I. Congressional Elections

A.   Congressional elections are demanding, expensive, and usually a foregone conclusion—that is incumbents almost always WIN

B.   Who Wins Elections?

1.     Incumbents (“are individual who already hold office”): When incumbents decide to run for re-election they enter their party’s primary, almost always emerge victorious, and typically win in the November general election. **The most important fact about Congressional elections is this: INCUMBENTS USUALLY WINà98% 1998-2002 election cycles

2.     The best thing a candidate has going is whether he/she is an incumbent

a.      even in 1994, 92% of incumbent Senators and 89% of incumbent Reps won re-election

b.     The usual rate of incumbent re-election in Congress is around 90% with more than 60% of vote

3.     Incumbent Advantages

*Keep in mind, there are many advantages...these are just among the most salient

a.     1^st, Voters know who they areàthough many can’t name their rep

b.     2^nd, is the possibility of Presidential coattails—although can work the other way too—1994 Republican takeover a vote (angry white males) against the Prez and his wife

c.     3^rd, Advertising: most Representatives “home style”—b/n elections they travel home to their districts to make contact with their constituents—goal is VISIBILITY—they work hard to do this and often succeed (mail, tv, radio, met in town hall meeting etc)

d.     4^th advantage is Credit Claiming. Process of enhancing their standing w/constituents thru service to district—most want to cultivate image of someone who “works hard” and “works for us”—Constituent service—CASEWORK & PORK BARREL (list of projects, grants, and contracts the Rep brings back to his/her district is critical)

e.     5^th advantage = WEAK OPPONENTS

f.       6^th and also up critical is $$$$--most of the $$ flowing into the campaigns goes to incumbents (9 out of every 10 PAC dollar in 1998 election cycle went to incumbents). QUESTION: WHY?

i.                   1996 Presidential election—Clinton, Dole, Perot combined spent $200M

ii.                 1998 Senate races (33 in all) cost $244M—on avg winner spent $5M

iii.              1998 House races (all 435) cost approx $373M—on avg winner spent $1M

g.     Defeating an Incumbent: doesn’t happen often but here are some reasons. Q: why run if the chances so slim. A: many challengers naïve about their chances

i. Scandal/corruption: Condit

ii. Redistricting: incumbents may be redistricted out of “their” turf

iii. Larger Political Forces: sometimes election tidal waves roll across the country and incumbents are defeated (2002: 98% reelection rate for incumbent Congressmen/women running for reelection (FEC, 2003)

II. Congressional Functions

A.   According to the Burns et al text, Congress performs 7 critical functions:

1.     Representation: getting elected to office, going to Washington and representing the needs of their constituents is what this is all about

2.     Law Making: making laws designed to solve problems is what this function is all about

3.     Consensus Building: Means the process of building support to get laws made, bills passed, and budgets put into effect

4.     Overseeing the Bureaucracy: another Congressional function is to ensure that laws passed by them are properly “faithfully carried out by the executive branch” and accomplish what was intended by the law in the first place

5.     Policy Clarification: where Congress clarifies an issue generally to the mass public—called “public education”

6.     (in Senate) Confirm Presidential Appointees and Ratify Treaties: majority vote to confirm and 2/3 vote to ratify—checks and balances

7.     Investigating the Operation of Government Agencies: ensures that the other branches are doing what they are supposed to be doing—includes impeachment and removal powers over federal judges and the President

III. Congressmen at Work

A.     How do issues get on the Congressional agenda?

1.      As our textbook suggests, some issues get on the agenda b/c a visible trend draws us to a problem

2.      Presidential support or prodding can move an issue onto the legislative agenda quickly

3.      Congressional Party leaders and committee chair support and prodding also can move an issue or stop it dead in its tracks

4.      Interest Group, media and public prodding can also have a big impact on which issues do or do not emerge

IV. The Dance of Legislation (or, How a Bill becomes a Law)

A.  Link to the C-SPAN process

B. Here's the Legislative dance works:

1.      After being introduced, bills go to committee/subcommittee. After bill passes thru subcomittee/committee process, it goes to rules committee (where rule governing floor debate is attached) and then to full membership for a vote

2.      Bills passed by both the full House and Senate then go to CONFERENCE COMMITTEE, where differences b/n the 2 versions are resolved--this isn't easy to do

a.      example: for a complex defense bill last year the conference committee had to resolve 2003 differences b/n House and Senate bills

b.      ONLY about 20% of all bills going to conference come out

c.      Plus, bills in Senate are often stopped cold in their tracks by just ONE Senator who opposes it thru the Filibuster, or the attempt to TALK a bill to deathàCan only stop a filibuster with a CLOTURE vote--that stops a filibuster but it needs 60 votes

3.      The few bills that make it out of conference are then sent to the POTUS, who signs or vetoes it

4.      If POTUS vetoes Congress can override w/2/3 vote in each house

V. Decision-Making Environment: How do legislators make up their minds about a vote?

A.   They cast about 3 votes per day and about

B.   1000 votes a year. They have to weigh many factors before voting, and remember that any vote could come back to haunt them in a subsequent election

C.    As Burns et al all suggest they are influenced by many factors, including

1.      Political Leaders

2.      The President

3.      Constituents

4.      Interest Groups

5.      Colleagues

6.      Policy/Moral Convictions