American Politics Commons^™

Remapping A Nation Without States: Personalized Full Representation For California’S 21st Century, Mark Paul, Micah Weinberg

Mark Paul

California is a state of many distinct regions. To give citizens a voice on regional issues and to reinvigorate California’s Legislature, the state’s central institution of self-government, we propose Personalized Full Representation for the 21st Century (PFR21), a system of representation by means of regionally based legislative elections that will allow the state’s citizens to set the agenda for their regions and for the state as a whole. By reshaping the stage on which legisla- tive politics is played out, California can make state govern- ment more attentive to regional issues and give its citizens a means of holding elected …

From Libertarian To 'Ron Paul' Republican, Craig J. Westover

Craig J Westover

Amid the footballs and Frisbees and flags flying over the soccer field at the National Sports Center in Blaine; among the young families sitting on blankets, the older couples comfortably ensconced in canvas lawn chairs, the people of all ages decked out in revolutionary-era garb, Ron Paul and anti-war T-shirts, and red, white and blue in a cacophony of fashion statements, a bald head bobbed along the lengthy beer line snaking along what is normally a soccer field sideline. John Cunningham, looking every bit the 52-year-old Republican (alternate) delegate he is in a gray suit and conservative tie, passed out …

Obama And Mccain: Running For An Office Not In The Constitution, Craig J. Westover

Craig J Westover

Between now and the November elections, Barack Obama and John McCain will each spend millions of dollars to describe his vision to the American people. From ridding the world of evil to making sure our credit card payments are properly recorded, no task is too sublime or too trivial for the candidates' attention — or voter expectations.

And there's the rub.

The claim of expansive presidential capability to solve the ills of mankind is more than simply over-promising and under-delivering. A president of whom great deeds are expected will demand — or seize — great power to tackle those expectations. …

Convention Speeches: 'The World As It Should Be', Craig J. Westover

Craig J Westover

Two emotional speeches at the Democratic National Convention Monday Night – by an ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy and vivacious Michelle Obama – were often interrupted by applause. Camera cuts vividly pictured delegates wiping away or smiling through tears, visibly moved by the speakers. Even watching on television, one was cognizant of the emotions swirling inside the Pepsi Center.

We do not expect (although perhaps we should raise our expectations a little) that politicians today match the eloquence of a Lincoln. And one could argue that with their speeches Sen. Kennedy and Ms. Obama accomplished what Lincoln did not – reaching …

Sustainable Master Planning In Urban Politics And Policy: A Service Learning Project, Shannon Jenkins

Shannon Jenkins

Despite evidence that service learning projects can have positive effects on students’ learning and civic engagement, such projects are not yet widely utilized in political science. This seems to be driven, in part, by the concern that service learning projects may politicize students. In my Urban Politics and Policy class, I implemented a service learning project that sought to avoid the problem of politicization. This project focused on developing a sustainable master plan in a local community. While the experience had some limitations, assessment data demonstrate a positive impact on my students’ understanding of the material covered in class and …

The Effects Of Australian Ballot Rules On Constituent Spending And Committee Assignments In The U.S. House, 1885-1901, Jill Wittrock, Stephen Nemeth, Howard Sanborn, Brian Disarro, Peverill Squire

Howard Sanborn

Katz and Sala linked the development of committee property rights in the late-nineteenth-century U.S. House of Representatives to the introduction of theAustralian ballot. If, as they posited, members sought personal reputations to carry them to reelection in the new electoral environment, the current article argues that behaviors with more imme diate political payoffs also should have changed inways their theory would predict. The article examines whether committee assignments, floor voting behavior, and the distribution of pork barrel projects changed in predicted ways and finds supportive outcomes, but usually only when the office bloc ballot, and not the party bloc ballot, …

Party Influence On Roll Call Voting: A View From The U.S. States, Shannon Jenkins

Shannon Jenkins

Recent studies have documented that parties influence legislative behavior. But such studies have been unable to distinguish between party voting stemming from ideological agreement and true party influence, as most lack independent measures of legislator ideology and have not been tested at the U.S. state level. Using survey data to control for legislator ideology, this analysis looks at how and under what conditions parties influence voting in three sessions of five state legislatures. The results suggest party influence on voting in the states is partly due to the fact that legislators have similar beliefs and represent similar people. Nonetheless, parties …