Archive for the ‘Political process’ Category
Monday, February 8th, 2010
A Dirty Word or a Dirty World? Attribute Framing, Political Affiliation, and Query Theory
Source: Psychological Science (via American Psychological Association)
From press release:
Would you pay more for certain products to save the planet? That’s the question behind the burgeoning carbon-offset industry — proponents pay more money for carbon-producing activities (such as flying), with the idea that the carbon emissions will be balanced out by funding for alternative energy sources. At the same time, economists and climate scientists agree that a carbon tax would be the most effective means through which the U.S. could lower carbon emissions and pay for alternative energy production. However, politicians are reluctant to propose a carbon tax because taxes tend to be unpopular with constituents, especially with Republican voters. But does word choice, such as offset versus tax, really make a difference? And in addition, does our political affiliation influence how we respond to certain labels?
Columbia University psychological scientists David J. Hardisty, Eric J. Johnson, and Elke U. Weber wanted to see how the way in which a concept is framed (that is, how it is labeled) affects our attitude towards it. In this experiment, volunteers (who self-identified as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents) read about a program that would increase the cost of certain carbon-producing activities but would use the proceeds to fund alternative energies or carbon capture and sequestration. For half the volunteers this surcharge was labeled as a “carbon offset,” while for the other half it was labeled as a “carbon tax,” yet the details of the program were the same in each case. Participants then had to choose between two identical items (e.g., airline tickets), where one cost more, because it included the surcharge. Volunteers were asked to write down their thoughts about the decision, make a choice, and also indicate whether they would support legislation making the surcharge mandatory for all products of that type.
The results, reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest a strong link between our political affiliation and how we react to certain frames. In the “offset” condition, Democratic, Republican, and Independent volunteers tended to select the more expensive, albeit environmentally-friendly, product. They were also equally likely (across party) to support making the cost increase mandatory. However, in the “tax” condition, while Democratic volunteers still opted for the costlier item, Republican and Independent participants were more likely to choose the cheaper item, and did not support legislation.
Posted in Political process, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
The Transportation Lobby: Main Street Chases Transportation Money
Source: The Center for Public Integrity
While polls show Americans don’t want to make transportation policy through earmarks, that hasn’t stopped local officials from going after them. As lawmakers grappled with renewal of an expiring multi-year transportation law last September, the number of cities and counties lobbying on transportation had grown by 80 percent since the last time a transport bill was about to expire, in the fall of 2003. And the cities and counties who list transportation as among their priorities spent a total of more than $35 million lobbying Washington through the first three quarters of last year; if even a quarter of that spending was solely devoted to transportation, it totals more than $8 million, a hefty sum for cash-strapped local governments.
Those numbers track with another sobering trend line. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, notes that the last few transportation bills “have been marked by the rapid proliferation of federal transportation programs and by an increasing reliance on congressional earmarks,” adding that “both are symptoms of lack of focus and accountability.”
A harsh judgment, to be sure. But until the local lobby sees a new vision from Washington, the scramble for cash remains the only way to play, insiders say.
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Infrastructure, Political process, Transportation and travel | No Comments »
Friday, February 5th, 2010
EAC Releases Report on State Spending of Federal Funds in 2008 to Improve Election Administration
Source: U.S. Election Assistance Commission
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) released its annual report on state spending of nearly $3.2 billion in federal funds appropriated to improve the administration of elections. The 2008 Annual Report on Grant Programs…includes detailed tables on the amount each state received, spent and earned in interest through 2008.
The funds were authorized by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which established EAC and charged it with disbursing monies appropriated under the act. States and U.S. territories spent 76 percent of the $2.96 billion (70 percent when accrued interest of $279 million is included) they have received as of September 30, 2008. Following is an approximation of how states spent the funds:
- $1.6 billion on voting systems,
- $355 million on voter registration systems,
- $155.3 million on election administration improvements,
- $77.1 million on educating voters and recruiting and training election workers,
- $34.2 million on uncategorized election administration activities,
- $29.8 million on improving polling places, and
- $3.7 million on provisional voting.
+ Full Report (PDF; 1.7 MB)
Posted in Election 2008, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Reform in an Age of Networked Campaigns: How to Foster Citizen Participation Through Small Donors and Volunteers
Source: The Brookings Institution
The political world has been arguing about campaign finance policy for decades. A once rich conversation has become a stale two-sided battleground. One side sees contribution or spending limits as essential to restraining corruption, the appearance of corruption, or the “undue influence” of wealthy donors. The other resists any such limits in the name of free speech. The time has come to leap over this gulf and, as much as possible, move the disputes from the courts. Preventing corruption and protecting free speech should each be among the key goals of any policy regime, but they should not be the only objectives. This report seeks to change the ongoing conversation. Put simply, instead of focusing on attempts to further restrict the wealthy few, it seeks to focus on activating the many.
This is not a brief for deregulation. The members of this working group support limits on contributions to candidates and political parties. But we also recognize the limits of limits. More importantly, we believe that some of the key objectives can be pursued more effectively by expanding the playing field.
+ Full Report (PDF; 3.4 MB)
Posted in Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Citizens United v. FEC (PDF; 2.56 MB)
Source: U.S. Supreme Court
(Ban on corporate-funded independent expenditures and McCain-Feingold Act’s ban on “electioneering communications” within 60 days of a federal election violates the First Amendment)
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Legal and law enforcement, Political process | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Ethics Pledge Waivers Released by the White House (PDFs)
Source: White House Briefing Room
- Jocelyn Frye, Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady
- Cecilia Muñoz, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President
- William Lynn, Deputy Secretary of Defense
- Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President
- Jonathan Kravis, Associate Counsel, White House Counsel’s Office
- Chris Weideman, Associate Counsel, White House Counsel’s Office
- John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Posted in Ethics, Government and politics, Labor, Political process | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Why Are Professors Liberal? (PDF; 2.4 MB)
Source: Working Paper; Ethan Fosse, Harvard and Neil Gross, University of British Columbia
The political liberalism of professors—an important occupational group and anomaly according to traditional theories of class politics—has long puzzled sociologists. To shed new light on the subject, we review research on professorial politics over the past half-century, identifying the main hypotheses that have been proposed to account for professorial liberalism. Using regression decomposition, we examine hypothesized predictors of the political gap between professors and other Americans using General Social Survey data pooled from 1974-2008. Results indicate that professors are more liberal than other Americans because a higher proportion possess advanced educational credentials, exhibit a disparity between their levels of education and income, identify as Jewish, non-religious, or non-theologically conservative Protestant, and express greater tolerance for controversial ideas. Together, the variables linked to our hypotheses account for about 43 percent of the political gap between professors and other Americans. We conclude by outlining a new theory of professorial politics that integrates these findings, moves beyond existing approaches, and sets an agenda for future research.
Posted in Education, Labor, Political process, Postsecondary, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Report: Rise of the New McCarthyism
Source: People for the American Way
People For the American Way today released its latest “Right Wing Watch: In Focus” report, “Rise of the New McCarthyism.” The document examines the far right’s adoption of strategies pioneered by Senator Joe McCarthy during his anti-communist witch hunts in the 1950s.
More than 50 years ago, Sen. Joe McCarthy waged a campaign of political intimidation that was so fundamentally unfair and un-American that we still use his name to describe abusive demagoguery. Today right-wing pundits, activists, and Republican Party officials are taking McCarthyism to new heights – or depths-and almost none of their fellow conservatives are speaking out against it.
The report lays out how the characteristics of McCarthyism are reflected in right-wing attacks on the Obama administration and its allies:
- Charging that America is threatened from within by “elites” who are willing to subvert America’s interests
- Smearing political opponents as communists/socialists who are out to undermine America
- Using guilt by association to attack the patriotism and integrity of anyone who opposes you or your political goals
- Targeting gays as dangerous and unworthy of public service
- Impugning the integrity and patriotism of military leaders you disagree with
+ Full Report
Posted in Ethics, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
New Memos Assess Election Laws in 11 States
Source: Project Vote
In preparation for the 2010 legislative season, Project Vote’s Election Administration (EA) Program is releasing a series of election administration policy recommendation memos for 11 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada,New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. These state-specific memos assess current state election laws in six key areas: (1)Voter Registration; (2) List Maintenance; (3) Early Voting and Same-Day Registration; (4) Voter Intimidation and Suppression; (5) Public Agency Registration; and (6) Provisional Voting, identifying opportunities for states to improve the fairness and overall quality of their election processes.
These state-specific memos assess current state election laws in six key areas: (1)Voter Registration; (2) List Maintenance; (3) Early Voting and Same-Day Registration; (4) Voter Intimidation and Suppression; (5) Public Agency Registration; and (6) Provisional Voting, identifying opportunities for states to improve the fairness and overall quality of their election processes.
Memos in PDF.
Posted in Government and politics, Legal and law enforcement, Political process | No Comments »
Friday, January 8th, 2010
CREW Report Reveals Role Bush Officials Continue to Play in Shaping the Debate About Climate Change
Source: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today released a report revealing how the debate in Congress over climate change initiatives is being influenced by the people who made up President George W. Bush’s climate team.
CREW’s report, Smoke Screen: How Bush Insiders Distorted – And Still Influence – America’s Debate Over Climate Change, profiles many of these former Bush officials and the roles they are now playing on behalf of oil, gas, mining and other powerful energy interests.
CREW’s Smoke Screen report examines the critical positions several of these former Bush officials held on key bodies such as the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The report also reviews how they deliberately distorted critical scientific reporting on global warming.
According to CREW’s report, at least 22 former Bush-era climate officials have moved into lobbying or government relations. Fourteen of them are registered lobbyists.
+ Full Report (PDF; 3.9 MB)
Posted in Climate Change/Global Warming, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Conservatives Finish 2009 as No. 1 Ideological Group
Source: Gallup
The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end political ideology figures confirm Gallup’s initial reporting: conservatives (40%) outnumbered both moderates (36%) and liberals (21%) across the nation in 2009.
More broadly, the percentage of Americans calling themselves either conservative or liberal has increased over the last decade, while the percentage of moderates has declined.
Posted in Government and politics, Political process, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
FEC Releases New Data Files for Administrative Fine Cases and Congressional Candidates
Source: Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission today released two new data files designed to give the public easier access to federal campaign finance information and the Commission’s regulatory actions. These additions include a complete listing of all closed Administrative Fines matters and a new summary file for the current two-year election period for active congressional candidates. In addition, Administrative Fines documents are now being made available in the Commission’s searchable Enforcement Query System.
…
The Administrative Fines Program was initiated in 2000 to assess civil monetary penalties for committees that failed to file regular reports in a timely manner or failed to file 48-hour disclosure notices of contributions of $1,000 or more received in the period immediately preceding an election. Nearly 2,000 cases have been resolved since the program began. Information in the new data file includes the name of the committee involved, the report that triggered the case, whether the filing was late or not filed, the penalty amount, and information about the candidate if the violation was committed by a campaign committee.
The Candidate Summary file contains information for each candidate who has registered with the FEC or appears on an official state ballot for election to the U.S. House of Representatives or U.S. Senate during 2009 or 2010, including special elections. Financial data for each candidate committee, such as total receipts and disbursements and the cash-on-hand value and total debts owed by the campaign at the end of the most recent reporting period are included. The file contains a more complete breakdown of financial activity than has been easily available before. The totals cover the period from January 1 of the non-election year through the most recent report submitted by these committees.
These new data files are the latest additions to the agency’s data.fec.gov website, which is designed to allow for more sophisticated use of campaign finance data by a range of interested users. Each of the files here can be downloaded in either CSV or XML formats. Each also has a metadata page that describes the information included and the structure of the file itself. There is a PDF version of each file for printing.
Posted in Government and politics, Legal and law enforcement, Political process | No Comments »
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Study: Despite Rhetoric, Lawmakers Backing Higher “Death Tax” also Backed Bigger Deficits
Source: National Taxpayers Union
When the House of Representatives voted last week to create a permanent 45% federal estate tax instead of repealing it next year, supporters of the move said they were helping to reduce the deficit. But a study from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), the research affiliate of the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), suggests they may have had another motive: lawmakers backing a big death tax also had much bigger-than-average federal spending agendas that would leave the government’s balance sheet even deeper in red ink.
In an NTUF Issue Brief released this week, Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady found that Members who voted in favor a making the death tax a permanent fixture had an average net spending agenda of $630.2 billion. This figure is nearly 8 times the amount of the average net spending agenda for those Members of Congress who voted against the bill. On average, Members who voted against making the death tax permanent had net spending agendas of $81.6 billion.
+ Full Document (PDF; 29 KB)
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Political process, Taxation | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2009
Source: Judicial Watch
1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
2. Senator John Ensign (R-NV)
3. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
4. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner
5. Attorney General Eric Holder
6. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)/ Senator Roland Burris (D-IL)
7. President Barack Obama
8. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
9. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and the rest of the PMA Seven
10. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Posted in Ethics, Government and politics, Lists & Rankings, Political process | No Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
Current Decade Rates as Worst in 50 Years; Internet, Cell Phones Are Changes for the Better
Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
As the current decade draws to a close, relatively few Americans have positive things to say about it. By roughly two-to-one, more say they have a generally negative (50%) rather than a generally positive (27%) impression of the past 10 years. This stands in stark contrast to the public’s recollection of other decades in the past half-century. When asked to look back on the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, positive feelings outweigh negative in all cases.
To be sure, the passage of time may affect the way people view these historical periods. For example, had we asked the public’s impression of the 1970s in December of 1979, the negatives may well have outweighed the positives.
By a wide margin, the 9/11 terrorist attacks are seen as the most important event of the decade, with Barack Obama’s election as president a distant second – even among his political supporters. And the sour view of the decade is broad-based, with few in any political or demographic group offering positive evaluations.
Happy to put the 2000s behind them, most Americans are optimistic that the 2010s will be better. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they think the next decade will be better than the last for the country as a whole, though roughly a third (32%) think things will be worse.
Posted in Political process, Social and cultural issues, Terrorism | No Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
Building Their Immunity: Inoculating the States Against Federal Health Care Reform
Source: National Institute of Money in State Politics
Fast Facts
- From 2003 through 2008, Florida received $31.7 million in contributions from health care interests — almost as much as the rest of the other 13 study states combined.
- Physician clinics and associations gave $26.4 million to state political campaigns, hands down the most of any of the five health-related groups studied from 2003 through 2008.
- Health care corporations that participate on the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC) board of directors gave $11.3 million from 2003 through 2008 in 14 study states.
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Health and healthcare, Political process | No Comments »
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs: Evasions of Campaign Finance laws, and a Model Law to Block Them (PDF; 916 KB)
Source: Center for Government Studies
This report is the result of over one year of focused research on the many ways that politicians raise money through non-campaign entities. The Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) initiated this study as it has become increasingly obvious that the campaign fi nance reforms of the past 30 years are no longer always suffi cient to control the money given to elected officials and candidates.
CGS has studied and provided solutions for campaign finance issues for over 25 years. CGS reports and other publications on campaign financing in California state and local elections as well as reports on ballot initiative reform, judicial elections and public campaign fi nancing are available for download at www.cgs.org.
“Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs” is the beginning of an ongoing, detailed investigation of the ways elected offi cials and candidates evade campaign finance laws, enabling them to raise sums of money that often significantly exceed the amounts allowed under applicable campaign finance laws. CGS will update this report periodically on its website to provide an ongoing, comprehensive and current view of these evasions.
“Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs” also offers a model law that, if adopted, would strengthen campaign fi nance laws and counter many of the loopholes identified by CGS. It assumes that any payment received from a donor, regardless of its receipt through a campaign or a non-campaign entity, can potentially influence a politician. The model law therefore requires that all contributions and payments from a particular donor be aggregated, subject to a single contribution limit (in most cases) and fully disclosed to allow citizens to know which individuals and entities are funding politicians. This transparency is at the heart of the proposed reforms and is a critical safeguard toward preserving democracy.
Posted in Government and politics, Legal and law enforcement, Political process | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Pew Study Calculates the Real Cost of Voter Registration
Source: Pew Center on the States
Oregon spent more than $9.7 million–or $4.51 per active registered voter–on its voter registration system during the 2008 election according to a new report released today by The Pew Center on the States. Conducted with the assistance of Oregon state and local election officials, The Real Cost of Voter Registration is the first comprehensive analysis of its kind and provides a model for other states to estimate their expenses and establish a basis for evaluating efforts to modernize.
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Innovative, cost-saving steps toward modernization have already been implemented by some states. For example, Delaware reduced its labor costs by $200,000 annually with its eSignature practice that requires every visitor to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to register to vote, update their record or decline to do so and then electronically syncs the data with the state election office. In Phoenix, Arizona, an online registration costs an average of 3 cents to process versus at least 83 cents for a paper registration form.
By comparison, Canada’s system points to the potential for significantly greater savings via a list of eligible voters created in part from government data sources. The Canadian system costs taxpayers about $5 million (CAD) annually or about 26 cents (USD) per registered voter compared to $4.51 in Oregon.
+ The Real Cost of Voter Registration
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Lobbying the Executive Branch: Current Practices and Options for Change (PDF: 224 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)
Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995, as amended, individuals are required to register with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate if they lobby either legislative or executive branch officials. In January 2009, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner placed further restrictions on the ability of lobbyists to contact executive branch officials responsible for dispersing Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA, P.L. 110-243) funds. Subsequently, President Barack Obama and Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a series of memoranda between March and July 2009 that govern communication between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch employees administering American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) funds. Most recently, in October 2009, the White House directed executive agencies to prohibit, when possible, the appointment of federally registered lobbyists to federal advisory bodies and committees.
The Recovery and Reinvestment Act lobbying restrictions focus on both written and oral communications between lobbyists and executive branch officials. Pursuant to the President’s memoranda, restrictions have been placed on certain kinds of oral and written interactions between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch officials responsible for Recovery Act fund disbursement. The President’s memoranda require each agency to post summaries of oral and written contacts with lobbyists on dedicated agency websites. EESA regulations are virtually identical.
This report outlines the development of registration requirements for lobbyists engaging executive branch officials since 1995. It also summarizes steps taken by the Obama Administration to limit and monitor lobbying of the executive branch; discusses the development and implementation of restrictions placed on lobbying for Recovery Act and EESA funds; examines the Obama Administration’s decision to stop appointing lobbyists to federal advisory bodies and committees; considers third-party criticism of current executive branch lobbying policies; and provides options for possible modifications in current lobbying laws and practices.
For further analysis on lobbying registration and disclosure, see CRS Report RL34377, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, by Jacob R. Straus; CRS Report RL34725, “Political” Activities of Private Recipients of Federal Grants or Contracts, by Jack Maskell; and CRS Report R40245, Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: Before and After the Enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, by Jacob R. Straus.
Posted in Congressional Research Service, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Personal Emotions and Political Decision Making: Implications for Voter Competence
Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business Research Papers
According to what criteria do citizens make political decisions, and what do these criteria say about democratic competence? An impressive body of evidence suggests that voters competently evaluate diagnostic information such as macroeconomic trends and their personal financial circumstances to reward good performance while ridding themselves of leaders who are corrupt, incompetent, or ineffective. However, what if some voters’ personal emotional reactions to events completely unrelated to public affairs influence their voting decisions? The conflation of personal emotions with political cognition challenges traditional conceptions of citizen competence and democratic accountability. We explore whether emotional reactions unrelated to incumbent performance affect voting behavior by assessing the electoral impact of local college football games, events that government has nothing to do with and for which no government response would be expected. On average, a win before Election Day causes the incumbent to receive about one percentage point more of the vote, with the effect being larger for teams with stronger fan support. We corroborate these aggregate-level results with a survey conducted during the 2009 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, where we find that sports-induced emotional change affects approval of President Obama and assessments of the health of the country. Voters’ decisions and attitudes are thus shown to depend considerably on events that affect their personal level of happiness even when those events are entirely disconnected from government activity. Our results provide new evidence on the significant limitations of the electorate’s capacity to hold elected officials accountable for their actions.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 458 KB)
Posted in Government and politics, Political process, Social and cultural issues, Sports, recreation and leisure | No Comments »
