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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Political Opportunism, Position Taking, And Court-Curbing Legislation., Laura Moyer, Ellen M. Key Jun 2019

Political Opportunism, Position Taking, And Court-Curbing Legislation., Laura Moyer, Ellen M. Key

Laura Moyer

Although there is extensive scholarship on court-curbing efforts directed at the U.S. Supreme Court, much less is known about bills targeting the lower federal courts. This article argues that members of Congress also engage in position taking with respect to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, by proposing legislation to divide up the Ninth Circuit. Over seven decades, no other circuit has attracted as much court-curbing legislation as the Ninth Circuit, and yet no bill has succeeded. What accounts for this persistent focus on one court? We argue that bill sponsors are motivated primarily by electoral considerations and capitalize on the …


Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn Dec 2008

Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

José D. Villalobos

Scholars traditionally frame presidential efforts to politicize the federal bureaucracy as the result of divergence between the president's preferences and an agency's output. The authors argue that presidential concern with agency output is dynamic and is in part conditioned by the president's relationship with the public. To assess the relationship between politicization and public opinion, the authors use a data set that combines information on presidential efforts to politicize the Council of Economic Advisers from 1989 to 2004 with that of public attitudes concerning the president's handling of the economy. Their results indicate that public opinion does indeed bear a …


Public Responses To Health Disparities: How Group Cues Structure Support For Government Intervention, Elizabeth Rigby, Joe Soss, Bridget Booske, Angela Rohan, Stephanie Roberts Dec 2008

Public Responses To Health Disparities: How Group Cues Structure Support For Government Intervention, Elizabeth Rigby, Joe Soss, Bridget Booske, Angela Rohan, Stephanie Roberts

Elizabeth Rigby

OBJECTIVE. To examine whether public support for government intervention to address health disparities varies when disparities are framed in terms of different social groups. METHOD. A survey experiment was embedded in a public opinion poll of Wisconsin adults. Respondents were randomly assigned to answer questions about either racial, economic, or education disparities in health. Ordered logit regression analyses examine differences across experimental conditions in support for government intervention to address health disparities. RESULTSs. Health disparities between economic groups received the broadest support for government intervention, while racial disparities in health received the least support for government intervention. These differences were …


The George W. Bush Legacy, Caroline Heldman Aug 2008

The George W. Bush Legacy, Caroline Heldman

Caroline Heldman

Book review of The George W. Bush Legacy. Bush will be known for his ideological polarization of the political parties, his expansion of presidential power, and his appointment of a more conservative federal judiciary. The 2006 election was a major turning point for the White House in terms of public opinion and the loss of a Republican majority in Congress, and only time will tell whether the last two years will shift the direction of the Bush legacy.


Micro And Macro Level Explanations Of The Presidential Expectations Gap, Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Richard Waterman Dec 2004

Micro And Macro Level Explanations Of The Presidential Expectations Gap, Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Richard Waterman

Hank C Jenkins-Smith

The idea that the public expects more from its presidents than they are able to deliver long has been a mainstay of the presidential literature. When presidential scholars ask whether the expectations gap exists, they generally provide microlevel explanations that focus on the relationships among various presidential characteristics and how these characteristics are perceived by the public. This approach makes sense if expectations are chiefly responsive to perceptions of the Presidency itself. Yet, recent research empirically identifies an expectations gap in public perceptions of Congress and the president. These studies provide a theoretical reason to believe that macrolevel political phenomena, …


Micro And Macro Level Explanations Of The Presidential Expectations Gap, Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Richard Waterman Dec 2004

Micro And Macro Level Explanations Of The Presidential Expectations Gap, Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Richard Waterman

Carol L. Silva

The idea that the public expects more from its presidents than they are able to deliver long has been a mainstay of the presidential literature. When presidential scholars ask whether the expectations gap exists, they generally provide microlevel explanations that focus on the relationships among various presidential characteristics and how these characteristics are perceived by the public. This approach makes sense if expectations are chiefly responsive to perceptions of the Presidency itself. Yet, recent research empirically identifies an expectations gap in public perceptions of Congress and the president. These studies provide a theoretical reason to believe that macrolevel political phenomena, …