POS 4424
LEGISLATIVE POLITICS
Spring 2013
David Hedge
218 Anderson Hall
Ph: 273-2367
Email: dhedge@ufl.edu
Course Webpage:
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dhedge/pos4424.html
Office Hours:
M, W, F
8:30-10:00 and by apt
COURSE OVERVIEW
This is an
important time to be
studying the U. S, Congress. The 2010 mid-term and the
2012 elections
illustrate how volatile Congressional and American politics have
become in
recent years. Divided government aside, the problems
facing America
require at least some action from the Congress and the
president. That will not
be easy. Congress is a complex institution that is pulled
in several
different directions by a myriad of influences within and
outside its
walls. Throughout the semester, we will look at how those
influences
shape the Congress’ ability to represent the American people
while working with
the President and others to govern wisely. Among the topics we
will consider
are: (a) recruitment and election
of members; (b)
congressional organization; (c)
executive-legislative
relations; (d) legislative policy-making; and
(e)
congressional reform. In doing that, a number of issues
will be
addressed, including:
* What kinds
of changes
have occurred in the basic operations of the Congress in recent
decades?
What are the implications of those changes for the quality of
congressional
life?
* What
forces operate in
congressional elections? How have congressional
elections changed
in recent years? What changes, if any, need to
be made in how
congressional elections are financed and contested?
* What
should be the
respective roles of Congress and the President?
* To what
extent is the
Congress able to produce effective public policies that are
responsive to the
needs and demands of the American people? What
institutional
characteristics contribute to and detract from Congress’ ability
to govern and
govern wisely?
* What
changes are needed
to make Congress a viable democratic institution? To what
extent, and in
what ways, are those changes likely to occur in the first
decades of the new
century?
THE COURSE WEB PAGE—I have created
a web page for this course at the address listed
above. It includes
links to the course syllabus and a number of relevant web
sites. I
have also created a course listserv.
TEXTS—Students are expected to
purchase the
following texts:
Davidson, Roger, Walter
Oleszek, and
Francis Lee. 2011. Congress and its Members. 13th
ed. (CQ Press)
Maraniss,
David and MichaelWeisskopf. 1998.
“Tell Newt to Shut Up!” (Touchstone)
Mayhew, David. 1994. Congress:
The Electoral Connection, 2nd ed. (Yale University
Press)
I have (or will)
also created links
(labeled @) to a series of articles on the on-line version of
the course
syllabus.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS\EXPECTATIONS
1. Students with disabilities
requesting classroom
accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students
Office. The Dean of
Students Office will provide documentation to the student who
must then provide
this documentation to the Instructor when requesting
accommodation. Anyone with
a disability should feel free to see the professor during office
hours to make
the necessary arrangements.
2. Students are expected
to attend
class regularly and participate in class discussion.
3. The level of readings
for this
course is moderately heavy. I expect you to read all of
the assignments
(on schedule) and be prepared to discuss those materials in
class.
4. Current events
in Washington provide an exciting backdrop for the
course. The New
York Times, The Washington Post, the Washington
Times, The Wall
Street Journal, The PBS Newshour, and the Sunday talk shows are
excellent
sources of information on current political
developments.
5. Throughout the term
each of you will
be asked to write a series (7-9) of short (1-2 pages) written
assignments. There will be two exams. Each
exam will consist
of a combination of multiple choice and essay questions. The
first exam is
tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 25 and the second
exam will be held
on the last day of class. The final grade will be
apportioned as
follows:
Short Written Assignments
20%
Exam # 1
40%
Exam # 2
40%
Incompletes are only given in rare and deserving cases and
at the
discretion of the instructor. Student who believe that they will
not be able to
complete all the requirements for the course in due time have to
discuss an “I”
(Incomplete) grade with the instructor. Students will have
to sign an
“Incomplete Contract” (available at http://www.clas.ufl.edu/forms/)
and complete all their requirements by a set date. Students
should be aware
that “I” grades become punitive after one term.
Grading Scale:
90-100
A
87-89 A-
84-86
B+
80-83 B
77-79
B-
74-76 C+
70-73
C
67-69 C-
64-66
D+
60-63 D
57-59
D-
Below 57 E
Please note: a C- is not a qualifying grade for major,
minor, Gen Ed,
Gordon Rule, or College Basic distribution credit. For more
information, go to:
http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html
6. Students are expected
to comply
with UF’s Academic Honesty Guidelines Students who commit
an act of
academic dishonesty will recieve the appropriate sanctions.
For more information, go
to: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/studentrights.php
.
COURSE OUTLINE AND
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Congress: An Overview
Topic:
Judging the Congress
Readings:
Rieselbach, 1994,
“Congressional Reform” (class handout)
Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee, Chapter 1.
Topic: A Changing
Congress
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and Lee Chapters 1 and 2.
Shepsle,
“The
Changing
Textbook Congress.” @
Mayhew,
Congress: The Electoral Connection. ALL.
Selection of Legislators
Topics: Districting
and Apportionment, Nomination
Politics,
Campaign
Finance, The
Voter, Election
Outcomes ,Campaign Reform
Readings: Davidson, Oleszek and Lee,
Chapters 3 and 4.
Murray,
“Candidacy
Fosters
a Debate on Race,” July 6, 2006, Washington Post
online. @
The Legislator
Topics:
Membership Profiles , Members
and Their Districts
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and Lee, Ch. 5.
Term
Limits: The Cato Institute, A case for limits.@
Rep
Henry
Hyde (R) A
case against
term limits @
Organizing Congress
Topics:
Informal Norms,
Informal Groups
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and Lee pp. 133-134, 191-192.
Topic: The
Committee System
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and Lee, Chapter 7.
Topic: The
Party System
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and
Lee, Chapter 6.
Paul
Kane, October 27, 2010, “The Rise, fall, and rise of John
Boehner,” Washington
Post Online edition.
@
“Tell
Newt To Shut Up!” ALL
Executive-Legislative Relations
Topic: Congress and the President
Readings:
Davidson,
Oleszek and Lee, Chapters 10 and 15
Robert
M Cheney. June 17, 2011. “A Primer
on the
Libya/War Powers Resolution Compliance Debate.”
Brookings
Institute Online. @
Topic:
Congress and the Bureaucracy
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek and Lee, Chapter 11.
Hedge
and
Johnson. July, 2002. “The Plot
that
Failed: The Republican Revolution and Congressional
Control of the
Bureaucracy.” Journal of Public
Administration Research
and Theory.
UF
e-journals.
Congress and the
Courts
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee, Ch. 12.
Congressional Decision-Making
Topics:
The Role of Lobbyists, Individual Decision Making
,
Collective Decision
Making
Readings:
Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee,
Chapters 8, 9 and 13.