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This paper examines community conflict over a proposal by the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomie Indians to build a $100 million casino in a rural, culturally conservative county in southwestern Michigan. Conflict over the casino escalated in both scope and intensity over time until it involved local, state, and national governments. The paper examines the roles of various interests and actors in the conflict, focusing in particular on the activities of clergy and churches. Both ‘economic’ and ‘morality’ politics perspectives prove useful in helping us understand the complex dynamics of the casino struggle. The paper provides useful insights concerning (1) the role of people of faith in community conflict (2) the escalation of community conflict and (3) the impact of federalism on community conflict. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research related to the role of religious interests in community conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standard accounts of political participation - emphasizing social structure, civic skills, registration laws, and elite mobilization - all have something valuable to say about who takes part in politics and who stays home. Largely missing from these accounts, however, are citizens themselves. What citizens want from politics, what they care about, is not much part of the standard story. The purpose of our paper is to argue that a more complete and satisfying understanding of political action requires taking into account the political priorities and concerns of common citizens, and furthermore, that the best way to think about such priorities and concerns is in terms of conviction. To try to make our case, we introduce and develop the idea of conviction, suggest how conviction should be situated within the standard theory of political action, present a set of empirical indicators of conviction drawn from our survey of Atlanta and Detroit carried out in the late fall of 2000, and then, using these same data, test whether conviction motivates political action. We find that conviction does indeed contribute independently to participation: in Atlanta and Detroit, for blacks and whites, for men and women, and for political participation in many of its various forms. In the paper’s final section, we draw out the implications of our results for a theory of political action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the conventional wisdom about the effect of the threat of terrorism on voting decisions in the 2004 election. We draw on two national surveys and a series of surveys in the state of Michigan conducted between late Fall 2001 and mid-June 2004...ASA-As a first step, we examine trends in popular perceptions of the terrorist threat since late 2001. We track these perceptions using a core indicator of ?sociotropic threat? that is common to both the national and Michigan surveys. We also examine whether major post-9/11 events and terror warnings (?Orange Alerts?) have affected people?s sense of threat. Those warnings do generally raise people?s concern about another attack; but they have no impact on presidential approval. We then examine the relationship between perceptions of threat and approval of George Bush?s performance as President. We show that this relationship changed fundamentally between the immediate post-9/11 period and the middle of 2004. While shortly after 9/11 those who expressed greater concern about terrorism were more likely to approve of Bush?s presidential performance, by April-June 2004 this relationship had reversed: those who were more concerned about terrorism were less likely to approve of Bush?s performance. Finally, we examine the relationship between perceptions of threat and the voters? choice between Bush and Kerry, based on a statewide survey conducted in Michigan in late Spring 2004. We test whether perceived threat matters after we take into account the voters? foreign policy and economic views as well as their ideological and partisan orientations. We show that the sense of threat does matter, and that it works against the re-election of George Bush. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the "Michigan model" of partisanship and the attack on it mounted in the 1970s. Using the Nie, et al. volume "The Changing American Voter" as a reference point, it asks whether the decline of partisanship, so starkly obvious in 1972 data, has continued, leveled off, or whether there has been a resurgence of partisanship in voter psychology. Findings, of course, are mixed. Affect toward partisans and partisans has continued to become more negative, but also has become a bit more polarized -- reversing the 1956-1972 trend. The "sorting out" of the parties in terms of issue preferences has continued. Panel data are used to determine whether issues have influenced partisanship (as the rational choice model supposes) or whether partisanship influences issues (as per the Michigan model). Proper estimation via 2SLS shows neither effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the indirect effect of state legislative term limits on races for local office. Specifically, the research question of interest is: Are members of the State House of Representatives more likely to run for local office after the passage of term limits? Researchers have demonstrated that most term-limited legislators are still interested in remaining in public life. However, ambitious legislators in a state with limited opportunities for upward mobility such as Michigan may choose to return to local office rather than the traditional progression up the ?political ladder.? In order to address the question of interest, data were collected on the activities of legislators immediately after their last year in office in the Michigan House of Representatives between the years of 1982-2000. In all, 212 legislators were included in the analysis. The activities of a pre-term limit set of legislators (1982-1992) were compared to that of a post-term limit group of legislators (1993-2000). Overall, a multivariate probit model demonstrates that term limits do have a significant impact on a legislator’s decision to run for local office. Overall, legislators are 14.3% more likely to run for local government in the post term limit period. Other variables such as the presence of a senate election year, the Senate incumbent’s percent of the previous vote, and county population were also found to be significant at at least the .10 level with varying degrees of influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationsip between legislators and bureacrats is a complex one that includes collaboration, cooptation, delegation and monitoring. Legislative term limits have the potential to alter this relationship in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of term limits on the relationship between state legislators and bureaucrats, using data from personal interviews with both pre and post-term limited members of Michigan’s House of Representatives. Three measures are used: The extent to which legislators rely on bureaucrats for information and guidance, the level of priority legislators assign to monitoring state agencies, and how well members evaluated themselves as a chamber in monitoring the implementation of programs. Overall, we find that term limits has some important, but limited effects on the relationships between legislators and bureaucrats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few studies have looked at the development of party identification in new democracies, but have ignored the distinction between generations in the process of democratic consolidation. This paper tests how voters who were socialized in a socialist political system developed party attachments over time. The main issue of partisanship thereby is the question of its stability. Two rival theories - namely the Michigan and the revisionist Rochester model - are contrasted, by comparing factors that affect the dynamics of partisanship among several generations of citizens in newly democratized East Germany and those of veteran democrats in West Germany. Making use of mixed latent markov models, the change and stability in individual-level German partisan attachments are captured over a 15 year period via the German Socio-Economic Panel. Results suggest that differences between East and West Germans, as well as different generational patterns exist. Parental socialization and social class have less of an impact on the formation of partisanship for East Germans and they appear to make an `informed choice' regarding which party they feel close to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the continuous increase of campaign funds spent by judicial candidates in Michigan as of September 2004. Amount spent by the winning candidates of the 2000 election for Michigan Supreme Court; Restriction faced by judicial candidates in raising campaign funds; Role of political mobilization in election; Changes in the structure of the election system of state courts.

Discusses a study on the effects of age, gender and vote-method of voters on the participation in local elections in Michigan. Methodology of the study; Description of the voting age population; Participation of voters by sex in 2000.

Based on a five-year panel study of the Michigan House of Representatives, this investigation explores the impact of term limits on four relationships between legislators: influence, friendships, consulting about a politically salient issue and consulting about a technical issue. We found that overall the number of people described as influential declined, but those that were named were primarily those in positions of formal leadership. Surprisingly we found that friendships did not decline with an influx of newcomers, but cross-party friendships did decline. Finally, we found that hubs or key consultants emerged in both vote cuing networks, but especially around the technical issue. We argue that some impacts of term limits depend on the number of newcomers, but others reflect institutional changes in the term-limited legislature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research attempts to explore political culture by examining the campaign speeches of South Carolina and Michigan gubernatorial candidates throughout the 1950s -- a time when the differences between the subcultures of these two states were described as robust. The findings reveal distinct rhetorical patterns, as appeals to voters in a moralistic culture promoted full participation and collective resolution of community problems, while those made in a traditionalistic culture were exclusionary and encouraged people to rely on the political elite. These distinctions were even reflected in candidates' choice of pronouns with Southern candidates consistently choosing the pronoun I and the Michigan candidate preferring the collective pronoun we. The results lay the groundwork for future research tracing how such regional rhetorical patterns have evolved over time. Such efforts should provide much needed insight into the way political norms are reconstructed and modified across time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interaction between legislators and interest groups is a complicated two-way relationship that is likely to become even more complex in states that have adopted term limits. Based on a longitudinal study of member of the Michigan House of Representatives, the authors explore several facets of legislators’ perceptions of their relationship with lobbyists before and after term limits. Despite the claims of some term limits advocates that this reform would purge the state of cozy relationships between elected officials and special interests, the authors find that there is no difference between the extent to which legislators rely on interest groups and lobbyists for information and guidance on issues. Further they find that legislators may be more instead of less accessible to lobbyists after term limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an ideal democratic society, public education should be the means to provide everyone with opportunities to receive a quality education that prepares them to be productive, competent adults. For the last decade, issues of equality and quality have become more questionable, particularly in large urban areas. During the 2000 election, a state-wide ballot issue to support school vouchers in failing school districts became the focus of media attention. The intent of school vouchers was to provide equal access to private and parochial schools, especially for families who could not afford this privilege. This controversial issue divided the public based on their view of public education and the role of the state in supporting private and religious schools. The purpose of this study was to explore how journalists working for the two largest newspapers in the Detroit Metropolitan Area framed and interpreted the school voucher issue during the national presidential election year 2000 to determine how their roles affected this issue. Specifically, this study seeks to answer the question of whether journalists and newspaper editors act as objective observers or political activists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the term limits of veterans on legislative positions in the U.S. It is stated that when term limits were disclosed, open seats in the upper chamber were often won by legislators who were expelled from lower chambers. Term-limited states in the U.S. include professional legislatures, such as California and Michigan, and part-time legislatures, such as Montana and Maine. Term limits were adopted by voters in Michigan in 1992, but their implementation was staggered.

The article offers information on the politics of territorial division in the U.S. which includes creation of Wisconsin Territory from Michigan, creation of Illinois Territory from Indiana and creation of Michigan Territory from Indiana. It discusses several facts which includes concerns of territorial organization, fluidity of the jurisdictional boundaries and the inherently temporary nature of a territory.

We are now entering a new era of fiscal stress in municipal governments. The experience of previous eras, most especially the chronic fiscal stress of the 1980s, has led to the development of a substantial literature on this topic. However, despite strong scholarly interest in the topic of fiscal stress, little attention has been paid to understanding how the general public thinks it might best be addressed. This study explores the support expressed by Michigan residents for eight strategies used to address funding shortfalls in five specific local government services. Two strategies focus on adding revenues through increasing taxes or seeking additional aid. The other six options seek cost reductions through altering service production arrangements or by reducing staff levels or employee compensation. We find only modest support for utilizing these strategies, but clear differences in preferences among the strategies and for which services they should be used. Intergovernmental aid, functional consolidation, and interlocal contracting were among the top three strategies in three of the five service areas, and among the top four in all five. Support for tax increases was strongest for police and fire services, while the greatest support for contracting was expressed for trash collection, road and street maintenance and repair, and parks and recreation services. The two options explicitly reducing the costs of employees received the least amount of support in all five services areas. In short, the respondents expressed more support for strategies maintaining the status quo of traditional service delivery for public safety functions, but were more supportive of options challenging the status quo of service delivery when not directed at police or firefighting services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between public opinion and policy adoption in state level energy and climate change policy in Michigan and Pennsylvania. It found that the two states not only have many similar demographic qualities but their citizens also have rather comparable views concerning the existence of global warming. In Pennsylvania, there is high levels of concern and strongest support for policies that mandate increases in renewable energy supply. In Michigan, attitudes are quite comparable.

The article presents an analysis of the costs and benefits of short-term international experiences, particularly their role in enhancing the study of comparative politics. The mechanics of organizing short-term study abroad experiences as part of regular course offerings are discussed, based on two different experiences offered through the Political Science Department at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Those who advocate state regulation of local politics often argue that state governments can and should reduce inequalities across local communities. We study a class of state policies that are designed to limit local control over fiscal policy. Based on an empirical analysis of fiscal behavior in a sample of Michigan cities, we find evidence that these state tax limitations exacerbate, rather than reduce, disparities across local communities on a number of dimensions. Communities with less property wealth are more likely to be constrained by the state TEL, and being constrained is found to be associated with less flexible fiscal policy, reduced citizen satisfaction with public services, and lower perceived quality of life. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Michigan House members say that the power of the executive branch, including both the governor and state agencies, increased after term limits. In this poster we explore the extent to which representatives say they consult the governor's office and state agency officials for information and guidance on a difficult issue. Additionally, we explore the amount of time legislators report spending monitoring state agencies and the grade they give themselves for performing this task. Our data are based on interviews with Michigan House members before and after term limits. We discover that after term limits, House members consult executive branch actors more extensively about a difficult issue than they did before term limits. Additionally we discover that the small amount of time they spent monitoring state agencies before term limits declined after term limits. The grade they give themselves for this activity declined too. Based on open-ended comments made by the Representatives we interviewed, we found that the number who did not realize that they should exercise oversight over the executive branch increased after term limits and more representatives also revealed in their comments that they did not understand what monitoring state agencies involved. Hence we suggest that these are some of the ways in which the executive branch has become more powerful relative to the legislature after terrm limits. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the general approach of natural experiments as an effective research design for the study of the effects of the adoption of new voting technology. The analysis focuses on the states of Florida and Michigan since they represent two different examples of the nature of change that is taking place in election administration. The article explains an appropriate statistical technique for ecological analysis that was employed successfully in other analyses of shifts in election administration using similar data resources.

The article examines five U.S. cities, Chico, California; Fort Collins, Colorado; Lansing, Michigan; Spokane, Washington; and Waco, Texas, and examines in what ways are other organizations stepping up to connect members of immigrant groups to local political machinery. Whether politicians pay attention to these groups depends on whether the politicians perceive them as voting, voting in a bloc, or likely to vote in the future. The default position is one that can be read as either openness or indifference.

The article reports on findings of a preliminary study aimed to examine patterns of bill introduction in the lower houses of the Michigan and Minnesota legislatures during the 2003-2004 session. In terms of legislators' personal attributes, gender and seniority have the strongest impact on the number of bills filed as well as the content of these proposals. The strongest support in terms of district characteristics is found for the hypothesis that links bill content to the existence of a large elderly population in a legislator's district.

The article presents an analysis that has established the frames used in the elite discourse surrounding the University of Michigan affirmative action cases. Specifically, the article looks at the incidence of amicus activity present in the cases. A brief review of the literature on the framing of affirmative action is presented, followed by a description of the research design.