Politics and Government of the U.S.
Political Science 211
Fall 2009
Dr. Sean F. Evans
Office: PAC A-38
Phone: (731) 661-5237
Email: sevans@uu.edu
Introduction
With the election of Barack Obama and large Democratic majorities, “change” is in the air. But what is the change that we can believe in and how do we achieve it? This course aims to answer these questions, but probably not in the way that the candidates would want us to. Most people believe that change can come by simply replacing personnel – and that is true to an extent. However, the institutions and laws of government also matter and influence how politicians and citizens act. Changing those institutions are much more harder and are things that we may not want to do. In fact, many of the problems we face result from the Founder’s system of government that creates gridlock and compromise – and that can be a good thing.
So over the course of this semester, we will try to do several things. First, we will discuss how government really operates and how individuals can change the system and be trapped by it. Second, we want you to understand how you can change politics. Third, we want you to understand the appropriate way for Christians to view and influence government. Fourth, we want you to develop your analytical and communication skills as we help prepare you to be active citizens but also good doctors, teachers, attorneys, pastors, parents, etc.
Course Requirements
Readings. I have selected readings that I hope you find are both interesting and challenging. The textbook for this class is:
Janda, Kenneth, Jeffrey Berry, Jerry Goldman, and Kevin Hula. 2008. The Challenge of Democracy, Student Achievement Series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
This book is available at Lifeway Bookstore. In addition, there are readings on reserve in Summar Library that supplement the lectures. The reserve readings are very important and complement the lectures. Please complete the readings by the assigned day.
Grading. Your grade for this course is determined from three exams, the congressional simulation, and your in-class participation. Exams are composed of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. The multiple choice questions test your factual knowledge while the short answer and essay questions assess your ability to critique, evaluate, and synthesize ideas. There are three exams in this class and each is worth 20% of your grade and the exams are cumulative. There are no make-up exams so if you miss an exam, the final counts twice.
Grade
inflation exists in some classes. It
does not exist in this one. I have high
expectations for your performance in this class and expect you to meet them. Just as we expect
While I have high expectations, I do, however, reserve the right to curve grades to your benefit. In addition, what is important is what you know at the end of the semester and not at the beginning. Therefore, if a student makes substantial improvement over the course of the semester, the student’s grade is based on his or her work at the end of the semester (e.g., D on first test but A on last test and active participation and positive contribution to simulation, A for the course).
After exams are returned, you must wait 24 hours before discussing the exam with me. This serves as both a cooling off period and as a time for you to reflect upon the exam and what you may have done wrong. We will then sit down and discuss any problems you may have had with the exam, how we can correct this, and how you can improve over the course of the semester. If I make a mistake, I will rectify that but I do not engage in point grubbing.
Budget Simulation. In this class, we talk a lot about self-interest. Since our discussions may seem a bit abstract, we will make self-interest come alive through a simulation where each student acts as a Congress(wo)man trying to enact a budget. In this simulation, each student will act as a Member of Congress on the Budget Committee. You will not act as Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, or John Tanner, but as the Congressperson representing the district from that party under the same political circumstances with the same political ideology, etc. After the drop date, we will draw for the member whose district and situation you will imitate.
While members have multiple goals, reelection should have in high priority in your considerations. So when deciding whether to support or oppose various amendments or the final bill, what amendments to offer, and the content of your speech, you must keep this reelection goal in mind. While the focus on reelection may seem a bit cynical, please remember though that you cannot make policy or have influence unless you are reelected.
While every member is important, the committee chair and ranking member play slightly more important roles. The committee chair’s goal is to pass a bill that s/he and the party support. In short, the chair organizes the coalition to pass and defend the party’s budget. As such, the chair will present the chair’s mark (or a draft bill) to the committee before the scheduled committee meeting. S/he will then preside over the committee mark-up. The ranking member is the shadow committee chair and works to defeat majority party proposals and pass minority party preferred legislation. While the ranking member has few procedural powers, s/he can use his or her political skills to force the majority to do things it does not want to do by offering amendments that certain members of the majority must support for reelection but would unravel the coalition supporting the bill. Of course, the chair attempts to do the same to gain minority party support for the bill. I expect all members to be full participants in the simulation so if the committee chair or ranking member asks for your help, you should provide it.
To help you prepare, each member will turn in a paper discussing your district, your political situation, and your member’s views (personal and political) on the budget. Once you turn in the paper, you must stop by my office within a week to go over the paper so that you will know my expectations and have the time to conduct any additional research or revise the paper as necessary. The paper will discuss the following. First, what is important to your constituency? What are its major industries? Is the district rural or urban or both? Is it rich or poor? What are the demographics? What is the partisan and ideological distribution of the district? From this, you should determine what your constituents want and do not want in the budget. Second, what is your ideology? Are you likely to support more or less spending? Are you more likely to support tax cuts or do you want to repeal the Bush tax cut to spend more on health care, education, and the environment? Third, what is your political situation? Did you have a close race last time? Are you facing a credible opponent next election? Are you in a district that leans the other way politically? Who supports you, both financially and with votes, in the district and what do they want in the budget? Fourth, relate all of this to your goal of reelection and the policy position that you take. You can find the information you need from books such as Politics in America, the Almanac of American Politics, Congressional Districts in the 2000s, and web sites such as www.house.gov, www.vote-smart.org, www.opensecrets.org, www.census.gov, etc. If you go to my home page, there are many links for different political resources under “Political Links” at www.uu.edu/personal/sevans.
The simulation will begin with members meeting in party caucuses and planning their strategy. First, the parties will choose their respective chair and ranking member. Second, the majority will develop a prospective budget while the minority will develop amendments to enact their policy preferences and damage the majority politically. The chair’s mark, the majority’s draft budget, will be provided to all members two days before the mark-up. In the strategy session, the chair/ranking member will build a coalition to pass their bill. In this, the two parties will develop arguments to support their bill, criticisms of their opponents, and rebuttals for that criticism. Everyone should consider the political ramifications of the bill for themselves and their party and should maximize their political and partisan advantages while minimizing their political and partisan problems. Both sides should prepare for any potential amendments that will be offered.
At the mark-up, each member will present a one minute speech outlining what s/he considers important. Please remember that the audience for your speech is not just other committee members but constituents and other important political actors. This means that your speech should be passionate and appeal to these groups. The speech may reach out to your constituency, may provide the logic of your argument, may attack the other party for raising taxes on working Americans or throwing little old grandmas out into the cold through their budget cuts, or do both. After the speeches, the committee will then debate and amend the bill following typical parliamentary procedure. Hopefully, the committee will pass a bill. You will then revise your policy/political paper accordingly and add three new sections. The three new sections include: what you did in the simulation and why (from caucus to mark-up), what you learned from the simulation, and what all of this means for the government as a representative and governing institution. You should also add in an Appendix a copy of your speech and any amendments that you may offer. This revised paper will be due the class after the simulation ends. The paper, your participation, and cooperation will count for 30% of your grade. Failure to attend a simulation day will result in a one letter grade reduction on the simulation grade.
In writing your simulation paper, please write in a clear and organized fashion. Be sure to include a thesis, topic sentences, introduction, conclusion, etc. While this is not a grammar course, an integral part of communication is good grammar. As such, I will stop reading any paper that has not been spell checked or grammar checked (it is usually easy to tell) and assign that paper an F. Since the simulation paper requires some outside research, proper citations are required and rules against plagiarism are enforced. For more information, please check out my Writing Guide at www.uu.edu/personal/sevans/wrtngguide.htm.
Participation. I expect all of you to participate in class. This is a means of improving your communication skills and a means of determining how well you are learning the material. Moreover, the subject matter may be difficult so feel free to ask questions. Nine times out of ten, if you have a question, there are several of your colleagues with the same question. By asking questions, you help yourself and your colleagues. If you are still confused, I am more than happy to discuss the class either before or after class or by phone or email. In our class discussions though, I expect you to treat your classmates with the respect that you would like to be accorded when you are speaking.
Class participation is worth 10% of your grade and is assessed on the basis of class attendance and participation. In assessing your participation, I take into account quality and quantity of comments but put a greater focus on quality. As a suggestion, I find that students increase their ability to participate by reading and bringing the relevant reserve readings and textbook to class. Finally, when and/or if I curve test or final grades, I reserve the right to withhold the curve from students who never attend class.
Extracurricular: Students are expected to attend any special political events this semester. This includes, among others, the Constitution Day event on Washington, the Scholarship Banquet, and the Townhall with Congressman Tanner and Congresswoman Emerson.
Cheating: Don’t do it. Anyone caught cheating receives an automatic “F” for the course and will be referred to the appropriate authorities for further punishment.
Communication Devices: Please turn off all cell phones and other
portable electronic devices while in my class.
Your life is not so important that you need to answer the phone or text
your friend immediately. If found using
any such device, I reserve the right to answer the phone and/or read your text
message to the class. Moreover, I will confiscate your communication device
until the next class meeting. Therefore, if you have an emergency necessitating
having the communication device on, please let me know before the class.
Audio/Video Recording: No audio or video recording of classroom activity is permitted
without my prior approval. This prohibition includes cellphone
camera functions, laptop audio or video functions, and all other digital or
analog recording equipment.
Lap top computers: Students are welcome to use lap top computers in my class
as long as they are not a distraction to the user or others (e.g., noise,
email, internet use not connected to the course, playing games) and it does not
create a hazard to others (e.g., extension cord in the aisle).
Special Needs: Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations should discuss options with the instructor the first week of class.
Continuity of Instruction: In the event that this course is no longer able to meet face-to-face, students should first immediate check their email account for instructions. If there are no instructions there, please check your cell phone.
The Syllabus. I reserve the right and prerogative to modify the syllabus in accordance with student and professorial needs. The syllabus should not be construed as a contract.
Course Outline
Aug. 26 Introduction
Aug. 28 Dilemmas of Democracy
JBGH Ch.1
Aug. 31The Constitution
JBGH Ch. 2
Sept. 2 Founders’ Theory of Government
Federalist #10 on reserve
Sept. 4 Founders’ Theory of Government
Federalist #51 on reserve
Sept. 7 Labor Day – No Class
Sept. 9 Federalism
JBGH Ch. 3
Sept. 11 Policy Making
JBGH Ch. 14
Sept. 14 Budget
Policy
Sept. 16 Economic Policy
Sept. 18 Health Care Policy
Sept. 21 Catch up
Choose Member of
Congress for Budget Simulation
Sept. 23 First Exam
Sept. 25 Participation
JBGH Ch. 5; Rosenstone and Hansen Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America, Chs. 2 & 5 on reserve
Sept. 28 Participation
Sept. 30 Socialization
JBGH Ch. 4
Oct. 2 Public Opinion
Berelson et al. "Democratic Theory and Democratic Practice" and Key’s “The Responsible Electorate” in Woll’s American Government
Oct. 5 Media
Oct. 7 Voting
Oct. 9 Political Parties
JBGH Ch. 6
Oct. 12 Campaign Strategy
Jones Lecture with Congressman Tanner and Congresswoman Emerson
Oct. 14 Campaign Strategy
Member of Congress
Paper Due
Oct. 15-19 Fall Break
Oct. 21 Interest Groups/Pluralism
JBGH Ch. 7
Oct. 23 Interest Groups
Oct. 26 Catch up
Oct. 28 Second Exam
Oct. 30 Goals/Careers of Members Congress
JBGH Ch. 8; Mayhew "Congress: The Electoral Connection," Fiorina "The Rise of the Washington Establishment," Fenno "Home Style and Washington Career," and Fenno “If Congress is the Broken Branch . . .” in Woll American Government on reserve
Nov. 2 Committees
Nov. 4 Day of Remembrance – No Class
Nov. 6 Budget Simulation: Party Caucus
Nov. 9 Legislative Leadership
Nov. 11 Presidency
JBGH Ch. 9
Nov. 13 Presidential Power
Nov. 16 Budget Simulation
Nov. 18 Budget Simulation
Nov. 20 Presidential Power
Simulation Paper due
Nov. 23 White House Organization
Nov. 25-27
Thanksgiving
Nov. 30 Courts
JBGH Ch. 11
Dec. 2 Civil Rights
JBGH Ch.
Dec. 4 Civil Liberties
JBGH Ch. 12
Dec. 7 Final Exam 2pm