CMC Congress Course

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Public Service Announcement: Aleppo is in Syria and it is kind of a big deal

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/gary-johnson-aleppo-227873

Two Parties, Two Chambers, Two Lives

Demographics

Two Parties, Four Postures

Four Strategic Postures Since 2000 (House, by election year)

Majority Minority

Pres Party Dems 08 GOP 06

GOP 00, 02, 04 Dem 10,12,14

Out Party GOP 10,12,14 GOP 08

Dem 06 Dem 00, 02,04

A second look at Federalist 51:

But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit. It may even be necessary to guard against dangerous encroachments by still further precautions.

From the Census

The average size of a congressional district based on the 2010 Census apportionment population will be 710,767, more than triple the average district size of 210,328 based on the 1910 Census apportionment, and 63,815 more than the average size based on Census 2000 (646,952). Based on the 2010 Census apportionment, the state with the largest average district size will be Montana (994,416), and the state with the smallest average district size will be Rhode Island (527,624).

One major difference between the chambers is that few House members run for president, and seldom get far when they do (see Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Duncan Hunter and Dennis Kucinich). But a fairly large fraction of senators have gone for the White House:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 1996, 2000
Ted Cruz (R-TX) 2016
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 2016
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 2000
John McCain (R-AZ) 2000, 2008
Rand Paul (R-KY) 2016
Marco Rubio (R-FL) 2016
Bernard Sanders (I-VT) 2016

And of course remember President Obama, Vice President Biden, and former Secretary of State Clinton.

"Institutionalization" of Congress

"What you have to understand about my people is that they are a noble people. Humility is their form of pride. It is their strength; it is their weakness. And if you can humble yourself before them they will do anything you ask." -- Frank Underwood

Home Style: John McCain and little old ladies in 1993:

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

First Paper, Fall 2016

Pick one:

Compare and contrast the “Hill style” and “home style” of any current member of Congress. That is, how the "presentation of self" at home either resemble or differ from the member's Washington persona?
How well would LBJ's Senate leadership style work in 2016? In your answer, consider differences in the composition of the Senate, along with changes in the formal and informal "rules of the game."

Essays should reflect an understanding of class readings and discussions. Many resources, including CQ Weekly and Politics in America are at Honnold Library/Databases/CQ Library. see The Almanac of American Politics either in hardcopy at Honnold or via the library website. Consult other sources as well. See: http://www1.cmc.edu/pages/faculty/JPitney/congress.html

The specifications:

Essays should be typed (12-point), double-spaced, and no more than three pages long. I will not read past the third page.
Cite your sources. Please use endnotes in the format of Chicago Manual of Style. Endnotes do not count against the page limit. Please do not use footnotes, which take up too much page space.
Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. Return essays to the Sakai dropbox for this class by 11:59 PM, Friday, September 16. Papers will drop one gradepoint for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Double Lives

In the Davidson reading Herrnson writes, "members of Congress almost lead double lives." Can we tease this out more? I think it is an interesting statement. I've never heard it phrased like that. Does he mean members of Congress are like Hannah Montana and James Bond? I'm kidding of course. Thoughts?