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The American Political System
A Brief Introduction
Population: 250 million
* Turnout as percentage of voting age population: 52.6%
* Turnout as percentage of registered voters: 86.8%
The American Political System consists of 921,000 offices:
A) 521,000 Elective Offices
According to James Q. Wilson, “there are 521,000 elective offices in the United States, and that almost every week of the year there is an election going on somewhere in this country.”
B) 200,000 Appointed Offices
· 9,000 appointments by the President and his cabinet members
· The rest of the appointments by governors, mayors, and other officials
C) 200,000 Politically-Relevant Positions Examples:
* Congressperson’s average staff 17
* Senator staff 40
* US Senators 3,800
*100 congressional committees and sub-committees ranges from 4 employees to more than 100 employees
FEDERAL AND STATE OFFICES
President 1
Vice President 1
US Senators 100
House of Representatives 435
Governors 50
State Legislators 7,160
FORMS OF CITY AND TOWN GOVERNMENTS
Mayor – Council 3,766
Council Manager 2,513
Commission 178
Town Meeting 419
Representative Town Meeting 81
TYPES OF POLITICS
1. Majoritarian Politics
2. Special Interest Politics
3. Clients Politics
4. Entrepreneurial Politics
FORMS OF PARTICIPATION
1. Voter
2. Supporter
3. Club Member
4. Consultant
5. Advisor
6. Strategist
7. Specialist (media, computers, research, opposition research)
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Election
2. Selection
3. Nomination
4. Appointment
5. Employment
6. Internship
7. Volunteership
HOW DO ELECTED OFFICIALS VOTE: Main Considerations
1. Representational: ‘How will my constituents view it?’
2. Attitudinal/ Ideological: personal preferences
3. Organizational: follow party leaders and colleagues
4. Respond to special interest
5. Trading favors
6. Media-inspired: doing what is considered ‘politically correct’ by the media
ONCE ELECTED, WHAT DO CONGRESSPERSONS AND SENATORS DO?
1. Law-making
2. Pork barreling
3. Case-working
4. Seeking re-election
5. Seeking greater power
6. Image management
CONGRESS AND SENATE
Dual Structure: For each administrative agency, there is a congressional/senatorial committee or sub-committee that oversees and scrutinizes its performances. Often citizens try to invoke congressional power of oversight to influence the policies and practices of a particular administrative agency.
By focusing on House and Senate foreign affairs committees, armed services committees, and permanent select committees on intelligence, one could seek to influence the policies and practices of the Department of State, Department of Defense, and Central Intelligence Agency. It is important to note that these committees consist of relatively small numbers of powerful politicians.
State Department:
Senate Foreign Relations 19
House Foreign Affairs 44
Defense:
Senate Armed Services 20
House Armed Services 55
NSC
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 17
House Select Committee on
Intelligence 17
Total: 172
Iron Triangle: the policy/law-making network composed of a government agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.
Example:
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs
Veterans’ Organization – American Legion
This arrangement essentially dismantles the congressional oversight function and replaces it with a coalition of like-minded politicians, bureaucrats, and special interest groups.
Source: American Muslim Alliance
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