Legislative Politics
Political Science 3192W
Fall 2012
Instructor: Christopher J. Deering
Office:
Monroe Hall 463
Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30 – 12:00
Phone: 994-6564
E-mail: rocket@gwu.edu
The United States Congress is a fascinating and complex (even Byzantine) institution. It is reviled
and amusing. But it also represents the most powerful and enduring popularly elected legislative body in the
world. This is a WID course and it is a seminar – which Merriam Webster defines as “a class at a college or
university in which a topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students.” Hence, both reading and
discussion are highly consequential for the success of the course. The topic for discussion is the
aforementioned U.S. Congress. But the seminar also will focus on writing and research in political science.
Because Congress is complex, a decent comprehension of the institution requires mastering a good
bit of detail. Some of you, perhaps even most, have worked on Capitol Hill. That is helpful; but fair warning.
Experienced interns, sometimes assuming familiarity, do not necessarily do well in this course. Truly
understanding Congress, assuming such a thing is possible, requires even more than that. Thus, our task is to
seek patterns in what appears to be chaos and anecdote. That is the goal of political scientists who study this
institution and that is the goal of this course.
COURSE GOALS: The course has several objectives:
(1) Students should know the variety of methods legislative scholars have used to examine Congress (i.e.,
method) and be able to categorize research accordingly.
(2) Students should be able to explicate, criticize, and synthesize the vast amount of scholarship produced
about Congress (i.e., interpretation).
(3) Student should acquire a grounding, that is a knowledge, of the major subtopics which comprise the larger
field of legislative affairs (i.e., substantive).
(4) Students should be able to explicate, and apply the three basic theories of congressional politics (ie,
theory).
TEXTS
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (Yale University Press, 1974).
Morris P. Fiorina, Congress—Keystone of the Washington Establishment (Yale, 1977).
These books are easily purchased used via a number of websites. They have not been ordered through the
university bookstore.
In addition to the items listed here other materials assigned throughout the course will be made
available for the student's use. Students who have not previously had a course on the legislative process
might find a comprehensive text useful. Recommended: Roger H. Davidson, Walter J. Oleszek, Frances E.
Lee, Congress and Its Members (13th edition, 2012). For a set of synthetic essays on the state of congressional
institutions and elections, you might consult Paul Quirk and Sarah Binder, Eds. 2005, The Legislative Branch
(Oxford).Also recommended for all students as a fairly complete and lucid presentation of the nuts and bolts
of the legislative process and an excellent reference is: Walter J. Oleszek, Congressional Procedure and the Policy
Process (CQ Press, 8th edition, 2010). For basics on the machinations of Hill politics (a how to type book) see
2/15/2016
Edward V. Schneier and Bertram Gross, Legislative Strategy (St. Martin's, 1993).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Please note that this course will provide WID credit for qualified students. But the course
requirements apply regardless of that status. Course grades will be influenced heavily by written work, as
detailed below.
Each student will be responsible for material presented in the readings and in class. The readings are
to be completed prior to class on the day assigned since class discussion will presuppose knowledge of those
readings. I invite your attendance and your participation in class. And I will answer any questions that you
have about the course material. It is my belief that close attention during class will increase your enjoyment of
the course and your prospects for earning a better grade. By contrast inattention detracts from the course and
can adversely affect others.
Course grades are based upon a series of writing (and rewriting) assignments, the IQ Test, class
attendance and participation, a research presentation/synopsis, and an examination. Writing assignments will
test your ability to think and communicate theoretically, empirically, and conceptually. The examination will
focus upon course readings and likely will be a take home. The research presentations will be made at the end
of the course with a synopsis submitted at the same time. Additional details on writing assignments and the
review process will be explained at the first meeting.
W#
Week
Due
Type of writing
1
Empirical Propositions
Week 2
2
News-based Hypotheses
Week 3
Revised News-based Hypotheses
Week 4
3
Research Proposal
Week 5
4
Revised Research Proposal
5
Research Presentation
6
Research Synopsis
Week
8
Week
12/13
Week
13/14
#
Pages
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2 excluding
notes/references
2-3 excluding
notes/references
1st Draft
Yes
1st Draft
Yes
Optional
12-15 pages
No
Five (5) percent
Ten (10) percent
Ten (10) percent
Fifteen (15) percent
Thirty (30) percent
Fifteen (15) percent
Fifteen (15) percent
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 29: Introduction: The Study of Congress
No
8-10 slides
Course grades are determined on the following basis:
Legislative IQ Test
Empirical Propositions
News-based Hypotheses
Research Proposal
Research Presentation and Synopsis
Examination
Class Participation
Revision?
Legislative IQ Test
2. September 5: Theories of Legislative Behavior
Empirical Propositions (Due Monday September 3): Submit in writing three empirical propositions
derived, respectively, from Madison, Mayhew, and Dodd (1-2 pages). Quote the relevant passage
(which might be one sentence) and then write a paragraph suggesting how you might investigate
(ie, measure) the propositions.
The U.S. Constitution.
James Madison, The Federalist Papers, Nos. 10, 51, and (browse) 47-51, 52-61 (House), and 62-66 (Senate).
Donald Matthews, “The Folkways of the United States Senate” American Political Science Review 53 (December):
1064-89. [Matthews]
Richard F. Fenno, Jr. “The House Appropriations Committee as a Political System: The Problem of
Integration.” American Political Science Review 56 (June 1962): 310-324. [Fenno]
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974), “Introduction,”
and Chap. 1.
Lawrence C. Dodd, “Congress and the Quest for Power,” in Congress Reconsidered, edited by Lawrence C.
Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer (Praeger: 1st edition, 1977).
3. September 12: Discussion of Theories and Hypotheses (“The Theory Game”)
News-based Hypothesis Exercise: Choose a news article from a major paper that focuses on
congressional politics and write two or three hypotheses based on observations made within the
article (1 or 2 pages). Your hypotheses should be in the “if x, then y” format. In each case, first write
a paragraph that teases out the implications of what is written in the article and then conclude with
the resulting hypothesis. Submit by Monday January
No assigned reading save that required by the assignment.
4. September 19: Theories of Legislative Organization
Nelson W. Polsby, “The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives,” American Political Science
Review 62 (March 1968): 144-168. [Polsby]
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974), Chap. 2.
Barry R. Weingast and William J. Marshall, “The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why
Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets,” Journal of Political Economy 96 (1988): 132163. Keith Krehbiel, Information and Legislative Organization (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991),
Chap 1.
Gary Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins, Setting the Agenda. Cambridge University Press. 2005. Chaps 1-2.
5. September 26: Research Proposals (Office consultations; no class meeting)
Research Proposals: Write a couple of paragraphs sketching out an idea for a research presentation.
(1 or 2 pages) Submit by Monday February 13. Give it a title, write/present it formally. It should
include a few citations to relevant literature.
6. October 3: Recruitment and Career Patterns
David R. Mayhew, “Congressional Elections: The Case of the Vanishing Marginals,” Polity 6 (Spring 1974):
295-317.
Morris P. Fiorina, Congress – Keystone to the Washington Establishment. (Yale, 1977). Or Morris P. Fiorina, "The
Case of the Vanishing Marginals: The Bureaucracy Did It," American Political Science Review 71 (March 1977):
177-181.
Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections. Chap. 3 and 5.
7. October 10: Committees
Krehbiel, Shepsle, and Weingast, “Why Are Congressional Committees Powerful.” American Political Science
Review 81 (September 1987): 929-945. [Shepsle and Weingast]
Krehbiel, Keith, “Are Congressional Committees Composed of Preference Outliers?” American Political Science
Review 84 (March 1990). [Krehbiel]
Maltzman, Forrest and Steven S. Smith “Principals, Goals, Dimensionality and Congressional Committees,”
Legislative Studies Quarterly (November 1994). [Maltzman and Smith]
E. Scott Adler and John S. Lapinski, “Demand-Side Theory and Congressional Committee Composition: A
Constituency Characteristics Approach,” American Journal of Political Science 41 (July 1997): 895-918. [Adler and
Lapinski]
8. October 17: Research Proposals
Revised Research Proposals: Revised and polished research proposals due Monday, Feb 28. This
class session will be devoted to a discussion of your research proposals.
9. October 24: Parties and Leaders I
Krehbiel, Keith, "Where's the Party?" British Journal of Political Science, vol. 23 (1993), pp. 235-266. [Krehbiel]
Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins, “Bonding, Structure, and the Stability of Political Parties: Party
Government in the House,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 19 (May 1994): 215-231. [Cox and McCubbins]
Sarah A. Binder, Eric D. Lawrence, and Forrest Maltzman, “Uncovering the Hidden Effect of Party.“ 61
Journal of Politics (August 1999): 815-31. [Binder Lawrence Maltzman]
Joseph Cooper and David W. Brady, “Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House from Cannon
to Rayburn,” American Political Science Review 75 (June 1981): 411-425.
Barbara Sinclair, “Transformational Leader or Faithful Agent? Principal-Agent Theory and House Majority
Party Leadership,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 24 (August 1999): 421-450.
10. October 31: Congress, the President, and Separation of Powers
David W. Brady and Craig Volden, Revolving Gridlock: Politics and Policy from Carter to Clinton (Boulder: Westview
Press, 1998), Chaps 1-2.
Sarah A. Binder, “The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-1996,” American Political Science Review 93
(September 1999): 519-533. [Binder]
Christopher J. Deering and Forrest Maltzman, “The Politics of Executive Orders: Legislative Constraints on
Presidential Power,” American Politics Quarterly (December, 1999): 767-783. [Deering and Maltzman]
Brandice Canes-Wrone, “The President’s Legislative Influence from Public Appeals,” American Journal of
Political Science 45 (April 2001): 313-329. [Canes-Wrone]
11. November 7: Congress and Interest Groups
John Bacheller, “Lobbyists and the Legislative Process: The Impact of Environmental Constraints,” American
Political Science Review 71 (March 1977): 252-263. [Bacheller]
John R. Wright, “Contributions, Lobbying, and Committee Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives,”
American Political Science Review (June 1990): 417-438. [Wright]
Marie Hojnacki and David C. Kimball, “Organized Interests and the Decision of Whom to Lobby in
Congress.” American Political Science Review. 92 (December 1998): 775-790. [Hojnacki and Kimball]
Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in
Congressional Committees,” American Political Science Review 84 (September 1990): 797-820. [Hall and
Wayman]
Ken Kollman, “Inviting Friends to Lobby: Interest Groups, Ideological Bias, and Congressional
Committees,” American Journal of Political Science 41 (April 1997): 519-544. [Kollman]
12. November 14: Presentations
November 21: Thanksgiving Break
13. November 28: Presentations
14. December 5: Congress Quiz/Final Exam/Concluding Discussion