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I shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your convenience. You will all receive invitations to post to the blog. (Please let me know if you do not get such an invitation.) I encourage you to use the blog in these ways:
To post questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
To follow up on class discussions with additional comments or questions.
To post relevant news items or videos.

There are only two major limitations: no coarse language, and no derogatory comments about people at the Claremont Colleges.


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Thursday, February 6, 2025

Elections, HIll Style, Home Style, USA Style

 Senate Democrats pull all-nighter against Vought.

For Monday, read Davidson, ch. 6.

Campaign Finance

Outside spending examples:

A local emergency and a national story:


In their home style (Davidson, 123 of 19th ed. 130 of 18th), members try to convey

  • Qualification
  • Identification
  • Empathy
Every single member has both a Hill style and a home style.



John McCain in 1993 showed that a fierce maverick can become very deferential when facing little old ladies:

 

AOC-DC questions Michael Cohen:





AOC District Office

d



During non-pandemic times, different kinds of encounters take place at town halls:
 

Town halls can sometimes get testy.




MTG:



USA Style meets Hill Style




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Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Elections

 Presentation Thursday on the CMC Washington Program 

For Thursday, Davidson ch. 5

Remember for the assignment: Do not rely only on member websites:  search for interviews

The Almanac of American Politics 2022 does not have the latest data on House districts.  The lines may have changed and members might now represent districts with different numbers.

Ballotpedia is a good source for election data.

OpenSecrets is a good source for campaign finance data.

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Home style v. Hill style:  members claiming credit for funding from programs they voted against. 


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Competition

  • Incumbents Usually Win -- House and Senate
  • House and Senate margins  

    • Control

  • Midterms Are Bad for the President's Party
  • Since 1994:  control is in play, majorities are usually narrow.
  • In 2024, GOP won the aggregate popular vote for the House.
  • The historical pattern:





    • The House

  • Overview  -- the game
  • Gerrymandering: cracking, packing, merging, isolating
  • Race and education:  the four quadrants
  • Crossover districts

    • The Senate

  • Senate classes (last year was a "class 1" election)
  • The vanishing of split delegations.  The 119th has just three:
    1. Maine:  Collins (R) and King (I)
    2. Wisconsin: Johnson (R) and Baldwin (D)
    3. Pennsylvania: Fetterman (D) and McCormick (R)

    Campaign Finance

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