Enduring Debate Exam 2

The sole motivation when voting in congress is to get re-elected. Their are institutional structures in place that promote this. 1. Offices that promote their decisions at home2. Committees that give a platform for people to talk about specific issues and accomplishments. (Universalism: every congressmen has a share of the benefits)3. Political Parties: Not a lot of pressure to vote on party lines, do what you need to do to be re-elected

1. Just because people want reform of the political system does not make it a good idea. ie shorter terms for congress not = good. 2. actual enactment of the reforms craved by the people will not necessarily leave us with a system that is more liked by the people who asked for the reforms. Increased democracy is not always a good thing.
People have a right to influence policy, not the policy process

Prok is an inevitable part of the political system for two reasons1. Lobbying increases pork2. Transparency is not a legitimate way to stop pork b/c congress wants their pork to be advertised b/c it is something good they got for their state
Academic pork is also increasing rapidly b/c academics helps the economy and b/c more universities want funding for researcheven though there was a reform in 2008 by the democratic congress, there will be no decrease in Prok

Pork is good, it allows legislation to pass and it is only 1% of the budget. People against pork are really just against gov spendingPork is the America Way

They hate pork-Two big budgets are Defense and Homeland security.-Wasteful spending criteria: requested by one chamber of congress, not specifically authorized in committee, not required by prez, serves only local interest, no congressional hearings, not competitively awarded.

The only real power that presidents have is persuasion, the prez cannot hope to get his way by command b/c other branches can refuse. Presidents persuade by making deals and reaching compromises. (ex. Truman/Marshall)

The presidency is only a part of a large separated system in which congress, the courts and the bureaucracy can shape policy. There is a diffusion of power and no one person can be held accountable.

The fact that Bush has an MBA effects how he runs the country, like how he would run a business, speedy and decisive, top down. However, because he passed legislation so quicky and with no bipartisan support or compromise, it usually had weaknesses, and he made many poor decisions. -specifically Hurricane Katrina and FEMA and making bad appointments, extraordinary renditionsand he was very secretive

The court frequently relies on public opinion when making decisions, specifically Brown v. Board of Education, when the court ordered schools to desegregate with all deliberate speed, made it possible for southern schools to drag their heals. Because they have no mechanism of enforcement they have to make sure to only make rulings that people will follow.

The legislative branch can always overrule the S.C.-Specifically in the past decade the supreme court has been very conservative about declaring Civil Rights laws unconstitutional. Congress then passes a new law that restores the original intentions of the previous struck down lawThe author advocates for correctional legislation in Civil Rights cases. They can use federalism

Scalia believes that we should only study what the founders thought, that the SC is bound by the original meaning of the Constitution.We can't look to what the decision is right now m=because it strays too far from the constitution (ie. right to view your accuser)

Argues for living constitution approach, or a consequentialist approach. That we should use the Courts place in politics as a positive tool to improve that poltical process. Active Liberty: an active and constant participation in collective power. The literalist or the originalist that leads justices to rely on their personal point of view.

Everyone benefits from public goods so it is easy for the freerider problem to take effect b/c it's easier to say, Jane will do it then take action. For this reason, small groups are better: \-easier to act collectively bc more accountability and it's easier to shame people and people value interactions. -Incentives are necessary to to get people to act in interest groups. Large groups need selective incentives, incentives that only apply to select members that work hard

Americans have changed, not in the quantity, but in the quality of their participation in politics.Involvement in politics is good, increase trust and voter turnout, both of which have been decreasingBecause of increasing technology interest groups which are the backbone of American Involvement in congress are now without members, they are controlled by elitist washingtonites who just receive checks and send emails. and because of the breakdown of racial and gender barriers And the rise of the middle class who does not need to work their way up an organization. these changes in the system turn us into spectators instead of participators.

Factions are an outgrowth of differences between people, the way to reduce the threat of factions is to have larger districts and checks and balances.