of little black kid rubbing Obama’s head to see they are the same 4.) Surrogate: representation without an elector relationship a.) “Raising the importance of issues” Tammy Duckworth - Deportation of veterans, honoring veterans, disability act

Carol Moseley Braun - Standing up against confederacy platform

9/23 -Judicial Review -Judicial Activism -Originalism -Textualism -Contextualism -Types of judicial elections -Briefly; - Biases in criminal judice - mandatory minimum sentencing - court packing

Jane Mansbridge’s four contexts - Adequate communication in contexts of mistrust - Innovative thinking in contexts of uncrystallized, not fully articulated, interests - Creating a social meaning of “ability to rule” - Increasing the polity’s de facto legitimacy in contexts of past discrimination Issues with descriptive statistics - Essentialism - viewing a group as homogenous The difference between “microcosmic” and “selective” Judicial Review: - Made up power in the case of Mrbury v. Madison - Supreme Court is to say whether or not a law is constitutional - Judicial review was not a big thing at first (dread scott case changes) Textualism- interpretation should be based on the ordinary meaning of the legal text Constructionism- “living constitution” - Constitution holds a dynamic meaning, evolving and adapting to new circumstances, without being formally amended - Develops alongside needs of society - Example with sex and new gender terms Rules of the game - Structure of the institution - appointment/ retention - Competitive elections - Partisan vs. non partisan - Follow the money

Issues with the System - Radical bias in criminal justice

MIDTERM REVIEW Emphasize critical connections Part 1: - Define - Explain why the term is important - How does it affect policy and why does it matter

Signing statements can’t be undone by the legislature. They are usually sketchy (not technically legal) Make a list of the key terms and phrases (front pg of each slide from each lecture

DAY #12 Interest groups are communities of people with a shared interest who are pursuing those interests - Collection of people acting on a shared goal to shape public policy - Do not run candidates for office 1.) 4 Types of groups: a.) Business b.) Professional associations c.) Labor unions d.) Public interest PACS e.) “Independent groups” (501c, 527s, independent expenditure committees) i.) 501: designated as a non-profit ii.) Do not disclose donors iii.) Disclose financial activity infrequently iv.) “Dark money” v.) Religious, social welfare,labor unions, business leagues DAY #13 Partisanship f.) “ 2.) Political ideology: - What is ethically good, and therefore what is bad - How societies resources should be distributed - Where power appropriately resides 3.) Cognitive Dissonance and Motivated Reasoning a.) The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially relating to the behavioral decisions and attitude change b.) Motivated reasoning- confirmation bias to the next level. Confirm what they already believe (ignore contrary data). Develop elaborate rationalizations 4.) Two Models of Partisanship and Critique 5.) Strong Partisanship, weak parties a.) Over time parties have become weaker. Partisanship is getting stronger 6.) Partisanship as a social identity a.) Social v. issue based polarization i.) Issue:traditional notion - increasing distance between R and D issues ii.) Social: increasing distance between D and R; made up of partisan bias, increased emotional reactivity, and increased activism b.) Identity v. issue based ideology i.) Issue: traditional notion- set of policy attitudes and the extent to which they tend to be liberal or conservative ii.) identity : feeling of belongings to the groups of liberal or conservative, regardless of policy attitud c.) Inter-group conflict - social psychology origins

Parties as organizations Parties in government Parties in the electorate Traditional Explanations of Party ID - Parents Party ID - Group attachments - Growing gender gap (men move away from democratic party) - Demographics - Generational experiences at time of socialization - First powerful exposure to politics - Depression, war, president - What was going on when you were 18? Partisanship as a Social Identity - Lilliana Mason - Inter-group conflict - Social v. issue based polarization

Day 15: Public Opinion - Aggregate and Public Opinion - Accumulation of hundreds of millions of individual perspectives opinions, attitudes and choices - Power in numbers-rational in the aggregate - Shorthand for the majority - Individual Public Policy - Policy Responsiveness - Policy Congruence - Receive, Accept, Sample (RAS) Model Day 16: - Political Participation - Voting Age Population (VAP) & voting eligible Population (VEP) - Internal & External Efficacy - Internal: - External: - Participatory Distortion (or bias) - Activists and Policy Demanders - Median Voter Theorem Day 17: Social Movements - Relatively Powerless Groups

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Early Theories of Protest (Psychological, Rational) Resource Mobilization Theory Constructivist Theory Symbolic of Token Concessions

Last day: -

Smith & Siegler: stricter gun control laws are a predictor of less gun violence Frum vs. Cooper - Frum: Liability insurance? Limit the purchase of guns? Tightly regulate the movement of guns, privilege not a right; more careful screening - Cooper: Why focus on the guns rather than the individual? Combat the NRA and broaden the coalition of gun regulations - 2018 bump stocks passed in several states (big fine and 10 year imprisonment) Silencers are also banned in the US

FINAL List of Key Terms 1.) Business a.) firms influence the government to include spinning the media, funding campaigns and neutralizing the opposition. 2.) Professional Associations a.) exists to advance a particular profession, support the interests of people working in that profession and serve the public good. It facilitates innovation, communication and connection. 3.) Labor Unions a.) an organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. 4.) Public Interest PACS a.) Political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates 5.) “Independent Groups” (501(c)s, 527s, independent expenditure committees) a.) 501- tax exempt. designated as a nonprofit. Usually charitable, religious, educational, or scientific b.) 527- tax exempt. Purpose is to influence the selection or nomination of candidates c.) Independent expenditure committee: An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that ...