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Why do potentially transformative U.S. reforms often prove incoherent and incremental? In the U.S., the cultural and institutional barriers to enacting major reforms are high. After reforms are enacted, their opponents retain many institutional pathways to challenge reforms. This paper focuses on presidents in emergent partisan regimes as uniquely-positioned actors who broker design compromises throughout the reform process. During presidential campaigns, opposition candidates have incentives to promise transformative reforms which offer a decisive break from the past. Upon entering the legislative arena, however, presidents' incentives shift toward supporting moderating design compromises. Finally, as reforms are implemented, presidents face intense demands to make administrative decisions which appease the business community. Through the layering of design compromises, reforms are watered down and made less coherent. This paper explores this dynamic by analyzing the design and implementation of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. Existing scholarship explains the Federal Reserve System's design through reference to discrete critical junctures: a clandestine retreat at a Georgia resort; a broad congressional compromise; or a partisan-controlled implementation process. These explanations each describe the emergence of a more coherent "Fed" than the fragmented organization which began operations in 1914. To understand why potentially transformative reforms often disappoint, one must account for the shifting pressures presidents encounter when guiding reforms to fruition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) voters are a distinctively liberal group in American politics whose members tend to affiliate with the Democratic Party and support its candidates at much greater rates than heterosexuals. To the extent that scholars have offered explanations for this distinctiveness, they have attributed it to mobilization efforts that focus on group benefits for LGBs. In this paper, I show instead that it is the life event of "coming out" as lesbian, gay or bisexual—above and beyond any subsequent mobilization efforts—that gives LGBs their political distinctiveness. I first show that LGBs are politically distinctive from the moment they come of age and begin participating in electoral politics, regardless of the extent of their contact with other gay people. I then demonstrate that among Americans who report having same-sex sexual partners, only a subset are politically distinctive: those who accept the morality of their homosexual behavior. These findings indicate that the adoption of gay identity is a catalyzing life event with major implications for individual political behavior and attitudes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we look again at the distinction between independent voters "leaners" and partisans. We find some important similarities between "pure" independents and independents classified as "leaners." We argue that although independent leaners may be similar to partisans on some measures, they are behaviorally and attitudinally distinct from partisans in important ways. Even more importantly, the behavioral similarity between partisans and leaners changes when there are more than two candidates on offer. The behavioral similarity of leaners to partisans emphasized in previous studies can thus be understood as a product of the forced choice between the two parties that typifies the American political system. When more options are available, independent leaners take advantage of those options and do not remain loyal to the two big parties in the same measure as partisans. The position of independent leaners in the US is thus loosely analogous to the position tactical voters in multi-party systems in that they are compelled by the party system to choose between the lesser of two evils. Our argument suggests that earlier results and interpretations of independents reflected the specific two party choice settings of the 1950s through the 1980s. Furthermore, even assuming a behavioral similarity to partisans, leaners have distinct attitudes towards politics and the political system that put them far away from being standard Michigan model-type voters. We begin by presenting a brief review of the sizable literature on this topic. From here we present some simple evidence that supports an alternative interpretation of leaners as neither partisans nor "pure" independents, but as "critical citizens." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promise of social media in American politics has been democratization and equality of access, but there is little research into how social media is used to advocate for policy preferences. Morality politics and interest group theories provide a framework for this study which examines the use of 'insider' social media lobbying tactics by state LGBT interest groups. Using content and regression analyses, data collected from the Twitter output of fifty-nine state-level LGBT interest groups for the period January-May 2015 suggest that direct or 'insider' lobbying accounts for only a small portion of LGBT interest group social media activity; and, variation in the use of such tactics can best be explained by state partisanship, partisan competition, and the distributions of citizen and elite values -- not by institutional or environmental factors. This study also highlights a discrepancy in social media tactics within the LGBT movement, as the most significant source of variation appears to be a transgender-specific organizational mission. Finally, this study contradicts the idea that social media provides equality of access as interest groups with more resources are more likely to directly contact elected officials via social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand Muslim American political participation using data from the newly released 2007 Pew Muslim American Survey Whereas previous work has relied on less reliable sample designs, the 2007 Pew Survey gives us confidence that the results of our Structural Equation Model (SEM) should be more suitable for studying Muslim American political behavior. In order to better understand these dynamic patterns, we will employ SEM to capture various latent factors affecting the prospects for political participation. The use of SEM seems most appropriate in this research agenda as the dimensions of religion as well as many observable indicators display endogenous relationships, which cannot be captured with a recursive model. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the contemporary debate on the impact of voter identification legislation on political participation by exploring the question in a comparable historical context. I situate the subject within the story of the demise of the infamous Democratic political machineâ??Tammany Hall. Several electoral laws were adopted in Gotham in the early 20th century, including a literacy test in 1923 requiring reading and writing ability in English. I expect the test is negatively associated with turnout among immigrantsâ??the base of the political machine. I hypothesize turnout decreased among immigrant populations as a function of voting regulations. And consequently, Tammany was less likely to influence the vote for the Democratic candidate thereafter. My findings indicate a clear weakening in the electoral strength of Tammany-dominated districts after 1933. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the oldest and most enduring debates in American Politics involves the endogeneity of party identification to the issue preferences of American citizens. More recent interest in the nature of party identification has shifted the terms of the debate from whether one view or the other dominates individual decision-making to a consideration of factors that condition the direction of causality (Carsey and Layman 2006, p. 645). Carsey and Layman's research points to the need for more theoretical consideration of which factors condition the relationship between policy preferences and partisanship. In this paper, I seek to examine the heterogeneity in the issue-basis of party identification by drawing on another classic literature concerning the uncertainty that citizens have about politics. The empirical analysis will employ an estimation technique used by Alvarez and Brehm (1995, 1997) in which heteroskedastic regression is used to directly model the error variance of the respondent's own issue placement, which is used as a measure of individual uncertainty. After controlling for an extensive list of demographic characteristics, I argue that the error variance encompasses not only lack of knowledge about the respondent's issue position, but also the use of cues and shortcuts from the social environment. Uncertainty in this broader sense of within group variation in issue placement is expected to condition the issue-basis of party identification. The estimated error variances from the first stage regression are then interacted with the respondent's issue placement in a second-stage ordered logit regression of party identification. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of women in politics has included the analysis of both elite women and the masses in regard to their voting, political activity, and attitudes. Research of the past three decades has shown that women usually hold different political attitudes than men and vote slightly more to the Democratic side than men, this gender gap has been explored in relation to a number of attitudes, few studies have analyzed whether the gender gap is still evident in an issue area that women might be torn in two hypothesized directions The purpose of this study is to conduct an analysis of the gender gap in individual's attitudes toward the appropriateness of torture to prevent future terrorist attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of Americans born between 1980 and 2000 does not bowl alone; they virtually bowl on their Wii. They cannot identify five Supreme Court justices by picture, but they can easily tell you who Stephen Colbert, Stewie Griffin, and Cartman are. If you ask them if they voted, many will believe you are referring to voting for their favorite American Idol superstar. They understand a sense of community and networks—at least if you are referring to Facebook or MySpace. They have grown up in the era where a Blackberry went from a business tool used mainly by Washington staffers to a key possession to any high school student. With the opportunity to teach two large lecture courses at a major state university this fall, I will be spending a period of time in each course examining the millennial culture and its impacts on political knowledge and participation. Both classes will take an instructor-designed political v. cultural awareness and knowledge pre-test on the first day, which will ask them a multitude of questions to judge where each student stands with regards to their knowledge and engagement of popular millennial culture and the political world. There will also be questions asking about usage of certain media and perceived strengths and weaknesses of each for political understanding. In the basic introduction to government course, the week devoted to political participation and behavior will instead be reserved for discussing youth participation in politics and the effect of millennial generation technology. In the second course—which covers current issues in American politics—we will instead devote two weeks to the topic. Students will be required to read The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein and we will have in-depth conversations related to topics within the book before covering the benefits and costs of millennial technology on politics for young citizens. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the style of celebrity politics in the U.S., particularly the cases of Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A brief historical overview of celebrity politics in country is presented, along with a discussion of the factors influencing celebrity political success. The article highlights the political contributions of Ventura and Schwarzenegger during their terms.

Unconventional political activities—also known as protest acts, which consist of boycotting, demonstrating, occupying a building, signing a petition, attending an unofficial strike, etc.—have long been used by citizens to influence the political system. In many instances these activities have proven fruitful in bringing about political change. These activities are often associated with minority groups. The participation literature suggests that unconventional political action is a "weapon of the weak", used by ethnic minority groups who are educationally and economically disadvantaged. However, more recent studies have shown that even non-minorities have also begun to use more unconventional political activity at an increasing rate to influence the political arena. In this paper I argue that the catalyst behind the changing political behavior of American citizens is the evolution of interest groups and their tactics. Viewing interest groups as more than established institutional organizations but also as individual effectors of change, who use blogging as resources to set the political agenda, allow us to see how the shift in American citizen's political behavior is facilitated. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many studies have examined the trends and possible factors that contribute to the public's approval of the President relatively little has been written about Congressional approval. Using elements of the model employed by Durr, Glimour, and Wolbrecht (1997), this paper examines factors affecting the public's approval of Congress. Durr et al's measure of congressional public approval is updated to include survey measures from 1994 through the fourth quarter of 2005. Factors that are examined include polarization between the branches of government and the nature of the media coverage Congress receives. The polarization variable was not included in the aforementioned model, but has gained national attention as the cause of all the nations woes. Durr et al's results indicate that increased polarization should lead to lower approval. They find that increased internal strife leads to a decrease in approval. However, rather than using their measures of internal strife, I will substitute polarization. The media variable was included in the Durr et al. model, however, with the increased prevalence of the 24-hour cable news channels and the advent of news websites, I argue that the affect of the media on approval has intensified. Therefore, an abundance of negative press will lead to a decrease in public approval. A better understanding of the nature of Congressional approval has many applications beyond the advances it brings to Congressional research. It can improve approval research pertaining to the other two branches of government, particularly the emerging topic of public approval of the Supreme Court. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like their secular peers, religious organizations maintain offices in the nation's capital to advocate for their policy preferences. And yet, their authority and influence in Washington depends largely on the perception that they are "above" politics. If religious organizations are seen as "just another interest group" rather than as "representatives of religious communities of believers", then they are likely to experience diminished influence. In light of this dilemma, how do religious organizations achieve a delicate balance between advancing their earthly policy interests and harnessing their heavenly authority to influence public policy? We argue that religious organizations attempt to walk this line by maintaining an intentionally multivocal posture - adjusting their rhetorical strategy depending on the venue in which they are speaking. We hypothesize that three factors contribute to organizational decisions to modulate their rhetoric across venues: organizational identity, frame alignment, and institutional context. We test this with a content analysis of the testimony of various religious organizations. Our very preliminary results support the conclusion that religious organizations using identity, framing,and context to guide their multivocality. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from media richness theory, certain forms of media, such as television, have greater informational impact on viewers and subsequent viewer cognitive information and action than other forms, such as newspapers. Through the use of the American National Election Survey Panel Study: 1990-1992, this longitudinal study examines two forms of media, newspaper and television, as well as war news to determine the influence on political opinion and voter participation. Results indicate that reading the newspaper or attention to campaign material in newspapers has no effect on subsequent political opinion, ideology, or turnout. Increased attention to television news campaign coverage yields a greater likelihood of voting as well as negative feelings about political leaders; however, too much attention to television campaigns creates media saturation level for voter participation and opinions about leaders, suggesting quality, not quantity is an important factor for political reasoning and action. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, scholars have found that women's underrepresentation in political office in the U.S. is in large part due to women's unwillingness to run for public office. I hypothesize that women's unwillingness to run is based in part on self-presentational concerns. In politics, image matters. A politician must convey competency, credibility, assertiveness, and attentiveness. The primary means by which impressions are conveyed by politicians is through the media. To the extent that women are aware of the scrutiny female politicians are subjected to by the press, they have to consider their self-presentational goals and abilities (do they feel comfortable under such scrutiny) to a greater extent than do men. I have conducted a pilot study investigating the relationship between self-presentational goals and political ambition with a survey of 268 college students (Smith 2006). The results of the pilot study are suggestive that self-presentational concerns matter for young women more than for young men in their decision to consider seeking public office. In this study, I administer a similar survey to approximately 2000 students at eight geographically-dispersed universities throughout the United States to examine how self-presentational goals and socialization interact to influence young women's political ambition. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinton (2006) finds that the revealed preferences of Republican House members are related to the preferences of their Republican constituents, but that the revealed preferences of Democratic House members are most strongly related to the preferences of their constituents that do not self-identify as Democrats. We suggest that Clinton's puzzling results are largely an artifact of his model and measures. The results change significantly when we replace Clinton's measure of constituency preferences based on self-identified ideology with a measure of constituency preferences constructed from responses to a dozen policy specific questions. More importantly, we suggest that the puzzling character of Clinton's results stem from a model that is inconsistent with the theoretical literature on the competing electoral pressures faced by every MC. We offer a model which is consistent with standard accounts of multiple constituencies. The results from our model are readily interpretable in terms of cross pressures on the MC from the median member of the geographic constituency and the median partisan.Clinton, Joshua. 2006. "Constituents and Roll Calls in the 106th House," Journal of Politics, Vol. 68(2): 397-409. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2004, election turnout rates in the United States and Canada started to converge, in part due to an increase in interest which led to higher turnout in the United States, and in part due to a generational-induced decline in turnout in Canada. Based on the theory that higher rates of participation are commonly associated with lower socioeconomic bias in participation (Lijphart, APSR 1997), I will use National Election Studies data from both countries to examine whether the recent changes in turnout levels have resulted in lower turnout bias in the United States and higher turnout bias in Canada (using standard SES variables). Possible partisan consequences will be discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]