American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

THE INTEREST GROUP UNIVERSE E Defi ne interest groups and describe the characteristics of diff erent types of groups. Pages 231– ...

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SUMMARY It is common to argue that elected offi cials are letting inter- est groups defi ne their agenda. However, the evidence ...

Congress 254 9 ...

255 DEMOCRATS GIVE A STANDING ovation while Republicans sit silently during a speech by President Obama to a joint session of Co ...

256 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS The essential nature of confl ict and compromise in the legislative process is not very well understood ...

CONGRESS’S PLACE IN OUR CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM| 257 Congress’s Place in Our Constitutional System Congress was the “fi rst branc ...

258 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS have become muted as senators seem to campaign for re-election 365 days a year, every year, just like H ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 259 lic, Protestant, or some other religion? Many people believe that such descrip- tive representatio ...

260 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS others. A third model of representation is the politico, who is more likely to act as a delegate on iss ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 261 a strong challenger raised the issue in a campaign—the incumbents would have staked out a position ...

262 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS affordable health care. As Figure 9.2 shows, citizens clearly want their elected officials to get them ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 263 constantly trying to shore up their electoral base, but even incumbents in “safe” districts realiz ...

264 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS fastest gain seats, and those that are not growing as fast lose seats.) The one leg- islature in Americ ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 265 Such attempts to use the redistricting process for political advantage are called gerrymandering. ...

266 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS of lawsuits about racial redistricting. The current legal standard is that race can- not be the predomi ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 267 brought shame on the House when his steamy e-mails to 16-year-old House pages were revealed. Foley ...

268 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS The Incumbency Advantage and Its Sources The desire to be re-elected infl uences House members’ and sen ...

CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 269 CAMPAIGN FUND-RAISING Raising money is also key to staying in offi ce. Incumbents need money to pa ...

270 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS CONSTITUENCY SERVICE Another thing incumbents do to get re-elected is “work their districts,” taking ev ...