Term Limits and Their Consequences : The Aftermath of Legislative Reform

by Caress, Stanley M.; Kunioka, Todd T.

• ISBN13: 9781438443058
• ISBN10: 1438443056
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

Comprehensive examination of legislative term limits and how they have changed the American political system.

Author Biography

Stanley M. Caress is Professor or Political Science at the University of West Georgia and the author of Dynamic of American Politics. Todd T. Kunioka is a statistical analyst for Los Angeles County and teaches Political Science at Cerritos College in California.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Why Study Term Limits?	p. 1
How Term Limits Have Been Studied	p. 3
The Early Debate	p. 3
Early Scholarship	p. 4
Methodological Weaknesses of Early Pre-Implementation Studies	p. 9
Methods Used in Later Studies	p. 10
This Book	p. 14
Movement to Establish Term Limits	p. 17
Difference between Mass Political Movements and Grassroots Direct Democracy Movements	p. 18
Essential Elements of a Grassroots Direct Democracy Movement	p. 20
The Success of the Movement	p. 26
Historical Stages of the Term Limit Movement	p. 27
Conclusion	p. 32
Why were Term Limits So Popular?	p. 35
The American Tradition of Political Reform	p. 36
Normative Perspectives of Support for Term Limits	p. 40
Research on Why Voters Prefer Term Limits and Still Vote for Their Incumbent	p. 43
Motivational Categories of Why Voters Prefer Term Limits	p. 44
The Optimistic Politics of Changing the Rules	p. 47
Impact on the Election of Women	p. 49
Predicted Impact on the Election of Women to State Legislatures	p. 50
Current Evidence from the States	p. 53
The Potential Anticipatory Influence of Term Limits	p. 54
Additional Evidence: Comparing Congress with State Legislatures	p. 57
Case Study: California, the First State to Feel the Impact of Term Limits	p. 59
Implications of the California Experience: Why Didn't Term Limits Matter?	p. 65
Other Factors Influence the Election of Women More Than Term Limits	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 67
Impact on the Election of Minority Candidates	p. 71
Research on Minorities and Term Limits	p. 72
National Trends in the Election of Black and Hispanic Candidates to State Legislatures	p. 76
Evidence from the California State Assembly, Michigan State House, Georgia House of Representatives, and Pennsylvania State House	p. 78
Summarizing the Case Study States: Term Limits, Redistricting, and State Demographics	p. 89
Consequences of term Limit Enactment on Career Paths	p. 91
Ambition Theory	p. 91
Impact of Term Limits on Motivation	p. 93
Career Paths for California's Term-Limited Legislators	p. 95
Other Impacts on Legislative Careers	p. 102
Contrasting Career Paths: Michigan v. California	p. 105
Discussion	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 110
Changes in Legislative Leadership	p. 113
Consequences of Eliminating Entrenched Legislative Leadership	p. 114
Pre-Term Limit California Speaker Patterns	p. 115
Post-Term Limit Speakership Transition Pattern	p. 120
California Senate Pattern	p. 125
Unseating the Leader Even without Term Limits: Georgia	p. 126
Minorities in Leadership Positions	p. 127
Women Obtaining Leadership Positions	p. 129
Unanticipated Consequences	p. 130
Weakened Leadership in Other Term-Limited States	p. 131
Conclusion	p. 132
Insiders' Views of term Limits	p. 135
Why Interviews are Important	p. 135
Views and Experiences of a Former State Legislator	p. 137
The Different Experience of a Post-Term Limits Legislator	p. 139
Views of Two Legislative Staffers	p. 143
Views of a Former Insider	p. 147
What These Interviews Suggest	p. 148
The Future of Term Limits in the States and in Congress	p. 151
Term Limits and Future Turnover Rates	p. 151
Term Limits in the States: Expansion, Contraction, or the Status Quo?	p. 153
Future Consequences	p. 155
Term Limits and Congress	p. 161
Conclusion	p. 164
Conclusion	p. 167
The Future of Term Limits	p. 176
Final Thoughts	p. 176
References	p. 179
Index	p. 191
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