Republic on Trial

by Rosenthal, Alan

• ISBN13: 9781568026527
• ISBN10: 1568026528
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

Despite all the arguing from politicians, special interests, and political parties, Americans basically agree on the most important political issues. If only our legislators would stop fighting over obtuse policy details and really listen to what ordinary Americans want, representatives on Capitol Hill and in the statehouses would actually get something done, right? Wrong.Americans perceive consensus when in reality there is none. The fact of the matter is Americans not only disagree on the most significant challenges facing the country, but also conflict on what to do about them. On issue after issue&BAD:-crime, Social Security, homosexual rights, military intervention, abortion&BAD:-the American public is deeply divided over the proper course of action. Yet our system is not flawed by this division; democracy is necessarily complex and contentious. In truth, without these messy and chaotic features of governance, our system would not be working as the Founders envisioned. In lucid and lively prose, the authors lay out criteria with which to assess our representative system. By showing students what democracy entails in practice&BAD:-the in's and out's of legislators actually doing their jobs&BAD:-they will come to see that uncertainty, competing interests, confusion, bargaining, compromise, and conflict are central to the proper functioning of our democracy.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures	xi
Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(1)
Problems of Democracy	2	(3)
Dangers of Distrust and Cynicism	5	(4)
Examining Whether Representative Democracy Works	9	(5)
What Does the Public Think?	14	(17)
What People Think	15	(2)
Why People Think the Way They Do	17	(11)
A Democratic Surge	18	(1)
The Fallout of Watergate and the Vietnam War	19	(1)
The Negative Role of the Media	20	(1)
Increasing Partisan Competition	21	(2)
The Polarizing Effect of Interest Groups	23	(1)
Legislators as ``Outsiders''	24	(1)
Generalizing from the Worst Cases	25	(1)
The Legislative Process Is Incomprehensible and Distasteful	26	(1)
Civic Education Hasn't Been Up to the Job	27	(1)
In Sum	28	(1)
Sources and Suggested Reading	29	(2)
What Did the Framers Have in Mind?	31	(16)
Framing the Constitution in Historical Context	32	(2)
Constructing the Legislative Branch	34	(10)
A Powerful National Assembly	35	(1)
Representation	36	(3)
A Deliberative Assembly	39	(2)
Constraining the Legislative Branch	41	(3)
In Sum	44	(2)
Sources and Suggested Reading	46	(1)
Where Do People Stand on Issues?	47	(21)
What the Public Believes	48	(5)
Why People Are Eager to Perceive Consensus	53	(3)
The Actual Level of Consensus	56	(6)
In Sum	62	(4)
Sources and Suggested Reading	66	(2)
What Makes Legislators Tick?	68	(27)
Who Runs for the Legislature and Why	68	(3)
What the Job Is Like	71	(10)
How They Campaign	81	(2)
How They Make Decisions	83	(9)
In Sum	92	(1)
Sources and Suggested Reading	93	(2)
How Are Legislators Linked to Their Constituencies?	95	(22)
How the Public Sees Representation	95	(1)
How Legislators Feel about Their Constituencies	96	(1)
How Legislators Relate to Their Constituencies	97	(4)
How Legislators Serve Their Constituencies	101	(3)
How Legislators Express Constituency Policy Views and Interests	104	(8)
The Legislator's Representational Perspective	104	(2)
The Constituencies and Their Interests	106	(3)
Communications between Legislators and Their Constituencies	109	(3)
In Sum	112	(3)
Sources and Suggested Reading	115	(2)
How Special Are the Special Interests?	117	(19)
Conditions for Representative Democracy: Interest Groups	118	(2)
Examining the Conditions	120	(3)
Groups and Legislators: A Series of Exchanges	123	(10)
Access	124	(1)
Information	125	(1)
Elections and Majorities	126	(2)
Lobbying the Legislature	128	(5)
In Sum	133	(1)
Sources and Suggested Reading	134	(2)
Why Is the Political Process Contentious?	136	(19)
How the People View Conflict in the Political Process	137	(4)
The Actual Role of Political Conflict in a Healthy Democracy	141	(2)
Political Conflict as the Essence of a Healthy Legislature	143	(4)
Bill Introduction	144	(1)
Committee Activity	144	(1)
Floor Debate	145	(2)
Conflict Comes from the People, Not from Parties and Special Interests	147	(3)
In Sum	150	(3)
Sources and Suggested Reading	153	(2)
What Makes Legislators and Legislatures Accountable?	155	(19)
The Legislature: Insular or Accountable?	157	(5)
The Agents of Accountability	162	(9)
The Media: Ups and Downs in Legislative Reporting	162	(2)
Interest Groups: Countervailing Power	164	(2)
Political Parties: Elections and Beyond	166	(1)
Fostering Accountability: Disclosure	167	(1)
Term Limits: Can Accountability Be Mandated?	168	(3)
In Sum	171	(1)
Sources and Suggested Reading	172	(2)
How Well Have Legislatures Been Working?	174	(22)
Representativeness	175	(2)
Capacity	177	(4)
Integrity	181	(3)
Transparency	184	(1)
Competitiveness	185	(3)
Participation	188	(2)
Internal Democracy	190	(2)
Responsiveness	192	(2)
In Sum	194	(1)
Sources and Suggested Reading	194	(2)
Representative Democracy Does Work	196	(24)
What Standards Should We Use?	196	(2)
What Are the Alternatives?	198	(16)
Executive Dominance	199	(5)
Direct Democracy	204	(6)
Advantages of Representative Democracy	210	(4)
In Sum	214	(4)
Sources and Suggested Reading	218	(2)
Index	220