Showing papers in "American Politics Research in 2007"
TL;DR: The authors showed that although there is an overall trend of increasing polarization, districts that have undergone significant changes as a result of redistricting have become even more polarized, suggesting that redistricting is one among other factors that produce party polarization in the House.
Abstract: The elevated levels of party polarization observed in the contemporary Congress have been attributed to a variety of factors. One of the more commonly recurring themes among observers of congressional politics is that changes in district boundaries resulting from the redistricting process are a root cause. Using a new data set linking congressional districts from 1962 to 2002, we offer a direct test of this claim. Our results show that although there is an overall trend of increasing polarization, districts that have undergone significant changes as a result of redistricting have become even more polarized. Although the effect is relatively modest, it suggests that redistricting is one among other factors that produce party polarization in the House and may help to explain the elevated levels of polarization in the House relative to the Senate.
137 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that classroom racial diversity affects the civic dimension of American adolescents' education, and that a high level of diversity correlates with more or less discussion of political issues in the classroom.
Abstract: How does classroom racial diversity affect the civic dimension of American adolescents’ education? Does a high level of diversity correlate with more or less discussion of political issues, a key c...
122 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that partisan attitudes affect how activists participate in the movement, with strong partisans more likely to embrace institutional tactics, such as lobbying, and that partisanship affects activists' access to the institutions of government such as Congress.
Abstract: American social movements are often bitterly divided about whether their objectives are achieved better by working with one of the major political parties or by operating independently. These divisions are consequential for how social movements and political parties respond to one another. First, differing partisan attitudes shape the structure of activist networks, leading activists to join organizations with others who share their party loyalties or disloyalties. Second, partisan attitudes affect how activists participate in the movement, with strong partisans more likely to embrace institutional tactics, such as lobbying. Third, partisanship affects activists' access to the institutions of government, such as Congress. Relying on surveys of antiwar activists attending large-scale public demonstrations in 2004 and 2005 and a Capitol Hill Lobby Day in September 2005, the authors argue that some activists integrate into major party networks through the “party in the street,” an arena of significant party-...
117 citations
TL;DR: The effects of competition on government agency policymaking have not been assessed with regard to government agency policies as mentioned in this paper, and their effects have not yet been assessed in the literature in general.
Abstract: In the lobbying literature, the effects of competition—two or more interests lobbying on opposing sides of a policy debate—have not been assessed with regard to government agency policymaking. Cons...
95 citations
TL;DR: Theories of candidate agendas suggest two potentially conflicting imperatives for candidates: focus on issues that their party "owns" or on the issues that are salient to the public as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Theories of candidate agendas suggest two potentially conflicting imperatives for candidates: focus on issues that their party “owns” or on issues that are salient to the public. The implication is that candidates may ultimately lose votes for ignoring either or both of these imperatives. However, no systematic test of either theory exists. This article provides a fuller test using candidate advertising data from the 1998, 2000, and 2002 House and Senate elections and finds that neither theory is supported. Candidates did not consistently emphasize owned or salient issues in any of these elections. Moreover, candidate agendas have little effect on electoral outcomes. These results highlight the need for more nuanced theories of candidate strategy.
67 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined participation in two communities following a disaster and found that actual participation had no impact or a slight negative impact on satisfaction and legitimacy, but the beliefs that citizens had had an impact and the city had attempted to involve citizens were strongly positively related to both.
Abstract: Despite strong support for citizen participation in the abstract, there is less support in practice, in part because of different expectations about the impact of participation This research examines participation in two communities following a disaster It tests four hypotheses The research demonstrates that actual participation had no impact or a slight negative impact on satisfaction and legitimacy, but the beliefs that citizens had had an impact and the city had attempted to involve citizens were strongly positively related to both The research suggests that the symbolic role of participation may be more important than its instrumental role
65 citations
TL;DR: The concept of the swing voter has been almost entirely ignored by journalists, commentators, and political strategists as mentioned in this paper, and few terms come up more frequently than that of swing voter.
Abstract: When journalists, commentators, and political strategists talk about elections, few terms come up more frequently than that of the swing voter, yet this concept has been almost entirely ignored by ...
57 citations
TL;DR: This article found that although Latinos may have increasingly voted for the Republican candidate in 2004 and over time may change their partisan preferences, the Hispanic electorate was far from abandoning its partisan attachment to the Democratic Party.
Abstract: Every 4 years, during election season, we witness continuously growing appeals from Democrats and Republicans to the Latino electorate with the purpose of gaining enough of their vote to tilt the election to their respective advantage. Although Latinos regularly vote Democratic, Republicans assume that because of their continuing upward mobility and long-standing social conservatism, Latinos are in fact Republicans but just don’t know it yet. In this article, we test how likely Latinos were to abandon their historic attachment to the Democratic Party and identify with the Republican Party in 2000 and 2004. Our conclusion is that although Latinos may have increasingly voted for the Republican candidate in 2004 and over time may change their partisan preferences, the Hispanic electorate was far from abandoning its partisan attachment to the Democratic Party.
53 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that the real test of effectiveness for partisan mobilization is vote choice and found that party mobilization by other Latinos is crucial to influencing vote choice, whereas most of the phone calls are made by political parties and candidates.
Abstract: Previous scholarship on Latino politics has demonstrated that mobilization has a statistically significant effect on voter turnout, suggesting the importance of get-out-the-vote campaigns to increase Latino political participation. Although nonpartisan organizations exist to mobilize Latino voters, most of the phone calls are made by political parties and candidates. I argue that the real test of effectiveness for partisan mobilization is vote choice. Using data from the 2000 presidential election, I model vote choice to determine whether or not Latinos who were contacted by Democrats and Republicans were more likely to vote for Al Gore and George W. Bush. I find that party mobilization by other Latinos is crucial to influencing vote choice. Specifically, Latinos who were contacted by Latino Republicans were significantly more likely to prefer Bush, whereas Latinos who were contacted by non-Latino Republicans were significantly less likely to prefer Bush. Several models are explored.
52 citations
TL;DR: Using data from a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign conducted by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) prior to the November 7, 2000, election, the authors used a quasi-experiment.
Abstract: Using data from a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign conducted by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) prior to the November 7, 2000, election, I use a quasi-exper...
49 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical and empirical framework was proposed to explain variations in interest group behavior at the policy level, and the hypothesis that interest groups use legislative context as a part of their decision calculus when considering how to lobby Congress.
Abstract: Do interest groups strategically select lobbying tactics in response to the legislative context of policies they wish to influence? As rational actors, interest groups should be keen to spend their resources wisely by responding strategically to legislative contexts. This research suggests a theoretical and empirical framework and attempts to explain variations in interest group behavior at the policy level. The empirical design associates direct and indirect interest group lobbying activities with specific policies and tests the hypothesis that interest groups use legislative context as a part of their decision calculus when considering how to lobby Congress. I find that measures of legislative context are important components of models of direct and indirect lobbying.
TL;DR: This article investigated three important life transitions (becoming a parent, getting married, and dropping out or graduating from high school) on the development of civic engagement and found that the socioecono...
Abstract: We investigate three important life transitions—becoming a parent, getting married, and dropping out or graduating from high school—on the development of civic engagement. We qualify the socioecono...
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of local media coverage of presidential domestic travel and found that the most important factor influencing both the amount and tone of such coverage is the level of presidential support within a community.
Abstract: Domestic travel has become a common practice for modern presidents. Many claim local media cover these presidential trips more extensively and positively than the national media, yet no one has examined the validity of this assumption. We begin this examination with a study of local and national newspaper coverage of President George W. Bush’s 2001 domestic travel. Our findings confirm that the local press covers presidential domestic trips both more comprehensively and favorably than the national press. We also analyze variations in local newspaper coverage of presidential visits, finding that the most important factor influencing both the amount and tone of such coverage is the level of presidential support within a community. Other factors discovered to affect either the amount or tone of local coverage include the availability of adversarial sources, whether a newspaper has a Democratic editorial bent, and whether a visit occurred after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
TL;DR: This article examined presidential use of public appeals on behalf of nominees to the U.S. courts of appeals from 1977 to 2005 and found that those who received more presidential support were not more likely to get confirmed by the Senate and appeared to be less likely to be confirmed.
Abstract: I examine presidential use of public appeals on behalf of nominees to the U.S. courts of appeals from 1977 to 2005. Presidents Clinton and W. Bush have utilized this strategy far more regularly than did their predecessors. I find that presidents go public more often and more quickly on behalf of nominees facing a difficult confirmation climate, as well as on behalf of those who would diversify the bench. However, nominees who received more presidential support were not more likely to be confirmed by the Senate and appeared to be less likely to be confirmed. These findings indicate an important shift in presidential strategy concerning appointments to the courts of appeals in the newly politicized confirmation climate. These findings also provide evidence that presidents may be motivated by factors beyond confirmation success when determining how to expend public support on behalf of individuals nominated to these important courts.
TL;DR: This paper examined the role of non-roll call debates in the House of Representatives and found that more individualistic, institutionally disadvantaged members tend to favor 1-minute speeches, whereas those in the parties' mainstream frequent the special-order period.
Abstract: To date, most empirical analyses of position taking in Congress have focused on roll call voting, where members of Congress (MCs) regularly cast votes, thereby regularly taking positions. Left largely unstudied has been position taking outside the domain of roll call voting. This article takes a closer look at who utilizes one popular non–roll call forum in the House of Representatives—nonlegislative debate (NLD)—and why. The analysis expands on extant research by examining multiple Congresses (101st to 106th), both types of NLD (1-minute speeches and special-order addresses), and determinants not explicitly accounted for in previous research. Among other things, I argue that institutional variation across the NLD forums leads to important differences in participation. The results show that more individualistic, institutionally disadvantaged MCs tend to favor 1-minute speeches, whereas those in the parties' mainstream frequent the special-order period.
TL;DR: The authors used a random-effects probit model and data from the 1988 to 1992 American Senate Election Studies to show that the ideological divergence among Senate candidates conditions the influence of ideology on vote choice, at least among the more politically knowledgeable segment of the population.
Abstract: Although it has been long established that ideology influences the decisions of American voters, scholars have begun more recently to delineate which voters under what conditions will vote ideologically Although these studies have been illuminating, most analyses have failed to account for one critical contextual factor: candidate ideological divergence Using a random-effects probit model and data from the 1988 to 1992 American Senate Election Studies, I show that the ideological divergence among Senate candidates conditions the influence of ideology on vote choice, at least among the more politically knowledgeable segment of the population This reinforces and extends the findings of Wright and Berkman that ideologically polarized candidates produce ideological voters
TL;DR: The authors assesses whether the managerial capacity of agencies influences the volume of policy authority that lawmakers delegate, finding that poorly performing agencies are more likely to lose policy authority and that models of discretion that do not account for performance underestimate the effect of another factor, policy conflict between the legislative and executive branches.
Abstract: This article assesses whether the managerial capacity of agencies influences the volume of policy authority that lawmakers delegate. Examining a sample of agencies whose managerial capacities were assessed along the same criteria, and allowing for the comparison of performance across agencies, we observe that poorly performing agencies are more likely to lose policy authority. Our findings suggest that lawmakers promote effective policymaking by giving agencies the incentive to perform well and that models of discretion that do not account for performance underestimate the effect of another factor—policy conflict between the legislative and executive branches—on how much discretion agencies receive.
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between the U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts is examined and how Supreme Court precedent affects state supreme court decision-making, and the relationship is analyzed in detail.
Abstract: To better understand the relationship between the U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts, we examine how Supreme Court precedent affects state supreme court decision making. Examining state su...
TL;DR: The political pipeline theory as mentioned in this paper argues that when more women fill the ranks of locally elected positions, the number of qualified female candidates will increase and more women will eventuate in local elections.
Abstract: Proponents of the political pipeline theory argue that when more women fill the ranks of locally elected positions, the number of qualified female candidates will increase and more women will event...
TL;DR: This paper found that religious identity has an independent effect on the vote among Latino evangelicals and found that Latino evangelicals who identify with the Republican Party are more committed supporters of the incumbent president, and the existence of a religion gap suggests that the Latino electorate may become much less cohesive as a voting bloc as religious affiliation becomes more pluralistic in the Latino community.
Abstract: To examine the impact of religion on the Latino vote, we draw on data from a pre-election survey of 1,603 Latino registered voters conducted in October 2004. We advance the argument that religious identity is politically salient only among Latino evangelicals. Controlling for a host of voting determinants, we show that religious identity has an independent effect on the vote among Latino evangelicals. Furthermore, Latino evangelicals who identify with the Republican Party are found to be more-committed supporters of the incumbent president. The existence of a religion gap suggests that the Latino electorate may become much less cohesive as a voting bloc as religious affiliation becomes more pluralistic in the Latino community.
TL;DR: This article found that almost a quarter of the public claims to have relied on religious media when making voting decisions in 2000, and that religious media users were significantly closer to George W. Bush and Pat Buchanan and farther away from Al Gore and were more likely to vote for Bush and Republican House candidates than nonusers, even after controlling for a host of religious and political variables.
Abstract: Both religion and mass media are politically important in the United States. However, little is known about the political role of religious media. Religious media might be politically influential because they help translate religion into political thinking and because their consumers are likely to internalize the political cues these media provide. We find that almost a quarter of the public claims to have relied on religious media when making voting decisions in 2000. Religious media users felt significantly closer to George W. Bush and Pat Buchanan and farther away from Al Gore and were more likely to vote for Bush and Republican House candidates than nonusers, even after controlling for a host of religious and political variables. These findings reflect more than self-selection effects and suggest that religious media have a polarizing effect on the candidate evaluations and voting behavior of their core audience of political conservatives.
TL;DR: The 2004 presidential election raised a number of questions about the role of military service in political campaigns, particularly how it affects individual-level engagement in politics as mentioned in this paper, however, these questions were largely rhetorical.
Abstract: The 2004 presidential election raised a number of questions about the role of military service in political campaigns, particularly how it affects individual-level engagement in politics However,
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test whether cross-generational acculturation shapes the ways in which Mexican American voters selected between John Kerry and George Bush in the 2004 presidential election.
Abstract: The Mexican American electorate includes large numbers of immigrants as well as people of later generations. In this article, we test whether cross-generational acculturation shapes the ways in which Mexican American voters selected between John Kerry and George Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Although change across immigrant generations has long been a critical question in American political behavior, it is only with the current wave of immigrants and their U.S.-born children and grandchildren that it is possible to measure the relationship between acculturation and vote choice. With generational replacement, changes in the dynamics of vote choice across immigrant generations could herald long-term changes in the mechanisms of vote choice. We find that generation does shape Mexican American vote choice, both directly—in the simple measure of the generational dummy variables—and in the interaction between generation and partisanship, issue evaluation, religion, and state of residence.
TL;DR: The authors found that minority candidates attack significantly less than do nonminorities, in support of their expectations regarding deracialized campaigns, and that when candidates attack, they are likely to do so on salient issues and character.
Abstract: Previous research on negative campaigning has focused on the influence of competitive circumstances and the timing of attacks. Here, we focus on whether campaign issues or character are more likely to be the focus of attacks and whether, as part of a deracialized campaign, minority candidates attack less than do nonminorities. Data are derived from content analyses of newspaper coverage and candidates’ TV ads in the 2001 Los Angeles mayoral election. Contrary to expectations, one’s position in the horse race is not a significant predictor of attacks in the primary campaign. More important are conditions in the campaign environment that maximize the benefits of attack speech. When candidates attack, they are likely to do so on salient issues and character. We also find that minority candidates attack significantly less than do nonminorities, in support of our expectations regarding deracialized campaigns. In a concluding section, we discuss the implications of our findings.
TL;DR: Attitudes toward race and politics continue to show tensions between antiracist norms and racist stereotypes, even among new generations of White Americans raised in an era of consensus on antiraci...
Abstract: Attitudes toward race and politics continue to show tensions between antiracist norms and racist stereotypes, even among new generations of White Americans raised in an era of consensus on antiraci...
TL;DR: The authors developed an integrative model to explain Supreme Court decision making, using constitutional civil liberties and civil rights cases in the 1953 to 2000 period, conditions favorable to the attitudinal model, and found that institutional decision making is a function of attitudinal, strategic, and legal factors.
Abstract: How do the justices of the Supreme Court make their decisions? How does the Supreme Court of the United States make its decisions? The answer to these questions may not be the same. In studying judicial decision making, there has been a disconnection between individual and institutional levels of analysis. Lifetime tenure insulates individual justices and permits them to act on their substantive preferences. At the same time, the Court lacks the “sword and purse” and must rely on the other branches to fund or implement its directives. This study develops an integrative model to explain Supreme Court decision making. Using constitutional civil liberties and civil rights cases in the 1953 to 2000 period, conditions favorable to the attitudinal model, we find that institutional decision making is a function of attitudinal, strategic, and legal factors.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine trial court rulings concerning the admissibility of scientific expert testimony and find substantial support for the claim that trial judges' ideology can predict their decisions on admissible evidence.
Abstract: This article examines trial court rulings concerning the admissibility of scientific expert testimony. In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the trial judge's role as a “gatekeeper” and gave trial judges substantial discretion over their scrutiny of expert testimony. Because the external constraints on admissibility rulings are minimal, one might expect that if trial judges' ideology were to play some role in their decision making, it might do so here. To test this expectation, I perform a binomial logit analysis of federal district court Daubert rulings in tort cases from 1983 to 2003. I find substantial support for the claim that trial judges' ideology can predict decisions on admissibility. I find less support, however, for the claim that Daubert affected trial judges' willingness to admit such testimony, and no evidence that such decisions are affected by the prospect of reversal on appeal.
TL;DR: The authors found that a substantial proportion of voters who see little to no important differences between the major parties tend to vote for the incumbent candidate or party, motivated by the desire to decrease the potential costs of postdecision regrets.
Abstract: We approach the issues of partisanship and voting behavior by focusing specifically on a seldom-studied group—the substantial proportion of citizens who see little to no important differences between the major parties. Motivated by the heuristics and burgeoning behavioral economics literatures, we conclude that party cues help reduce uncertainty for voters. More specifically, for voters lacking these cues, we expect that there will be a bias toward the incumbent candidate or party, which is motivated by the desire to decrease the potential costs of postdecision regrets. Similarly, we expect that these individuals are likely to delay choosing between candidates and may abstain from voting altogether, which is driven by a shortage of justifications on which to base the decision. We develop measures of perceived party differences based on symbolic and operational differences using data from the American National Election Study and find significant support for our hypotheses in the context of presidential ele...
TL;DR: This paper found that leadership-minded legislators carefully consider the ideological positions of potential recipients of their help when deciding how to distribute their campaign contributions, and that parties, when they use the right tools, can harness the ambition of leadershipminded legislators to the benefit of the party as a whole.
Abstract: Researchers know very little about the quest for internal power in the U.S. House of Representatives because the leadership climb takes place largely behind closed doors. The current article attempts to shed some light on the heretofore little-known process by focusing on one aspect of this climb that actually is public: legislators' decisions to make contributions from their so-called leadership political action committees. In contrast with much of the extant literature, the data show that leadership-minded legislators carefully consider the ideological positions of potential recipients of their help when deciding how to distribute their campaign contributions. I also show that parties, when they use the right tools, can harness the ambition of leadership-minded legislators to the benefit of the party as a whole.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine and empirically test a central assumption of strategic models of Supreme Court behavior, namely whether the Court selects legal instruments used in the majority opinions, and they show that the assumption is false.
Abstract: I examine and empirically test a central assumption of strategic models of Supreme Court behavior. Specifically, I consider whether the Court selects legal instruments used in the majority opinions...