The Small Scale of Most Congressional Campaigns

This video shows Elizabeth Warren, a candidate for the United States Senate in Massachusetts, making a campaign speech to a group of supporters.

For the purposes of studying congressional campaigns (and thinking about how electoral imperatives shape the behavior of members of Congress and institutions created by members of Congress, like parties and committees), the important thing about this video is the setting. Elizabeth Warren is giving this speech to maybe a couple of dozen people packed into someone's living room, and she is an unusually high-profile and well-funded candidate seeking a United States Senate seat. Congressional campaigns are dominated by these kinds of small-scale events.

As for the substance of here remarks, you can read favorable commentary here and some criticism here and here. These are not required for class, though.

Congress is a "They"

It's easy to talk about Congress as an "it," but Congress is really a "they." The 435 members of Congress must make social choices about how their institution will operate and what policies will be enacted. Those choices are animated by the individuals members. As a starting point for our discussion of Congress, look over the website of Congressman Bill Flores, who represents the 17th District of Texas, which includes Texas A&M.

What kind of information does he provide? What is political? What is personal? What is focused on legislation? What is focused on other services offered by his office? What overall impression is his website designed to create? What might his website tell you about what's important to members of Congress.

Bill of Rights Videos

You can find the Bill of Rights video I showed in class last week and another helpful video here.

On Valentine's Day, for those of you now secretly in love with political science...

I am happy to share with you the opportunity to apply for a set of *free* summer seminars on politics, journalism, economics, and philosophy operated by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University. The sessions cover a variety of topics, last about two weeks each, and are held at several different locations all over the country. The IHS has a great website with lots of information about these opportunities. If you have any questions, you are welcome top talk to me about the program, also.

Late Notice: Another Office Hours Change

I apologize for the late notice (again), but I have to reschedule my main campus office hours due to another change in a meeting time. I will try to schedule some extra office hours next week and will announce those later. I apologize for the further inconvenience. In the meantime, please feel free to e-mail me any questions you may have.

Another Extra Credit Opportunity

I will award 4 points of extra credit on our first exam to each student in each of my sections of POLS 206 who completes this assignment.

Rules:

1. Hard copies of the assignment must be turned in to me by the start of each class this Monday, February 13. Late work will not be accepted. E-mailed work will not be accepted.

2. Diagrams must be hand-drawn. Photocopies, etc., will not count.

3. The assignment must be completed correctly and in accordance with these rules and the requirements indicated on the assignment sheet. I am the sole judge of the acceptability of diagrams and all other aspects of the administration of this extra credit opportunity. My decisions are final.

Good luck.

Office Hours Rescheduled

I need to attend a faculty meeting today that was rescheduled from Monday afternoon. To accommodate this, I am moving my main campus office hours from this afternoon until Friday afternoon. The time (1:00-4:00PM) and place (Evans Library) are unchanged.

Extra Credit Opportunity 1 Results

Section 502 (9:10-10:00AM) returned 37 completed problem sets. Section 503 (10:20-11:10AM) returned 72 problem sets. Obviously, neither class met the required threshold, so no extra credit will be awarded to either at this time.

Office Hours Cancelled Today

As you may have noticed in class today, I am fighting off a cold. I am canceling my office hours today to try to get better or at least keep it to myself. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Extra Credit Opportunity

I will award 4 points of extra credit on our first exam to all students in each of my sections of POLS 206 if any 100 students in that section (about 40% of each class) complete this assignment.

Rules:

1. Hard copies of the assignment must be turned in to me by the start of each class this Monday, February 6. Late diagrams will not count toward the total. E-mailed diagrams do not count toward the total.

2. Diagrams must be hand-drawn. Photocopies, etc., will not count.

3. Extra credit may be awarded to the number of students in each class who complete the assignment. No individual extra credit (or other points) will be awarded to students for completing the assignment.

4. Students who turn in diagrams will not receive additional credit in addition to any points awarded to the class.

5. Diagrams from each section of the class count separately.

6. The assignment must be completed correctly and in accordance with these rules and the requirements indicated on the assignment sheet. I am the sole judge of the acceptability of diagrams and all other aspects of the administration of this extra credit opportunity. My decisions are final.

Good luck.

Class Scheduling

Due to the flood in the Blocker Building, section 503 (10:20-11:50) was cancelled on Monday. morning. That leaves section 502 one day ahead. To re-synchronize the sections, I am cancelling Section 502 (9:10-10:00) for this Friday, February 3. We will resume with our normal class schedule on Monday, February 6 for both sections.