Revolving Gridlock

Revolving Gridlock PDF Author: David W. Brady
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429974345
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Despite the early prospects for bipartisan unity on terrorism initiatives, government gridlock continues on most major issues in the wake of the 2004 elections. In this fully revised edition, political scientists David W. Brady and Craig Volden demonstrate that gridlock is not a product of divided government, party politics, or any of the usual scapegoats. It is, instead, an instrumental part of American government?built into our institutions and sustained by leaders acting rationally not only to achieve set goals but to thwart foolish inadvertencies. Looking at key legislative issues from the divided government under Reagan, through Clinton's Democratic government to complete unified Republican control under George W. Bush, the authors clearly and carefully analyze important crux points in lawmaking: the swing votes, the veto, the filibuster, and the rise of tough budget politics. They show that when it comes to government gridlock, it doesn't matter who's in the White House or who's in control of Congress; it's as American as apple pie, and its results may ultimately be as sweet in ensuring stability and democracy.

Revolving Gridlock

Revolving Gridlock PDF Author: David W. Brady
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429974345
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Get Book

Book Description
Despite the early prospects for bipartisan unity on terrorism initiatives, government gridlock continues on most major issues in the wake of the 2004 elections. In this fully revised edition, political scientists David W. Brady and Craig Volden demonstrate that gridlock is not a product of divided government, party politics, or any of the usual scapegoats. It is, instead, an instrumental part of American government?built into our institutions and sustained by leaders acting rationally not only to achieve set goals but to thwart foolish inadvertencies. Looking at key legislative issues from the divided government under Reagan, through Clinton's Democratic government to complete unified Republican control under George W. Bush, the authors clearly and carefully analyze important crux points in lawmaking: the swing votes, the veto, the filibuster, and the rise of tough budget politics. They show that when it comes to government gridlock, it doesn't matter who's in the White House or who's in control of Congress; it's as American as apple pie, and its results may ultimately be as sweet in ensuring stability and democracy.

Rivals for Power

Rivals for Power PDF Author: James A. Thurber
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742509917
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
The first President Bush faced a long-entrenched Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. In his first term, Clinton entered into a unified government for the first time in many years, but all that changed with the midterm elections of 1994. The second President Bush faces a closely divided government whose balance could shift at any time. Through it all, the presidential-congressional rivalry continues unabated. What is it about the institutional relationship between Congress and the presidency that ensures conflict even in the face of necessary cooperation? Here, well-known scholars and practitioners of congressional-presidential relations come together to explore both branches of government and what unites as well as divides them. Highlights include chapters on budgetary politics in a time of surplus, the impacts of campaign message and election mandates, and congressional-presidential relations during transitions. Case studies of budget battles, health care task forces, and armed conflicts in foreign lands lend concrete detail to political theory. First hand experience on the Hill and in the Oval Office and everywhere in between is reflected in each chapter. Although nothing can rival election 2000 for its challenges to both Congress and the presidency, Rivals For Power shows how even an extraordinary electoral result is subject to the rules and rigors of Washington's built-in rivalry."

The Clinton Riddle

The Clinton Riddle PDF Author: Todd G. Shields
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
ISBN: 9781557287809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
In 2002 a distinguished interdisciplinary group of scholars gathered at the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas to provide a critical evaluation of the Clinton-Gore administration. Their groundbreaking assessment of the most controversial president in modern times treats such crucial topics as race, women, and minorities; the character issue; foreign policy; and the media. This book provides a unique vantage point on the "Clinton riddle” that all future studies will need to consider.

The Struggle to Limit Government

The Struggle to Limit Government PDF Author: John Samples
Publisher: Cato Institute
ISBN: 1935308297
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
In 1980, Ronald Reagan said, “It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. This book surveys the highlights and low points of the nearly 30-year struggle to limit American government, set against the big-government world of the New Deal and the Great Society.

The Collapse Of The Democratic Presidential Majority

The Collapse Of The Democratic Presidential Majority PDF Author: David G Lawrence
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042996529X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The Collapse of the Democratic Presidential Majority makes sense of the last half century of American presidential elections as part of a transition from a world in which realignment was still possible to a dealigned political universe. The book combines analysis of presidential elections in the postwar world with theories of electoral changeshowing how Reagan bridged the eras of re- and dealignment and why Clinton was elected despite the postwar trend. American electoral politics since World War II stubbornly refuse to fit the theories of political scientists. The long collapse of the Democratic presidential majority does not look much like the classic realignments of the past: The Republicans made no corresponding gains in sub-presidential elections and never won the loyalty of a majority of the electorate in terms of party identification. And yet, the period shows a stability of Republican dominance quite at odds with the volatility and unpredictability central to the competing theory of dealignment. The Collapse of the Democratic Presidential Majority makes sense of the last half century of American presidential elections as part of a transition from a world in which realignment was still possible to a dealigned political universe. The book combines analysis of presidential elections in the postwar world with theories of electoral changeshowing how Reagan bridged the eras of re- and dealignment and why Clinton was elected despite the postwar trend.

Between Law and Politics

Between Law and Politics PDF Author: Richard L. Pacelle
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603447016
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
At the intersection of law and politics stands the U.S. Solicitor General. Although even the informed public rarely thinks of the solicitor general in relation to the major issues that have challenged American society, this office actually has considerable control over the cases the Supreme Court addresses. To bring the Office of Solicitor General (OSG) out of the shadows and into the clear light of public attention, Between Law and Politics looks at three hotly contested policy areas?race, gender, and reproductive rights?to see how the office balances the goals of the president, Congress, and the Supreme Court.The OSG is charged with helping the Supreme Court build a coherent doctrine and imposing some stability on the law. At the same time, the solicitor general is a presidential appointee. Deciding which cases to appeal, arguing those cases before the Supreme Court, and filing friendofthecourt briefs means the solicitor general plays an important role in furthering the policy objections of the current administration. Therein lies the tension between law and politics that is at the heart of the calculations the solicitor general makes on a daily basis.Using interviews with solicitors general and their staffs, members of the Department of Justice, and others, and analyzing Supreme Court cases beginning with the Truman administration, Richard Pacelle shows how the OSG balances the competing forces in its environment. His analysis is undergirded by aggregate analysis of the data gathered.This detailed and systematic study will be of great interest to those who study the Supreme Court, the presidency, and public policy. It is unique in its close examination of a number of particular areas of law and the strength and persuasiveness of its analysis of the competing constituencies that face the Office of the Solicitor General. The timeliness and controversial nature of the policy areas Pacelle examines give the book further importance to students of American politics.

Parties, Rules, and the Evolution of Congressional Budgeting

Parties, Rules, and the Evolution of Congressional Budgeting PDF Author: Lance T. LeLoup
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
ISBN: 0814210074
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description


The Phantom of a Polarized America

The Phantom of a Polarized America PDF Author: Manabu Saeki
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438459076
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Indicates how the rightward shift in the ideology of House Republicans has been mistaken for a broader “polarization” of both parties as well as voters. There is a widespread belief that American politics is becoming more polarized, in the sense that the Republican Party and electorate are becoming more conservative while the Democratic Party and electorate are becoming more liberal. But is this truly the case? The Phantom of a Polarized America places widely held scholarly assumptions about the “polarization” of American politics under the microscope and tests them to determine their veracity. In the case of Congress, Manabu Saeki reveals that contrary to popular beliefs, polarization is largely due to the rightward shift of Republican legislators without any corresponding leftward shift by Democratic legislators. The conservative shift of House Republican ideology has produced a rightward shift of Republican voters, and conservative voters in the Democratic Party have switched to the Republican Party, resulting in a more liberal Democratic Party overall. Saeki concludes that the so-called “polarization” of American politics is largely a phantom being; in truth, it is a neo-conservative movement led by House Republicans.

Congress Reconsidered

Congress Reconsidered PDF Author: Lawrence C. Dodd
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 1506328792
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
For almost four decades, the editors of Congress Reconsidered, Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer have delivered the best contemporary work from leading congressional scholars in a form that is both analytical and accessible. The tradition continues in this Eleventh Edition as contributing authors focus on the many ways Congress has changed over time and examine the conditions that foster these developments. Some of the most noted names in congressional studies address topics from broad dynamics affecting the institution, elections and constituencies, parties and internal organization, inter-branch relations, and policymaking. This new edition also ends with a capstone chapter on the milestone 2016 elections. Simply put, this bestselling volume remains on the cutting edge of scholarship, identifying patterns of change in Congress and placing those patterns in context.

The American Middle Class [2 volumes]

The American Middle Class [2 volumes] PDF Author: Robert S. Rycroft
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1610697588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1087

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Book Description
What is the "American Dream"? This book's author argues that contrary to what many believe, it is not achieving the wealth necessary to enter the top one percent but rather becoming members of the great middle class by dint of hard work and self-discipline. Americans of all classes consider themselves to be "middle class." There are Americans who by any objective standard should be considered poor who would insist they are middle class, just as other Americans who should be considered wealthy also insist they are middle class. Thinking of yourself and being thought of by others as middle class is the "American Dream" for tens of millions of people. But an enduring problem of the American middle class is the worry that the "Dream" is coming apart—that forces are lurking in the shadows waiting to steal their progress and throw them back into "poverty." This thought-provoking reference explores a disparate multitude of issues associated with being middle class in America. It addresses a range of questions and subtopics, including the meaning of the term "middle class"; how middle class status is expressed by both the majority and the various minorities that make up the American mosaic; what economic pressures are bearing down on the middle class; and how economists and others attempt to make sense of the economic issues of the day. Readers will also better understand how political institutions and public policies are shaping the way the middle class views the world; how labor, housing, education, and crime-related issues have influenced the development and growth of the middle class; the norms of the middle class versus those of other classes in society; and the role of culture and media in shaping how members of the middle class view themselves—and how they are viewed by others. This two-volume set provides a comprehensive look at the American middle class that supports student research in economics, social studies, cultural studies, and political history. The content supports teachers in their development of lesson plans and assignments that directly align with the Common Core State Standards and the recommendations of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS) with respect to all ten NCSS themes.