american goverment.docx

1、american govermentSyllabus 1. The American Political System 2.Supreme court Decision - Making 3.the American public & political knowledge 4.political interest , by education 5.political ideology in the united states 6.party identification in the US 7.turnout in American elections 8.pluralist theory

2、9.pluralist theory & group competition 10.the new deal party system 11.electoral history of the new deal system 12.the old v. new way of nominations 13.the democratic marathon,2008 mittees of the 111th Congress1. the American political system(next page)2. Supreme Court Decision Making1 Request to Re

3、view a Case A party in a legal action must request that the Supreme Court review a case (the nature of the request takes various forms - an appeal, a writ of certiorari, or a writ of certification). Requests come from a party after a decision in a State Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, or (

4、in rare instances) specialty courts (admiralty and maritime).2 The Rule of Four For the Supreme Court to hear a case, the rule of four prevails. Four justices (of 9) must vote to hear a case. Typically, the requests are examined and filtered through the law clerks hired by the justices. When a case

5、seems particularly important in raising a constitutional issue, Rules of the Game Interest Groups “People” Human Nature “Real World” Expressed Officeholders Government PolicyBackground Social Conditions Public Opinion Election Congress AgendaAbilities Events & Crises - Polls Selection President Opti

6、onsWealth Problems - Protests Persuasion Supreme Court DecisionOccupation Media Reports - Written OpinionsValues Economy - VotesReligion Political PartiesPolicy= A government-sponsored “course of action” designed to influence the behavior of people, conditions in the real world, & the rules of the p

7、olitical gamethe judges themselves examine the appeal and then decide whether it merits review.3 Oral ArgumentsIf a case is accepted, an oral argument is scheduled. On the selected date, attorneys representing each side in the case appear before the members of the Court. Each side is allotted 30 min

8、utes to make its argument. Judges may ask questions and are free to interrupt the attorneys. 4 Conference Some time after the oral arguments, the justices meet in conference. No one is present except for the nine justices. The justices discuss the case. Following the discussion, there is a prelimina

9、ry vote. Given nine justices, the possibilities are: 9-0, 8-1, 7-2, 6-3, or 5-4. The vote establishes a majority for one side or the other.5 Opinion Assignment In certain instances, the Court simply announces its decision. This is called a per curium decision. In the more prominent cases, the Court

10、will issue a written opinion which describes the question, the decision, and the legal reasoning behind the decision. Opinions thus present the Courts interpretation of the Constitution. The justice who will write the majority opinion is determined in the following way. If the Chief Justice votes in

11、 the majority, he will assign the opinion to a justice (he can assign the opinion to himself). If the Chief Justice does not vote with the majority, the most senior justice in the majority will make the assignment. 6 The Written Opinion After the assigned justice writes the opinion, it is circulated

12、 among the justices. Members have the option of changing their vote in light of the opinion. Justices may sometimes confer with one another in revising the opinion. When the final draft is completed, justices have the option of “signing” the opinion or not. Justices also have the option of writing a

13、 concurring opinion. This is an opinion, which agrees with the outcome and vote but for reasons different than the majority opinion. Justices in the minority have the option of writing a dissenting opinion stating their reasons for disagreeing with the majority.7 Announcement: At a specified time, t

14、he Court announces its opinion from the bench, excerpts of the opinions are read, and copies of all written opinions are released and, in addition, placed on the internet.3. the American public & political knowledgeThe Level of Political Information among the American PublicPercentQuestionYear63%Kno

15、w whether their House incumbent is a Democrat or Republican199560%Know the president nominates federal judges199258%Know that Roe v. Wade is about abortion rights198958%Know that the Supreme Court decides constitutional questions 199257%Know that the Republican Party is the more conservative party19

16、9255%Can name one of two U.S. Senators from their state198950%Can name the president of Russia (Yeltsin at the time)199448%Can name the Secretary of State (Powell)200246%Can identify the first ten amendments as the Bill of Rights198940%Can name their representative to the House199734%Can name the se

17、cretary of state (Albright)199030%Know term of U.S. House member is two years199829%Can Name the Secretary of Defense (Rumsfeld)200225%Can name both U.S. Senators from their state1999 8%Can name the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court1987Source: Adapted from Robert Erikson and Kent Tedin, American

18、 Public Opinion, 7th Edition (Table 3.1) and 6th Edition (Table 3.1).4. political interest , by educationEach election year since 1964, the National Election Study survey has asked the following question:“Some people seem to follow whats going on in government and public affairs most of the time, wh

19、ether theres an election going on or not. Others arent that interested. Would you say you follow whats going on in government and public affairs most of the time, some of the time, only now and then, or hardly at all?” This graph presents the average proportion (1964-1998) answering most or some of

20、the time for four levels of education. 5.political ideology in the united statesIdeology in the American Public, 1973-2006YearExtremelyLiberal &LiberalSlightlyLiberalModerateSlightlyConservativeExtremelyConservative&ConservativeAll ConservativeMinusAll LiberalDontKnowModeratePlusDont KnowModerateDon

21、t KnowSlightly19731813361316-26426819741514381513-1543721975151338161205437219761512371515364370197713143716154542721978101636171455417419801014401815924274198211153914175443721984111239191612443741985131137181711441701986111239161710544721988141335171774396919891512371615464371199013133518181043970

22、199112143914175443711993131336171910339691994131335161993386719961212361619115416919981512351518654067200015103814187543672002131238151883416820042006200812141512111137383716141321202013972343941416666656.party identification in the USParty Identification, 1952-2004YearDemocratsIndependentsRepublica

23、nDemAdvantage19524723281919544722272019564423291519584919282119604523301519624621281619645223252719664628252119684530252019704431242019724134231819743837221619764037231719783938211819804134231819824430242019843734271019864033271319883536287199039352514199235392691994343531319963735271019983736261120

24、0034402410200234363042004323928420083637279Source: Compiled by the author from National Election Studies.7.turnout in American electionsTurnout in American National Elections, 1952-2008Presidential Elections(Percent of Eligible Electorate Casting a Ballot for President) Year Turnout 1952 62.3% 1956

25、60.2% 1960 63.8% 1964 62.8% 1968 62.5% 1972 56.2% 1976 54.8% 1980 54.2% 1984 55.2% 1988 52.8% 1992 58.1% 1996 51.7%2000 54.2%2004 60.3%2008 62.3%Congressional Midterm Elections(Percent Casting a Ballot in Elections for the House of Representatives) 1954 43.5% 1958 45.0% 1962 47.7% 1966 48.7% 1970 47

26、.3% 1974 39.1% 1978 39.0% 1982 42.0% 1986 38.1% 1990 38.4% 1994 41.1% 1998 38.1% 2002 39.5% 2006 43.6%8. pluralist theoryInterest Groups, Pluralist Theory, and Policy MakingThe “logic” of this section(a) We will review what is called the “economic” or “market” model noting how free markets operate(b

27、) Assuming markets operate as expected, they generate certain desirable features(c) The next segment will show that “pluralist theory” is an attempt to “apply” the market model to interest groups; it hinges on interest group competition and is based upon three key propositions(d) If the “political m

28、odel” operates as expected, then the policy making process will produce equally desirable features(e) We will then “critique” or critically analyze “pluralist theory”The Propositions of Pluralist TheoryProposition #1: Representation - Leaders and MembersLeaders are assumed, in their political activity, to represent the political beliefs and preferences of the membership as it pertains to the issue at hand. In other words, it is assumed that when organized labor opposes a trade agreement, this opposition is a reflection, in part, o