This new edition of the bestselling The Logic of American Politics is thoroughly updated and covers the dramatic 2016 election results with a thorough analysis of those results. It arms students with a revised introduction to institutional design that makes concepts such as command, veto, agenda control, voting rules, and delegation easier for students to master and apply, so they clearly see how the American political system was devised and why it works the way it does. Authors Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser, and Lynn Vavreck build students' critical thinking through a simple yet powerful idea: politics is about solving collective action problems.
This new edition continues to delve into partisan differences among voters and in government and highlight the increasingly partisan nature of campaigns. By exploring issues such as the Affordable Care Act’s troubled implementation, the increasing legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage in the states, and the debate over immigration, the book illustrates how the institutional structures of government, federalism, and even campaigns can help voters make sense of their choices. The concluding chapter on policymaking examines the noticeable logic that guides American policy, as shown through issues like health care reform, global climate change, and the federal budget. Students glean insights into the sources of policy problems, identify possible solutions, and realize why agreement on those solutions is often so hard to achieve.
Author(s): Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser, Lynn Vavreck
Edition: 8th
Publisher: CQ Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 1514
Preface......Page 22
A Note to Students......Page 39
Chapter 1: The Logic of American Politics......Page 44
The Importance of Institutional Design......Page 51
Authority versus Power......Page 55
The Political System’s Logic......Page 57
Collective Action Problems......Page 59
Coordination......Page 61
The Prisoner’s Dilemma......Page 70
▶ Logic of Politics: Hobbes on Monarchs......Page 73
▶ Politics to Policy: Google Proposes a Library in a Cloud......Page 77
The Costs of Collective Action......Page 83
Transaction Costs......Page 85
Conformity Costs......Page 87
Representative Government......Page 92
The Work of Government......Page 95
▶ Politics to Policy: Fire Protection: From a Private to a Public Good......Page 96
Collective Action and America’s Constitution......Page 98
Nota Bene......Page 101
Key Terms......Page 102
Suggested Readings......Page 103
Review Questions......Page 104
Part 1. The Nationalization of Politics......Page 105
Chapter 2: The Constitution......Page 106
The Road to Independence......Page 111
A Legacy of Self-Governance......Page 112
Dismantling Home Rule......Page 116
The Continental Congresses......Page 120
The Declaration of Independence......Page 122
America’s First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation......Page 124
The Confederation at War......Page 127
The Confederation’s Troubled Peace......Page 130
Drafting a New Constitution......Page 136
Philosophical Influences......Page 137
Getting Down to Business......Page 138
The Virginia and New Jersey Plans......Page 140
The Great Compromise......Page 143
▶ Logic of Politics: Checks and Balances in the Constitution......Page 145
Designing the Executive Branch......Page 146
Designing the Judicial Branch......Page 153
Substantive Issues......Page 155
▶ Strategy and Choice: Logrolling a Constitution......Page 157
Amending the Constitution......Page 162
The Fight for Ratification......Page 164
The Federalist and Antifederalist Debate......Page 165
The Influence of The Federalist......Page 170
The Theory Underlying the Constitution......Page 172
Federalist No. 10......Page 173
Federalist No. 51......Page 179
Designing Institutions for Collective Action: The Framers’ Tool Kit......Page 183
Command......Page 184
Veto......Page 188
Agenda Control......Page 190
Voting Rules......Page 192
Delegation......Page 194
The Constitution Begins the Nationalization of American Politics......Page 196
Key Terms......Page 198
Suggested Readings......Page 199
Review Questions......Page 201
Chapter 3: Federalism......Page 202
American-Style Federalism......Page 209
Evolving Definitions of Federalism......Page 214
Federalism and the Constitution......Page 218
Transformation of the Senate......Page 219
Constitutional Provisions Governing Federalism......Page 220
Interpreting the Constitution’s Provisions......Page 224
▶ Strategy and Choice: Chris Christie and an Ambitious Governor’s Dilemma......Page 230
The Paths to Nationalization......Page 233
Historic Transfers of Policy to Washington......Page 237
Nationalization—The Solution to States’ Collective Dilemmas......Page 241
▶ Politics to Policy: Free Federal Dollars? No Thanks, I’ll Take Political Currency Instead......Page 243
The Political Logic of Nationalization......Page 251
▶ Strategy and Choice: Texas Takes on All Comers: Governor Rick Perry’s Business Pitch......Page 252
Modern Federalism......Page 257
The National Government’s Advantage in the Courts......Page 259
Preemption Legislation......Page 261
The Carrot: Federal Grants to the States......Page 263
▶ Politics to Policy: States’ Rights Meet Reading, Writing, and ’Rithmetic: The Battle over the Common Core......Page 265
The Stick: Unfunded Mandates......Page 269
Evolving Federalism: A By-Product of National Policy......Page 275
▶ Politics to Policy: Who Pays for Government? Comparing State and Federal Tax Burdens......Page 277
Suggested Readings......Page 280
Review Questions......Page 282
Chapter 4: Civil Rights......Page 283
What Are Civil Rights?......Page 290
The Civil Rights of African Americans......Page 292
The Politics of Black Civil Rights......Page 294
The Height of Slavery: 1808–1865......Page 295
▶ Strategy and Choice: The Emancipation Proclamation......Page 303
Reconstruction: 1865–1877......Page 306
The Jim Crow Era and Segregation: 1877–1933......Page 311
Democratic Party Sponsorship of Civil Rights: 1933–1940s......Page 314
Emergence of a Civil Rights Coalition: 1940s–1950s......Page 321
The Civil Rights Movement: 1960s......Page 327
▶ Politics to Policy: The 1964 Civil Rights Act and Integration of Public Schools......Page 335
Current Civil Rights Policy......Page 344
The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement......Page 357
Equal Rights for Women: The Right to Vote......Page 359
The Modern History of Women’s Rights......Page 361
Rights for Hispanics......Page 367
Gay Rights......Page 371
Challenging Tyranny......Page 375
Suggested Readings......Page 377
Review Questions......Page 379
Chapter 5: Civil Liberties......Page 380
Nationalization of Civil Liberties......Page 384
The Bill of Rights Checks Majority Rule......Page 386
Writing Rights and Liberties into the Constitution......Page 400
The First Ten Amendments......Page 402
Incorporation via the Fourteenth Amendment......Page 404
Judicial Interpretation......Page 410
Major versus Peripheral Rights......Page 413
Freedom of Speech......Page 414
Speech That Advocates Illegal Activity......Page 415
Sexually Explicit Expression......Page 417
▶ Politics to Policy: The Supreme Court’s History of Protecting Unpopular Speech......Page 418
▶ Politics to Policy: Corporate Free Speech......Page 422
Freedom of the Press......Page 424
Freedom of Religion......Page 427
Establishment......Page 429
School Prayer and Bible Reading......Page 433
Free Exercise......Page 438
Gun Rights......Page 440
Criminal Rights......Page 445
Fourth Amendment: Illegal Searches and Seizures......Page 448
Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination......Page 453
Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel and Impartial Jury of Peers......Page 455
Eighth Amendment: “Cruel and Unusual” Punishment......Page 457
Privacy......Page 461
Childbearing Choices......Page 463
The Brave New World of Informational Privacy......Page 466
Assessing Civil Liberties as Public Policy......Page 467
Suggested Readings......Page 470
Review Questions......Page 472
Part 2. The Institutions of Government......Page 473
Chapter 6: Congress......Page 474
Congress in the Constitution......Page 479
Powers of Congress......Page 481
The Electoral System......Page 484
Congressional Districts......Page 485
Unequal Representation in the Senate......Page 489
Congress and Electoral Politics......Page 490
Candidate-Centered versus Party-Centered Electoral Politics......Page 492
▶ Strategy and Choice: The Republican Gerrymander in 2012......Page 493
National Politics in Congressional Elections......Page 500
Representation versus Responsibility......Page 503
Who Serves in Congress?......Page 505
The Basic Problems of Legislative Organization......Page 508
The Need for Information......Page 509
Coordination Problems......Page 511
Resolving Conflicts......Page 512
Collective Action......Page 513
Transaction Costs......Page 514
Time Pressures......Page 515
Organizing Congress......Page 516
The Parties......Page 517
Increased Partisanship......Page 523
The Committee Systems......Page 534
Congressional Staff and Support Groups......Page 546
Making Laws......Page 549
Introducing Legislation......Page 550
Assignment to Committee......Page 551
Hearings......Page 553
▶ Logic of Politics: Congressional Investigations......Page 554
Scheduling Debate......Page 557
Debate and Amendment......Page 564
▶ Strategy and Choice: The Origin and Evolution of the Senate Filibuster......Page 567
Reconciling Differences......Page 573
To the President......Page 576
A Bias against Action......Page 577
Evaluating Congress......Page 579
Key Terms......Page 583
Suggested Readings......Page 584
Review Questions......Page 586
Chapter 7: The Presidency......Page 587
The Historical Presidency......Page 596
▶ Strategy and Choice: Lincoln and His Cabinet......Page 599
Parties and Elections......Page 602
The Modern Presidency......Page 604
The President as Commander in Chief and Head of State......Page 609
The President as Chief Executive......Page 615
The President as Legislator......Page 625
▶ Logic of Politics: The Veto Game......Page 637
The Institutional Presidency......Page 649
Dilemma of Leadership......Page 659
Suggested Readings......Page 661
Review Questions......Page 662
Chapter 8: The Bureaucracy......Page 664
The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy......Page 671
Modest Beginnings: The Dilemma of Delegation......Page 674
The Federalist Years: A Reliance on Respectability......Page 676
Democratization of the Civil Service: The Spoils System......Page 677
Civil Service Reform......Page 680
An Expanding Government......Page 684
The Cabinet......Page 686
Noncabinet Agencies......Page 691
▶ Logic of Politics: Insulating the Fed......Page 698
▶ Politics to Policy: The Political Costs of Poor Policy Implementation......Page 701
Bureaucracy in Action......Page 704
▶ Logic of Politics: The Bureaucratic Cover-up Always Compounds the Crime......Page 705
Bureaucrats as Politicians......Page 709
Bureaucratic Infighting......Page 713
Who Controls the Bureaucracy?......Page 714
Methods of Congressional Control......Page 716
The President and the Bureaucracy......Page 719
The Courts and the Bureaucracy......Page 729
▶ Logic of Politics: Two Bureaucratic Scandals, One Damage-Control Script......Page 731
Bureaucratic Reform: A Hardy Perennial......Page 734
The Logic of Red Tape......Page 736
The Bureaucratic Reward System......Page 737
Suggested Readings......Page 740
Review Questions......Page 742
Chapter 9: The Federal Judiciary......Page 743
Setting the Stage for Judicial Review......Page 747
A Modern Application of the Federalists’ Court Packing Strategy......Page 750
Three Eras of the Court’s Judicial Review......Page 755
Nation versus State......Page 757
Regulating the National Economy......Page 761
A Fourth Era? Reasserting Judicial Review and a Return to States’ Rights......Page 767
The Structure of the Federal Judiciary......Page 771
Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts......Page 773
▶ Politics to Policy: Chief Justice Roberts Stands Alone, and Puts His Stamp on “The Roberts Court”......Page 775
The Limits of Internal Control......Page 780
Judicial Decision Making......Page 784
Selecting Cases......Page 785
Doctrine: Policymaking by the Court......Page 789
▶ Politics to Policy: Judicial Activism......Page 794
Deciding Doctrine......Page 796
The Supreme Court’s Place in the Separation of Powers......Page 800
Absence of Judicial Enforcement......Page 801
Constitutional and Statutory Control......Page 803
Department of Justice......Page 805
Judicial Recruitment......Page 806
▶ Logic of Politics: Senate Confirmation: Another Kind of Veto Game......Page 813
Who Guards the Guardians?......Page 821
Suggested Readings......Page 824
Review Questions......Page 825
Part 3. The Public’s Influence on National Policy......Page 827
Chapter 10: Public Opinion......Page 828
What Is Public Opinion?......Page 830
Measuring Public Opinion......Page 834
The Origins of Public Opinion......Page 841
Attitudes......Page 842
Ideologies......Page 843
Partisanship......Page 845
Acquiring Opinions......Page 849
Information......Page 852
Framing......Page 857
▶ Strategy and Choice: Framing Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio......Page 858
Is Public Opinion Meaningful?......Page 861
Stability of Aggregate Public Opinion......Page 862
Opinion Leadership......Page 865
The Content of Public Opinion......Page 871
Consensus on the System......Page 873
Politicians: A Suspect Class......Page 877
Public Opinion on Issues......Page 881
▶ Politics to Policy: Public Opinion and Welfare Reform......Page 884
Effects of Background on Public Opinion......Page 893
Race and Ethnicity......Page 894
Gender......Page 897
Income and Education......Page 898
Religion......Page 899
Other Demographic Divisions......Page 902
Public Opinion: A Vital Component of American Politics......Page 903
Key Terms......Page 904
Suggested Readings......Page 905
Review Questions......Page 906
Chapter 11: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections......Page 907
The Logic of Elections......Page 911
The Right to Vote......Page 913
Wider Suffrage for Men......Page 914
Suffrage for Women......Page 916
Suffrage for African Americans and Young Americans......Page 918
Who Uses the Right to Vote?......Page 919
Individual Factors Affecting Turnout......Page 921
Institutional Factors Affecting Turnout......Page 923
Variations in Turnout over Time......Page 926
▶ Strategy and Choice: Personal Politics: Mobilization......Page 927
Past Performance and Incumbency......Page 930
Assessing the Issues and Policy Options......Page 932
Voter Cues and Shortcuts......Page 934
The Power of Party Identification......Page 936
The Basic Necessities: Candidates and Messages......Page 937
▶ Strategy and Choice: To Run or Not to Run......Page 939
The Other Necessity: Campaign Money......Page 952
▶ Politics to Policy: Soft Money Finds a New Home......Page 959
The Logic of Elections Revisited......Page 969
Key Terms......Page 971
Suggested Readings......Page 972
Review Questions......Page 973
Chapter 12: Political Parties......Page 975
The Constitution’s Unwanted Offspring......Page 980
Incentives for Party Building......Page 982
Basic Features of the Party System......Page 987
▶ Logic of Politics: Third-Party Blues......Page 991
The Development and Evolution of the Party Systems......Page 997
The First Party System: The Origin of American Parties......Page 998
The Second Party System: Organizational Innovation......Page 1001
The Third Party System: Entrepreneurial Politics......Page 1007
The Fourth Party System: Republican Ascendancy......Page 1014
The Fifth Party System: The New Deal Coalition......Page 1017
The Revival of the Parties: A Sixth Party System?......Page 1032
Partisanship Endures......Page 1034
Party Differences......Page 1035
Changes in the Party Coalitions......Page 1038
Modern Party Organizations......Page 1041
▶ Strategy and Choice: The President as Party Coordinator......Page 1047
Expediency Persists......Page 1050
Suggested Readings......Page 1052
Review Questions......Page 1054
Chapter 13: Interest Groups......Page 1055
The Logic of Lobbying......Page 1060
The Origins of Interest Group Politics in the United States......Page 1063
▶ Politics to Policy: Mobilizing a Wave of Protest: The Surfrider Foundation Saves the “Trestles” Surf Spot......Page 1066
The Pluralist Defense of Interest Groups......Page 1070
The Problem of Collective Action......Page 1072
▶ Logic of Politics: The Political Power of Small Numbers......Page 1074
Contemporary Interest Groups......Page 1078
Why Have Interest Groups Proliferated?......Page 1080
Fragmentation and Specialization......Page 1085
What Do Interest Groups Do?......Page 1088
Insider Tactics: Trafficking in Information and Cultivating Access......Page 1089
▶ Strategy and Choice: Why Spend Millions on Lobbying? Because It Is Worth Billions......Page 1092
Outsider Tactics: Altering the Political Forces......Page 1098
▶ Strategy and Choice: Lobbying with a Social Network......Page 1100
Litigation......Page 1105
Electoral Politics and Political Action Committees......Page 1108
Interest Group Politics: Controversial and Thriving......Page 1118
Suggested Readings......Page 1123
Review Questions......Page 1125
Chapter 14: The News Media......Page 1126
Development of the News Business......Page 1131
The Economics of Early Newspapers......Page 1132
The Rise of the Penny Press......Page 1135
The Emergence of Radio and Television......Page 1144
Broadcast Technology Introduces Regulation......Page 1149
The Digital Revolution: Internet and Mobile......Page 1150
▶ Strategy and Choice: Wi-Fi Brings Sectors Together to Solve Coordination Problems......Page 1153
News as a Consumer Product......Page 1157
How the News Is Produced: Content and Form......Page 1158
Where People Get Their News......Page 1165
How the Media Influence Citizens......Page 1169
News Media as the “Fourth Branch”......Page 1171
Prior Restraint......Page 1174
Slander and Libel......Page 1175
News as the Product of Politics......Page 1176
News Producers: Reporters and Their News Organizations......Page 1188
Strategic Relations between Politicians and Reporters......Page 1193
▶ Strategy and Choice: The Military’s Media Strategy......Page 1195
Conclusion: Politician–Press Relations Then and Now......Page 1198
▶ Strategy and Choice: The Shrinking Presidential Sound Bite: A Tweet!......Page 1201
Key Terms......Page 1203
Suggested Readings......Page 1204
Review Questions......Page 1206
Part 4. Conclusion......Page 1207
Chapter 15: Is There a Logic to American Policy?......Page 1208
Free Riding and Health Care......Page 1212
The Obstacles to Taking Domestic Action to Stop Global Climate Change......Page 1219
High-Stakes Maneuvering: Why We Tiptoe Up To, but Have Not Fallen Off, the Fiscal Cliff......Page 1226
▶ Logic of Politics: #Grubergate and the Perils of Making Free Riders Pay Up......Page 1227
The Prisoner’s Dilemma of Entitlement Reform......Page 1234
The Success and Failure of Collective Action: A Tale of Two Tax Reforms......Page 1240
▶ Logic of Politics: The Structure of Government and Anti-Tobacco Laws......Page 1241
▶ Strategy and Choice: Do Politicians and Students Play Political Logic Games Differently?......Page 1249
Suggested Readings......Page 1253
Review Questions......Page 1254
Reference Material......Page 1255
Notes......Page 1352
Glossary......Page 1401
Index......Page 1438
About the Authors......Page 1498
