Congressional Record PDF Download

Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1324

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Author: Marty Cohen
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226112381
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Throughout the contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, politicians and voters alike worried that the outcome might depend on the preferences of unelected superdelegates. This concern threw into relief the prevailing notion that—such unusually competitive cases notwithstanding—people, rather than parties, should and do control presidential nominations. But for the past several decades, The Party Decides shows, unelected insiders in both major parties have effectively selected candidates long before citizens reached the ballot box. Tracing the evolution of presidential nominations since the 1790s, this volume demonstrates how party insiders have sought since America’s founding to control nominations as a means of getting what they want from government. Contrary to the common view that the party reforms of the 1970s gave voters more power, the authors contend that the most consequential contests remain the candidates’ fights for prominent endorsements and the support of various interest groups and state party leaders. These invisible primaries produce frontrunners long before most voters start paying attention, profoundly influencing final election outcomes and investing parties with far more nominating power than is generally recognized.

Author: Oregon. Office of the Secretary of State
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Oregon
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Author: Alexander Keyssar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 067497414X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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A New Statesman Book of the Year “America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy—the electoral college...A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence. After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. “Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.” —Michael Kazin, The Nation “Rigorous and highly readable...shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.” —Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement

Author: Thomas E. Mann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195368711
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Two nationally renowned congressional scholars review the evolution of Congress from the early days of the republic to 2006, arguing that extreme partisanship and a disregard for institutional procedures are responsible for the institution's current state of dysfunction.

Author: Linda L. Fowler
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300049015
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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How do politicians decide whether or not to run for Congress? What is involved in the winnowing process that dictates, months before the election, the choices available to voters on the ballot? Using extensive interviews and analyses of district data and opinion polls, Linda Fowler and Robert McClure argue that House elections are intelligible only if we look beyond that declared candidates to those who could have run but chose not to. Their book, set in New York’s can Congressional District during the elections of 1984 and 1986, assesses the personal and contextual factors that motivate some individuals to enter a House race and induce others to remain on the sidelines. By uncovering the hidden obstacles that line the road to Washington, Fowler and McClure reveal why only the most ambitious men and women complete the journey. Fowler and McClure contend that the cost cna complexity of competitive House races now demand a level of commitment and advance planning that only those with a highly focused desire to serve in Congress can sustain. Despite the increased presence of national parties and PACs in congressional races, they say, it is the local political context that dominates the decision to run. Within this setting, individual candidates, not party organizations develop the strategies, manage the resources, and define the alternatives in most House races. Fowler and McClure discuss how changes in American politics such as reapportionment, the redistribution of power away from Washington, and the transformation of parties and interest groups affect the nation's supply of competitive office-seekers. And they devote special attention to the recruitment of female legislators, offering insight into the continued failure of women to make significant inroads into the House of Representatives.

Author: Thomas Jefferson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Author: Alexander Hamilton
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528785878
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

Author: Robert B. Dove
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Legislation
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Author: Gabriel S. Lenz
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226472159
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
In a democracy, we generally assume that voters know the policies they prefer and elect like-minded officials who are responsible for carrying them out. We also assume that voters consider candidates' competence, honesty, and other performance-related traits. But does this actually happen? Do voters consider candidates’ policy positions when deciding for whom to vote? And how do politicians’ performances in office factor into the voting decision? In Follow the Leader?, Gabriel S. Lenz sheds light on these central questions of democratic thought. Lenz looks at citizens’ views of candidates both before and after periods of political upheaval, including campaigns, wars, natural disasters, and episodes of economic boom and bust. Noting important shifts in voters’ knowledge and preferences as a result of these events, he finds that, while citizens do assess politicians based on their performance, their policy positions actually matter much less. Even when a policy issue becomes highly prominent, voters rarely shift their votes to the politician whose position best agrees with their own. In fact, Lenz shows, the reverse often takes place: citizens first pick a politician and then adopt that politician’s policy views. In other words, they follow the leader. Based on data drawn from multiple countries, Follow the Leader? is the most definitive treatment to date of when and why policy and performance matter at the voting booth, and it will break new ground in the debates about democracy.