Book Description
Jacobson, Gary C., The Politics of Congressional Elections, 5th Edition*\ Jacobson's classic work offers readers a systematic and engaging account of what goes on in congressional elections and demonstrates how electoral politics reflect and shape other basic components of our political system. The Fifth Edition brings everything up to date through the 1998 elections, analyzing new electoral trends that have appeared in the 1990s-including the Republicans' rise to majority status and their current precarious hold on Congress-while also offering a thorough consideration of impeachment politics in 1998 and 1999.
For those interested in Political Campaigning and voting and elections.
Customer Reviews:
A political science classic.......2005-08-15
This is one of the best and most valuable political science texts I have ever read - and, as a political science major, self-confessed politics junkie and activist, I've read most of them. Gary Jacobson's research is unmatched and his findings are essential to anyone who wants to get involved in Congressional campaigns. His assessment of the role of money in such campaigns is astounding and discomforting. While the going gets dry at times, overall the book is a good read with very practical applications today.
--Bill Arnone
The Bible on Congressional Elections.......2000-12-01
Anyone involved in running for a congressional seat, working on a congressional election or just interested in national politics will find this book enormously interesting. It's short. It's down to earth. It's up-to-date. And, it's one of the best on the subject. Professor Jacobson's book features pertinent analysis of national survey data plugged into long-term electoral trends. It covers all you need to know about how to make a run for Congress, calculating your odds and the chances of knocking off an incumbent. It is a unique blend of academic effort and practicality that is continually useful. It is the very best on what to expect in congressional elections for the U.S. House and Senate.
Book Description
The events of 2003 in Texas were important to the political history of this country. Congressman Tom DeLay led a Republican effort to gerrymander the state's thirty-two congressional districts to defeat all ten of the Anglo Democratic incumbents and to elect more Republicans; Democratic state lawmakers fled the state in an effort to defeat the plan. The Lone Star State uproar attracted attention worldwide. The Republicans won this showdown, gaining six additional seats from Texas and protecting the one endangered Republican incumbent. This outcome has undeniably affected national policy-making and has made it more difficult for Democrats to regain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Some of the methods used by DeLay to achieve this result, however, led to his criminal indictment and ultimately to his downfall.
With its eye-opening research, readable style, and insightful commentary,
Lines in the Sand provides a front-line account of what happened in 2003, often through the personal stories of members of both parties and of the minority activist groups caught in a political vortex. Law professor Steve Bickerstaff provides much-needed historical perspective and also probes the aftermath of the 2003 redistricting, including the criminal prosecutions of DeLay and his associates and the events that led to DeLay's eventual resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives.
Customer Reviews:
Political Drama.......2007-02-14
This book tells the story of Tom DeLay's effort to redraw Texas' congressional district lines in a largely unprecedented mid-decade redistricting. While Texas Republicans had a clear electoral majority in the state, a majority of the congressional delegation were Democrats. Republicans generally, and Tom DeLay in particular, set out to change that. Far from a simple task of redrawing lines on a map, it is an epic tale of long-range political strategy, the corrupting influence of big money in the political process, innovative parliamentary tactics, the impact of race on politics, and ultimately the hubris and overreaching that caused Tom DeLay's fall from his position as perhaps the nation's most powerful member of Congress.
While the 2003 Texas Legislature was committed to changing congressional district lines, it was far from easy. Democrats did not have the votes to defeat the redistricting, but they could break a quorum by staying away. That is exactly what they did when more than 50 House Democrats spent four days in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and later eleven Democratic senators stayed in New Mexico for more than 40 days. The Democratic strategy, however, was effective only at slowing the process, and the congressional redistricting bill passed after three special sessions. The book details how Tom DeLay was actively involved in the shape of the final plan, which resulted in switching six seats from Democrats to Republicans and caused a net twelve-seat change in the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives.
While the plan to change the partisan balance in the congressional delegation worked, the aggressive use of funds to influence the 2002 elections in an effort to elect legislators who would support the mid-decade redistricting ultimately produced an even greater change in the Congress. As discovery in civil litigation uncovered details of the redistricting-driven 2002 fundraising, the district attorney brought criminal charges, including an indictment of Tom DeLay. Although DeLay pleaded not guilty, he ultimately resigned from the House.
The author, who is a redistricting attorney, law professor, and former parliamentarian of the Texas Senate (and in the interest of full disclosure, a friend and former law partner of this writer), brings a special insight to the subject. He is able to identify the key players, the most important sources of pressure, and the key events. He also explains the rationale behind and, occasionally the flaws in, the two sides' strategy.
The book is likely to be the definitive history of an important part of Texas and national political history. For persons interested in politics or in modern-day Greek tragedies, this is an important book and fascinating story.
Book Description
For the most up-to-date examination of House and Senate campaigns currently available, turn to the only book to provide full coverage of the congressional races waged in 2002. Praised for successfully combining solid empirical research with real-world politics, Congressional Elections provides a thorough and balanced assessment of the campaign process. The author argues that successful candidates actually run two campaigns--one for votes, the other for resources. This dual strategy affects not only who wins individual races, but representation in Congress more broadly, and ultimately the entire system of U.S. elections. Using campaign data, original survey research, and interviews with more than 400 House and Senate candidates and other political insiders, Herrnson systematically analyzes the campaign activities and strategies of candidates, parties, and PACs to show students how these crucial avenues of political influence converge. Case studies of individual campaigns are woven throughout to paint vivid portraits of real people raising money, giving speeches, serving constituents, and tackling important policy issues.
New coverage and analysis includes:
- the 2002 campaign and election results, including Republican House gains and capture of the Senate, as well as Bush's success in rallying support for GOP candidates
- the effects of national security concerns on candidates' issue positioning
- a close look at the independent, parallel, and coordinated campaigns waged by parties and interest groups, as well as their use of soft money, advocacy ads, and grassroots activities
- the public policy implications of the 2002 elections, in areas such as fiscal and tax policy, congressional procedures and oversight, health care, and business regulation
- the impact of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, and suggestions for further reform
Book Description
Stereotypes are prevalent throughout our society. Using content analytical and experimental data in conjunction with case studies, When Stereotypes Collide explores the influence of gender and ethnic/racial minority stereotypes in the production of campaign messages created during congressional elections. Filling a void in political campaign research, this book draws specific attention to the uses and consequences of political advertisement videostyle strategies on the electoral fortunes of women and minority candidates.
Book Description
At the dawn of the new millennium, only twenty-five percent of elected state legislators were female, only five states had female governors, and a mere fourteen percent of the members of Congress were women. Extrapolating from data on women candidates in Congressional races from 1956 to 2002, Palmer and Simon explore how incumbency, social attitudes, and electoral strategy affect women's decisions to run for office. They dispel myths distorting our understanding of women candidates and challenge the reigning theories accounting for the low number of female Congress members. Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling is the most comprehensive analysis of women in Congressional elections available.
Customer Reviews:
A must read!.......2006-07-21
This extraordinary book is the most important book on women and congressional elections ever published. No other scholars have taken such a detailed and longitudinal look at women's fortunes running for the U.S. Congress and have posed so many essential, timely and important questions all in one place. This book is extremely well written and will be of interest to practitioners and academics alike.
The book is remarkable in a number of ways. First, Palmer and Simon's emphasis on the different campaign experiences of Democratic and Republican women running for Congress is long overdue and much needed. Second, their investigation of primary elections is key. By looking at women's experiences in both the primary and general elections, Palmer and Simon fill an important gap and are sure to spawn a great deal of additional research. Finally, their analysis of woman-against-woman races and their conclusion that female incumbents tend to stimulate female competition is quite astute. They quite convincingly demonstrate that female incumbents are perceived as being weaker than they really are, both by the opposing party and by potential challengers within their own party. This finding is important because it underscores just how uneven the playing field is for female politicians.
Palmer and Simon have set a new standard for scholarship on women running for Congress with this book. A must read!
Most comprehensive book on women running for office.......2006-07-14
This book presents the most comprehensive data to date about women running for political office in the United States. This is a must-read not only for political science types, but also for the average person interested in women and politics. Palmer and Simon did a great job combining statistics and analysis with personal anecdotes that make the material personal and meaningful. Hopefully, women reading this book will find motivation to take steps to run for office themselves and help this country achieve electoral equality. 51% of the population, 14% of the representation is not enough.
Average customer rating:
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Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections (Contemporary Political and Social Issues)
Jennifer A. Steen
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Congresses, Senates, & Legislative Bodies
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ASIN: 0472069039 |
Book Description
What happens in an electoral environment involving female candidates? Do women face different challenges during the electoral process? How do gender dynamics alter the conventional norms of electoral politics? Do women campaign differently from men? Do male candidates pay more attention to women's issues, or make other strategic and behavioral changes when opposed by a female candidate? Author Richard Logan Fox answers these questions and many others with compelling evidence that suggests that women candidates are having a profound impact on the electoral process. In Gender Dynamics in Congressional Elections, Fox studies the congressional races of 1992 and 1994 in California in which a record 19 women were candidates for House seats. He contrasts the experiences of both the male and female candidates and sheds new light on the different challenges women face during political campaigns. Providing a groundbreaking examination of an understudied topic, Gender Dynamics in Congressional Elections will be essential for students and professionals in political science.
Book Description
The pressures of contemporary electioneering force political professionals into campaign mode--a state of mind that merges a visceral drive to win elections with a deep-seated habit of strategic thinking. Wise political professionals know the basic rule
Average customer rating:
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Cq's Guide to Current American Government: Spring 2002 (Cq's Guide to Current American Government)
Congressional Quarterly
Manufacturer: Congressional Quarterly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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Leadership
| Politics
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ASIN: 1568026080 |
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Congressional Districts in the 2000s: A Portrait of America
Manufacturer: CQ Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Congresses, Senates, & Legislative Bodies
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| Government
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ASIN: 1568028490 |
Book Description
The wildfires of the summer of 1910 scorched millions of acres in the western states, depositing soot as far away as Greenland. Through the experiences and words of rangers, soldiers, politicians, scientists, and the volunteers who fought the fires and were forever scarred by them, acclaimed historian and former forest fire fighter Stephen Pyne tells the story of that catastrophic year and its indelible legacy on the firefighting policies of today. Not only does Pyne explain how wildfires happen and how they are fought, he also chronicles the ongoing debate on the relative merits of firefighting versus "light burning." More than a memorable adventure tale, Year of the Fires is the story of a profound event that continues to shape American life.
"Year of the Fires is a pleasure to read." (The New York Review of Books)
"Powerful and absorbing." (Austin American-Statesman)
Customer Reviews:
The fires of 1910.......2005-09-16
The story of the great fires of 1910 that raged along the northern tier of the country from Washington to the Great Lakes, but especially the Big Blowup that occurred along the Montana-Idaho border that claimed over 70 firefighters in two days in late August. Heroes, cowards, and fools all appeared during those two days before the fierce winds that made containment difficult abated. Ed Pulaski saved a large crew from destruction by his actions. But Baudette and Spooner, both in Minnesota, were destroyed in only 20 minutes.
The country didn't really have a forest fire plan, in most cases just allowing fires to burn themselves out. But these fires, which destroyed so much property, forced officials to make big changes, among them the creation of the Forest Service.
A debate raged over whether fires should be fought head-on or by employing light burning to prevent devastating fires from erupting. (Pyne is weakest in dealing with these debates and doesn't make the issues or outcome clear.) In some ways the debate still continues, especially now that so many homes and communities have been built on forest lands.
A pretty interesting book, though Pyne's writing style is not very compelling.
Despite dense prose, still a good book........2002-07-11
Although some of the other reviewers disagree, Pyne has done a fantastic job of pulling together many diverse strands of primary materials to make a compelling narrative. Not only does Pyne tell the stories of individual firefighters on the line, but he interweaves larger political and environmental issues as well. Really, this is a model work as far as coordinating the "big picture" with the details. Readers of this work will learn about bureaucratic infighting in the early 1900's, competing forestry theories, the physics of how fires actually work, as well as slices of social history here and there. Pyne's greatest weakness in this book is that he tends to be too wordy and a bit too flamboyant with imagery. If you can overlook that and can see the big picture Pyne is painting, the book will draw you in.
Overly academic.......2001-11-03
I found this book through a newspaper review and eagerly bought it. I was very disappointed. It is overly academic, dull, poorly organized and excessively wordy. As a journalist, I understand the powers of brevity and clarity, but the author does not. Even the organization, by month, leaves a lot to be desired as the author still skips between months. The political background becomes so laborious that it is impossible to follow a chain of events or personalities. I would definitely skip reading this book, even though I forced my way through all of it, hoping that it would get better. It did not.
Heavy Plowing.......2001-08-25
This book could be some much more readable with, perhaps, an editor and another draft. The author has to juggle a lot of details - historical, political, social, biographical and statistical - but does so in an ungraceful confusing manner. The writing at times is distractingly florid. I compare this to Big Trouble by J. Anthony Lukas that handles a wealth of period detail with grace and a simplicity and directness of language that sweeps you along. I was very disappointed given the natural drama of the story.
Quite an interesting read.......2001-08-10
In 1910, the newly formed Forest Service faced its greatest threat, a series of large fires burning in Idaho's panhandle. Mobilizing all its resources, and even calling on the Army for help, the Service began to fight the fires. However, things went from bad to very much worse when a sudden wind-storm (producing no rain) fanned the fires into a firestorm! An unknown number of people died, and many acres of private and national forest burned. In this story, there are heroes and cowards, self-promoters and self-sacrificers.
Professor Pyne does an excellent job of explaining first the history of the Forest Service and forest-fire fighting, and then covers the actual events of the firestorm in a manner that leaves you on the edge of your seat. Finally, the aftereffects are covered in an in-depth manner. This book is quite interesting, bringing the story of that tragic year right into my life. I really enjoyed reading this book, and think that you will, too.
Average customer rating:
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Battling Blazes.(Review): An article from: American Scientist
Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B0008IBCRE
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Books:
- Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues
- Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
- Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
- Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion)
- Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy
- Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan
- Reclaiming Our Children: The Healing Solution for a Nation in Crisis
- Russian Strategic Thought toward Asia (Strategic Thought in Northeast Asia)
- Shattered Consensus: The True State of Global Warming
- Social Work, Social Welfare And American Society
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Working and Poor: How Economic and Policy Changes Are Affecting Low-Wage Workers
- Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
- Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
- Hunter Travel Guides Catskills: Alive!
- Renegade Kids, Suburban Outlaws: From Youth Culture to Delinquency
- The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman: The Florida Edition
- Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship
- Practical Java Game Programming
- Health Policy And High-tech Industrial Development: Learning From Innovation In The Health Industry
- Birth of an Age: Book Two of the Christ Clone Trilogy
Congress Reconsidered
Congress and Its Members (Congress and Its Members)
Congress: The Electoral Connection, Second Edition
Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process (Congressional Procedures & the Policy Process) (Congressional Procedures & the Policy Process)
Political Behavior of the American Electorate
