The Democrats’ problem of political framing

In the news

Economic stimulus bill headed to passage in Senate. Obama addresses the nation.

Geithner announces bank rescue plan:– 1) Creation of a “stress test” for banks to decide which deserve

government bailout money and which don't.– 2) Establishment of a public-private investment fund that pairs

taxpayer money with private money to buy toxic assets from banks ($500 billion - $1 trillion).

– 3) Commit up to an additional $1 trillion to get consumer lending and the securitization process going again.

– 4) A "comprehensive housing program" that will be announced "in the next few weeks," designed to help homeowners save their homes and rework their mortgages.

POWERS OF CONGRESS: Implied and Shared

Implied powers– Elastic clause: “necessary and proper”

McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819).

Shared powers – judicial selection– confirmation of executive appointments– creating and funding executive branch agencies– foreign policy/defense; Congress declares war

and “raises and supports armies,” but President is commander-in-chief. Senate ratifies treaties.

LIMITATIONS ON CONGRESSIONAL POWER

In the original text of Constitution: no ex post facto laws, bills of attainder, or grants of title of nobility.

The Bill of Rights and other constitutional provisions serve as important checks on the scope of legislation:

– examples of Federal laws struck down as unconstitutional: original Federal Election Campaign Act (1976), anti-flag burning law (1990), Line-Item Veto Law (1998), Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1997), Violence Against Women Act (2000).

Separation of powers: “dual security” Other branches and the states (veto power, judicial review and federalism; good examples of the latter are education, law enforcement, and election administration).

Evolution of Congress

February 10-12, 2009

PS 426

Party systems

Experimental: 1789-1820, Federalists and Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans (DRs dominate)

Democratizing: 1820-1854/60, Democrats and Whigs (competitive)

Civil War: 1860-1893, Democrats and Republicans (Competitive)

Industrial: 1894-1932, D+Rs, Rs dominate New Deal: 1932- ?, D+Rs, Ds dominate until 1968, then

competitive. Dealignment/divided govt. since 1968. Realignment theory – issue basis for change.

Congressional eras, Experimental: 1789-1812

Jeffersonian ideals; ad hoc select committees. Strong leadership the exception in the House, almost non-existent in the Senate. Leaders from outside Congress (mostly from the executive branch): Alexander Hamilton.

high turnover, no professionalization. But parties emerge almost immediately; Founders were

anti-party (Madison and the “evils of faction”). Parties needed to solve collective action problems, prevent voting cycles, improve legislative productivity by creating stable coalitions through logrolling and compromise. Also simplifies the voting process through “brand names.”

1806: Senate eliminates previous question motion: creates filibuster.

Congressional eras, Experimental: 1789-1812, cont. (transition from 1812-1820)

Emergence of the committee system, replace select committees with standing committees.

– House: aftermath of War of 1812 and the demise of the Federalists; growing factions in the DR party and emergence of Democrats; oversight of the financial mismanagement by executive branch; growing congressional workload; increased constituent demands; role of Henry Clay (textbook says yes, Schickler, no)

Senate: happened mostly all at once in 1816, created 12 new standing committees.

Standing committee structure pretty much complete by 1822. Continuity in Congress compared to other parts of government.

Democratizing Era: 1820-1860

Antebellum period, emergence of slavery as the central issue.

Party factionalism and contests for Speaker.

Missouri compromise and balance in the Senate. Missouri admitted as a slave state, Maine as a free state. No slavery in the Louisiana Territory.

Missouri Compromise

Civil War era: 1865-1896

Regional split: Northern states were largely Republican, Southern states were Democratic. Republicans stacked the Senate by adding Western states.

Less electoral competition: more safe districts and lower turnover.

Strong parties emerge because of high intraparty homogeneity and interparty heterogeneity .

Committee system is firmly established.

Civil War era: 1865-1896, cont.

“Golden Age of Congress”– Thomas B. Reed, “Reed’s

rules”: began with elimination of “disappearing quorum,” continued with increased use of House Rules Committee as leadership tool.

– Joseph “Czar” Cannon: power based on control of the committee system, scheduling, and floor debate.

However, increasing conflict within the GOP: “Old Guard” vs. “Progressives”

Textbook Congress: 1912-1968

Revolt against Joe Cannon, 1910. Stripped the Speaker’s power to appoint committees. Forrest Maltzman’s work on this topic.

17th Amendment: popular election of Senate. Fewer dynasties, wealthy senators, more responsive.

Weaker parties: “King Caucus” and later the domination by committees: emergence of the seniority system and “committee turf.” Parties also weaker in elections: secret ballots, primary nominations, direct election of Senators.

Emergence of the Conservative Coalition in the late 1930s. Showed the weakness of parties.

Textbook Congress: 1912-1968, cont.

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946: consolidate committees in the House from 48 to 19 and in the Senate from 33 to 15. Also increased committee staff and congressional oversight. Strengthened Congress to resist presidential encroachments.

Norms of apprenticeship, specialization, reciprocity, be a “workhorse” not a “showhorse,” institutional patriotism, courtesy. However, no serious penalties for violating norms and recent research shows some of them may not have been that strong.

Pressures for change: after 1958 midterm elections a disparity between the caucus and committee chairs: 39.3% of House Dems were Southern, but 61.9% of committee chairs were Southern. Formation of the liberal Democratic Study Group (DSG).

Battle over Civil Rights policy: expansion of Rules Committee in 1961.

Post-reform: 1974-?

Watergate class of 1974. Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 and Subcommittee bill of rights (1973): more power to SC chairs, open committee meetings and written rules, committee assignments changed again (caucus votes on the Committee on Committee decisions rather than Ways and Means committee), seniority norm violated – decentralizing influence.

But also gave more powers to the Speaker (task forces, multiple referral, appoint Dems on Rules Committee).

Sunshine reforms – open up the process, more open hearings, more recorded votes (teller votes vs. electronic voting), later C-SPAN.

Budget and Impoundment Control Act (1974), War Powers Resolution (1973).

The Republican Revolution, 1994

Gingrich had been working for this for 10 years. Old style/new style leadership of the minority party.

1994 changes: strengthened Speaker even more, term limits for committee chairs, abolished three standing committees, reduced committee staff, did away with some perks.

Contract with America: some success in House but much of it was stopped by the Senate.

More power to Gingrich: control over committee assignments and the policy agenda.

High point was 1996: welfare reform, health care, minimum wage. Both Clinton and Republicans wanted something to show before the 1996 elections.

Republican Revolution, cont.

Things start to unravel:– Budget showdown with Clinton, 95/96, government shutdown.– Gingrich’s ethics problems, splits within the party.– Overreaching on impeachment. The 1998 midterm losses and

then Gingrich resigns. Dennis Hastert. Tom “The Hammer” DeLay continued

the Gingrich approach. Good cop/bad cop. Unified govt. again in 2001, but then Jeffords’ defection in

2001. Rs regain the Senate in 2002. 2006 midterms and the return of divided government.

Dem. gains were solidified in 2008 and Obama’s win produce unified government again.

General trends: party polarization

Increased party polarization and party unity. Party polarization in Senate was highest in 120 years and was the third highest in the House in 2006.

Partisan Votes, 1962-2004

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Party polarization, cont.

Rise of the Republican party in the South – conservative Southern Dems switched or lost. Moderate Rs decreased in number in Northeast and Midwest.

Reaganism and the centralization of politics at the national level. Gingrich and DeLay carried this forward in the House. Senate always a moderating force, but still polarized.

More aggressive party leadership:– increasing use of rules to limit members’ options, more omnibus bills,

more closed rules party leaders more involved in recruiting and funding their parties’

candidates (“leadership PACs” role of party committees in fundraising, soft money), although typically this support was not tied to party loyalty. Parties still had a main focus on winning.

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General trends: balance of institutional power between President and Congress

General trends: Size of the House

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