UNIT 1 LECTURE NOTES Foundations and Political Participation

Transcription

1 Government 2306 Williams UNIT 1 LECTURE NOTES Foundations and Political Participation In this initial unit we will discuss two primary ideas, the foundations of Texas government and politics, then information about participation in the political process. Chapters discussing Political Culture and The Constitution of your online textbook, along with the lecture notes, will help to provide us with the foundations we need in order to understand government and politics, not only in their relation to Texas, but also the our country s system of government. The remainder of the unit will discuss how we as citizens participate in our system of government. These chapters cover what are essentially the Inputs to the political system. Among the inputs to our political system we include political parties, voters, campaigns and elections, and finally interest groups. There are online chapters for each of these areas which you will need to read. Politics The Context of Texas Politics The process that determines whose values will prevail in society. Political scientist Harold Lasswell defined it as the struggle to determine who gets what, when, and how. It involves conflict and the struggle for lesser resources. Political conflict is rooted in two general conditions of society: 1) scarcity, society s resources are finite, but people s appetites are not; 2) differences in values, people see things in different ways. In very basic terms, those that have it want to keep it, those that don t have it want to get it. Government A public institution with the authority to allocate values in society. Two aspects to government: 1) the institutions in a society which make decisions that affect the whole society 2) it also involves the processes by which decisions are made. Know this: government is deeply involved in politics, but politics is also found in other aspects of society. 1

2 Public policy What government formulates. Laws, rules, regulations, ordinances - all these things are examples of public policy. There is seemingly no end to the policies that government formulates. This is largely in response to what you, the tax-paying public, requests. Power Those who decide political issues are said to have power, a term that refers to the ability of persons or institutions to control policy decisions. Authority Power exercised through the laws and institutions of government is known as authority. Authority can be more strictly defined as the recognized right of an individual, organization, or institution to make binding decisions. Sovereignty The ultimate authority to govern. Under modern theories of governing power, each individual has the authority to govern themselves. They concede some of this sovereignty to a government to help make an orderly society. This is the basis of what is called the social contract. Legitimacy The belief people have that their government is based upon morally right principles, and that therefore they should obey its laws. All governments, in order to be effective, must have this. Somehow, the people must recognize the right of the government to govern. Democracy The form of government based upon the theory that the legitimacy of any government must come from the free participation of its citizens. It is simply a set of rules determining who will exercise the authority of government. It is based on the idea of the consent of the governed, which has come mostly to mean majority rule. Theories of Power in Modern Democracies Essentially, there are three different theories of modern democracy in America, and who is able to exercise power under each: 1) majoritarianism. This is the concept the that numerical majority prevails not only in counting votes but also in determining public policy. This is sometimes referred to as classical democracy. The problem with this form of democracy is 2

3 that sometimes minority groups can get overlooked when considering public policy. 2) pluralism. This holds that policies are effectively decided through power wielded by special interests that dominate particular policy areas. It helps to protect the rights of minorities. It tries to assure representation for all segments of a diverse (pluralistic) society. The problem with this form of democracy is that many times the will of the majority is thwarted. 3) elitism. The holds that policy is controlled by a small number of well-positioned, highly influential individuals. It is NOT democratic at all. In most theories of elitism the elite is an economic elite who controls the principal economic resources and products in society. The elite uses its economic power to gain and hold political power, sometimes openly and sometimes covertly. No one of these theories completely explains how decisions are made, but each has its merits, and, as we shall see during this semester, helps to explain how things happen within our government institutions and processes. Federalism This is the sharing and/or division of power and authority among more than one level of government. It helps to diffuse authority, yet can also be confusing when trying to determine accountability. We will discuss this more fully when studying the second chapter. Federalism makes an impact on Texas politics in several ways: 1) a significant portion of state revenue each year comes from federal grants 2) the U.S. Congress can appropriate funds through military bases, highway funding, etc. 3) the Constitution and laws of the U.S. are considered supreme, so when there is a conflict between a state s laws and the U.S., those of the U.S. take precedence. Political Culture According to your textbook, political culture can be defined as a people s shared framework of values, beliefs and habits of behavior related to government and politics. As per your online textbook, the concept of political culture refers to how we view the following four aspects of politics, government and society: o The relationship between government and the people o Rights and responsibility of the people o Obligations of government o Limits of government authority Though not covered in your online textbook, there are several key factors that combine to create the unique political culture of Texas. These factors include: 3

4 a) geographic size b) relative geographic isolation (until 20 th century), and, in keeping with this, it was sparsely populated until the 20 th Century c) prior independence (a separate republic), which is fostered in an attitude of intense state patriotism (we often think of ourselves as Texans first, and Americans second) d) part of the old south as well as being a frontier area (the wild west ) e) status as a former slave state, and the ramifications of our history of reluctance (along with other southern states) to grant citizenship rights to former slaves, as well as Hispanics f) diversity of population (see Impact of Population on Political Culture below) These factors combine to produce a very unique political culture. Since it can be stated that culture drives institutions, it is vital that you understand how this mix has created a culture that is considered very conservative ideologically. As stated in your online textbook, Texas political culture and ideology are well described by the combination of three main philosophical streams: classical liberalism, social conservatism and populism. Classical liberalism places the primary political value on political arrangements that allow for the fullest exercise of individual liberty as long as the liberties of others are not unreasonably restricted. Classical liberal ideas often form the basis for opposition to the use of government to attain social objectives. They stress instead reliance on private initiatives or the free market to determine the best outcomes. The second philosophical stream that your textbook discusses is social conservatism. Social conservatism derives from the classical conservatism rooted in feudal English and European thinking that viewed liberalism with suspicion, embraced traditional hierarchical social relations, and tended to interpret social change as a threat to established practices and beliefs. In contemporary forms, social conservatives tend to support the use of government to reinforce traditional social relations. They value established traditions, especially established religious beliefs and practices, and respect traditional authority figures such as business, military and religious leaders. We especially see social conservatism work within party politics, and we will examine this more closely later. We also need to note that classical liberalism and social conservatism sometimes exert countervailing, even contradictory pressures within the state s political culture. Finally, your textbook recognizes the philosophical idea of populism. Populism is concerned primarily with the well being of ordinary people, and emphasizes the popular will as the chief virtue of political position. Populism has both political and social dimensions. Politically, it tends to support involvement of the government in regulating society and the economy. But populism may also take socially conservative forms, or rely more on style and rhetorical appeal to the people, rather than on the substance of 4

5 what political leaders are actually advocating. Thus, depending on the context, populist appeals may support very different political positions. Your textbook goes on to state that For much of the Texas Political history, classical liberalism, social conservatism and populism in practical terms have translated into a low taxes, low services approach to government. Texans have historically, and overwhelmingly, been suspicious of government, and seeming prefer as little government as possible. This philosophy is generally referred to as conservatism. This term is quite complex, and we will study it more in depth later in this unit. In general, it refers to a hostility of government activity, especially in the economic sphere. There is a strong support among Texans for the concept of capitalism. This is a set of rules governing the distributions of costs and benefits. It emphasizes the idea of the free market, or laissezfaire, as the ultimate regulator of who gets what. In reality and in practice, most Texans actually use pseudo laissez-faire economics. What this refers to is that most business people don t want government interference with regard to regulation or taxation, but if they get into trouble then they want government to help them out. A differing philosophical view of government is called liberalism. In general (and again, we will study this in more depth later), liberals have a distrust of the free market. Liberals have often seen what they believe are abuses of capitalism by either wealthy individuals or corporations. In their view government is justified in taking a more activist role in not only the regulation of economic activity, but also in the redistribution of wealth within society. Another factor to note is that most Texans favor and follow something of a belief in social Darwinism. People who succeed and prosper are worthy and deserve to be at the top of the socioeconomic ladder, while those that sink to the bottom are unworthy and deserve their poverty. This is exhibited by a resistance to government aid. In conjunction with the strong belief in capitalism, this leads to a belief in a trickle down theory of economics. This rejects the liberal s idea of using government as a tool of economic redistribution, and accepts the notion that money will flow from the top down, meaning that if wealth is accumulated at a higher socio-economic status then when those groups spend it then it will ultimately trickle down to the lower classes, thus making them better. The liberals reject this notion in that they feel that the wealthier classes tend to hold onto their money and not spend it. To a degree they may be correct, because Texas has historically had one of the highest rates of poverty among all the states. There are many other indicators of the acceptance of the concept of social Darwinism among Texans (see slides in classroom discussion). Impact of Population on Political Culture The population of Texas has grown substantially since Immigration into Texas has come from several areas. In general, there has been a significant shift in the population of the U.S. from the cooler northern states to the so-called Sun-Belt (Southern states). 5

6 There are two principle factors responsible for this shift. First, many of the older manufacturing centers of the upper Midwest to the Northeast United States started closing in the 1970s due to foreign competition (primarily the auto industry at first). Second, the high cost of heating fuels caused more people to move to the South to warmer climates. This has impacted the politics of the United States in several ways: The 1990 Census gave Texas three (3) additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2000 Census gave Texas two (2) more. Texas now has 32 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. This effectively gives Texas more national influence. According to the 2000 Census numbers, Texas has approximately 20.4 million people. Texas has a total of 254 counties. The population of Texas is not evenly spread out. Most people in Texas live along or east of IH-35. Race and Ethnic Information Since 1850 Texas has been predominantly Anglo- American. However, between 1970 and 1990 the population totals of various racial groups in Texas were growing at far different rates: Anglo-Americans +34% Hispanic-Americans +111% African-Americans +42% As of the 2000 Census, minorities now made up 45% of the population of the state: Anglo-Americans 55% Hispanic-Americans 41% African-Americans 11% Asian-Americans 3% According to recently released Census studies, as of the year 2005, Anglo-Americans were no longer the majority population in the state. Urban and Rural differences As of 1998, it was estimated that 85% of the population of Texas lived in urban areas. The 3 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs, a term used by the Census bureau to describe large, complex, multi-city urban areas), Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, account for 52% of the total population of the state. Political Implications of Population Change First of all, the economic differences between the Anglo-American population (which tends to be wealthier) and the Hispanic-American and African-American populations (which tend to be of lower socio-economic class) creates political conflict. What political scientists believe will happen is that as the population shifts from a single dominant group (Anglo-Americans) to the Hispanic-American and African-American groups (we can see this from above with these groups representing the largest increase in percent of population growth) we will see the more liberal attitudes of these groups becoming more of a force in Texas politics and public policy in the future. 6

7 Characteristics of Constitutions Constitutional Democracy A constitution can be defined as the basic law of a state or a nation that outlines the primary structure and functions of government. There are, essentially, two types of constitutions. Ideal Constitutions constitutions that set up the basic structure and functions of government, but allows the details of those structures and functions to be worked out by another entity, usually the legislature. An example of this type of constitution is that of the United States. Statutory Constitutions these are constitutions that go into considerable length to specify what government can and cannot do. It can be very detailed and can actually spell out what would be considered laws within its body. This is essentially what the current constitution of Texas is. There are, basically, four purposes of constitutions. These include: 1) Legitimacy. Essentially this is an agreement between those who govern and the governed. The people believe that their government is based upon morally right principles and that they should therefore obey its rules. We spoke before about sovereignty, the recognized right of someone to rule. As said here previously, the modern theory of democratic government holds that individuals are free to govern themselves, except that they give up some of their autonomy in order to form an orderly society. We agree to give up our individual sovereignty in exchange for certain conditions. That is the basis of legitimacy. 2) Organizing government. Governments must be organized in some way that clarifies who the major officials are, how they are selected, and what the relationships are among those charged with basic governmental functions. The key concepts to remember here are separation of powers and the concept of checks and balances. The concept of separation of powers was first postulated by a French philosopher named Baron de Montesquieue. His proposal was that the power of government could better limited by separating governing authority into three branches, which he referred to as kings, lords, and commons. This model was used by James Madison to create the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The theory is that by separating governing power into three competing institutions it can help limit that governing authority. Madison was a very shrewd observer of human nature, and noted that ambition must be made to counter ambition. By creating an adversarial relationship between the different branches of government he sought to limit the power that any one branch might have. Most states (including Texas) have largely adopted this as the basic model of 7

8 democratic governments throughout our country. The concept of checks and balances was largely the design of Madison. It is an intricate design of not allowing any one branch of government to be able to function without some type of check by another branch. For example, the legislature is the branch given the power to conceive laws, but before any idea (bill) within the legislature can become a law it must be approved (signed) by the executive (in Texas, that would be the governor). If the executive feels that the proposed law is unwise, then they have the power to veto that law. In return, the legislature can usually override a veto, but this typically must be done by a two-thirds majority vote. These two concepts are key to helping keep government limited in its scope. Here in Texas, under out current constitution, we have gone quite far in limiting the power of various government officials. 3) Providing power. This states specifically what government can do. In a way, it is also a limiting factor in that, if viewed this way, because government can only do the things stated by the provisions here. In the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8 spells out the specific powers that government has. These are referred to as enumerated powers. I do not expect you to know each of the powers listed, but I do expect you to know what this means. 4) Limiting power. In a sense this reflects the deep insecurity our Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution felt with regard to granting powers to government. Essentially they sought to find ways to protect the rights of individuals. They were keenly aware that as an organization, government was far more powerful than any individual. They created the Bill of Rights specifically for the purpose of protecting individual rights of citizens from arbitrary government action. Indeed, perhaps one of the most important aspects of government in the United States (and not just Texas) deals with the concept of limited power or limited government. The Founding Fathers sought to find ways to restrict the lawful uses of power that government could have over its citizens. This concept goes back to the ideas and theories of John Locke (see Additional Study Notes, Chapter 2 ). In essence, Locke felt that the powers of government should be strictly limited, and that government existed for the sole purpose of protecting life, liberty, and property. Locke s writings had a profound influence on the Founding Fathers of the United States. They sought ways to limit government power in order to protect essential liberty. We have discussed several of the concepts used by the Founding Fathers that in effect limit government power, but they are summarized here a. Grants of power even though it provides power to the government, strictly defining the powers of government, in theory, limits government power because those are the only powers that government has. As mentioned above, Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution spells out the enumerated powers that the government has (raising taxes, regulating commerce, providing for an army and a navy, creating postal offices and postal roads are a few examples of what is 8

9 in Article I, Section 8), which is probably the best example we have of specific grants of power. The Texas Constitution also provides for specific grants of power, but they are spread out throughout the entire constitution and not nearly as organized. b. Denials of power the U.S. Constitution also has specific denials of power. The government cannot suspend the right of habeas corpus (produce the body) except during wartime. This is an important legal concept that forces governments to explain the reason they are detaining people in jail. Without this governments would be free to arrest and detain people with little or no reason. Another example of a denial of power is the concept of ex post facto (after the fact) laws. The U.S. Constitution strictly prohibits the creation of these. What this means is that when a person commits an act that is not considered illegal at the time they commit it, the government cannot then create a law forbidding that act and then charging that individual with committing a crime. Government can indeed create such laws, but they only apply to acts committed after the law takes affect. c. Separation of powers in designing the government of the United States, James Madison followed the model set out by Baron de Montesquieu (see Additional Study Notes, Chapter 2 for a fuller explanation). Essentially, this model suggested a way to limit government power but dividing it into three branches, each branch having their own function. Madison s concept was to check power with power (Madison himself states in Federalist Number 10 that ambition must be made to counteract ambition ) by dividing the authority of the government so that no single institution could exercise great power without the agreement of other institutions. Texas, and most other states, followed this model by creating a three branch system of government: the executive (governor), the legislative, and the judicial. d. Checks and balances this concept was created by Madison himself as a way to further control the power of the government. Essentially what it does is create an intricate relationship between the three branches where no one branch can fully function without a check on it by another branch. For example, the legislature can pass bills, but they do not become laws without the approval of the governor. In addition, the concept of the balance provides that if the governor vetoes a piece of legislation that the legislature can override that veto with a 2/3s vote of both houses. To a degree this system is somewhat dysfunctional in Texas due to the strict limitations on government power created by the Constitution of Since our legislature can only meet every other year (and only for 140 days in that year), if a governor vetoes legislation after the legislative session has ended, then the legislature has no opportunity to override that veto. A little more information about the different branches of the Texas government as specified under the Texas Constitution can be found below. 9

10 e. Bill of Rights at the time that the United States Constitution was written, most of the states had already incorporated a Bill of Rights into their constitutions. The purpose of a Bill of Rights is to list specific rights (liberties) that citizens have which government cannot take away. Among these are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. Though we have come to focus more on national rights as described in the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, we have to recognize that all states have included a Bill of Rights in their constitutions. Texas is no different, and indeed the First Article of the Texas Constitution is the Bill of Rights that you have as citizens of Texas (see below for more discussion). f. Federalism this further provides a limiting factor on government in the United States by creating a system of government in which the governing powers are shared by the national government and each of the states governments. It is further defined below. A final concept regarding the purposes of constitutions is the concept of representative government. When creating the U.S. Constitution, the Founding Fathers of our country were reluctant to give direct power to the citizens. They feared what they referred to as the tyranny of the majority and proposed to control the power of the majority. (In actuality, they referred to it as the power of faction, and feared both majority and minority factions. Madison wrote directly about this in Federalist Number 10, which is considered one of the finest essays on political thought in the history of western civilization and is highly recommended reading.) Madison believed it was essential to keep most of government beyond the control of majority factions. Thus, the framers distinguished between a democracy and a republic. 1) In a direct democracy the public decides issues directly. 2) In a republic, or representative government, officials elected by the public meet in representative institutions to decide policy for the public. 3) The Framers adopted the trustee theory of representation as proposed by the philosopher Edmund Burke. Representatives were trustees, not necessarily obligated to the majority. Your textbook spends considerable time discussing the history of the various constitutions that Texas has had. Although I do think it is important for you to know about these, and I highly recommend you should read them in order to have a better understanding of the development of governmental systems in Texas, I am not going to require that you know all of this information for the first exam. What I do think is important is a thorough understanding of the current constitution that we have and the reasons for its coming into being. Therefore there are two constitutions that you should know about and understand fully. 10

11 Constitution of 1869 The first of these is the Constitution of 1869, also referred to as the Radical Reconstruction Constitution. In many ways the constitution that we have today, and the provisions of it, are a direct result of what this constitution did. Immediately after the Civil War ended, President Lincoln had intended on minimal penalties to be imposed on states that had seceded from the union. Unfortunately, President Lincoln was assassinated and the so-called Radical Republicans came into power in Washington, D.C. This group of politicians was very angry at the southern states for having withdrawn from the union and sought to punish them for their actions. Since the southern states were already occupied by northern troops, it was relatively easy for them to enforce new policies on Texas, and all southern states, that were viewed very unfavorably. The Radical Republicans enforced their will on Texas (and all southern states) through several actions: 1) they set aside the government already formed by Reconstruction in ) the enfranchised (grated voting rights) to former slaves and other minorities 3) they disenfranchised (removed voting rights) from former Confederate soldiers and other prominent whites in the state 4) the imposed military rule across the state Once they had accomplished these things, they forced the state, in 1868, to write a new constitution to replace the one written just two years earlier. This new constitution was ratified in Among the provisions were: 1) it greatly centralized power in the state government, especially in the office of the governor, giving him considerable appointive power 2) it provided for generous salaries for state officials 3) it stipulated appointed judges 4) called for annual legislative sessions 5) took away considerable power from the counties and local governments, thus giving more authority for governing decisions at the state level rather than with local governments This constitution was easily ratified because all former confederates were barred from voting. This constitution, and other ones forced upon other southern states, was deeply resented by most white southerners. In the elections of 1869, immediately following the ratification of this constitution, E.J. Davis was elected the new governor. Governor Davis had fought for the Union during the Civil War, and his term of governor ( ) was marked by a large degree of corruption. With almost unlimited appointive power, Governor Davis was able to place friends and cronies in office, much to the chagrin of the ordinary Texans. Eventually the power of the Radical Republicans in Washington began to wane. The cost of micro-managing the south was proving to be a burden, and many northerners were ready to move on. In the elections of 1873, Governor Davis was defeated by Democrat 11

12 Richard Coke. The Republicans charged that the election was fraudulent, and the Republican dominated Supreme Court of Texas invalidated the results. However, the Democratic state legislature upheld Coke as the winner. For a while both acted as governor. Eventually, Davis stepped down when President Ulysses Grant withdrew his support for him from Washington. Constitution of 1876 By 1875, the Democrats in Texas had finally obtained enough power statewide to call for a new constitutional convention. In September of that year, 90 delegates elected statewide gathered in Austin to write a new constitution. It was a very diverse group, including six African-Americans. However, the group most represented (just over half) were members of the Texas Grange. The Grange was a national movement of farmers during the 1870s. Though not quite a workers union, they nevertheless were brought together to try to gain reform of government policies in order to help farmers stay economically solvent. The constitution that resulted from this convention was dramatically different than previous ones used in Texas. It was, essentially, a reaction to conditions of the times. The basic slogan of the convention was Retrenchment and Reform, indicating a strong movement back to the governing traditions that Texas had prior to the occupation of the state. The members of the convention had one thing in common, a strong distrust of government. Key elements that were built into the new constitution included: 1) Limiting the term of office of the governor to two years. 2) Limited the legislature to biennial (every two years) sessions (if you are not able to meet in session, you can t make laws, which were largely viewed as mischief). A constitutional amendment later limited legislative sessions to only 140 days in those years that it did meet. 3) Judges were chosen by popular election rather than being appointed. 4) The governor had very few appointments to offices that he could make. Indeed, there are five major political offices (the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Comptroller, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office) that exist in the executive branch that are elected independently of the governor. Also, two major policy making bodies, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Board of Education, that are elected independently of the governor. This greatly weakens the power of the governor to make or have influence over policy decisions within the state. Having so many elected officials other than the governor in our state s structure is referred to as the plural executive. 5) the debt that the state could incur was limited to $200, When finally put to election by the voters in 1876, it was overwhelmingly approved by a 2-1 margin. Why was this constitution so dramatically different from previous Texas constitutions, as well as the U.S. Constitution? Three key reasons: 12

13 1) It was a strong negative reaction to the Reconstruction era. Keep in mind that most of the people living in the state during this time were of white heritage, as well as having supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. They strongly disliked what had been forced upon them by the so-called carpetbaggers, thus they did not want to allow their new government to have any of the provisions of the previous regime. 2) As well as being a negative reaction to Reconstruction, it was also a very negative reaction to the regime of Governor E.J. Davis. The corruption, lack of accountability, high salaries of government officials, all contributed to a strong distrust of government power. Thus the delegates sought to limit the power of all government officials as much as they could. 3) The Agrarian movement of the 1870s. Among other things, it sought to bring about greater participation of all citizens in government as well as a general feeling of further limiting the power of government. It is this document that has now been our state constitution for over 120 years. It has 17 Articles (one has been stricken by an amendment), is over 81,000 words in length (only Alabama s is longer), and has been amended 432 times (compare with the U.S. Constitution which has 7 Articles and has been amended only 27 times). It includes misnumbered sections, misspelled words, and Articles that were left blank. One sentence contains 756 words. For all of its failings, it is still the basic document that governs us today. Federalism Texas exists (as we have said) within a federal system. This is a structure of government which is characterized by a division (or sharing of) powers between a national government and associated regional (or state) governments. Why is this? It has to do with the historical origins of our country. Originally there were 13 independent colonies. After American Revolution, under the Articles of Confederation, they functioned mostly as autonomous states. Many people in the early days of our country were very suspicious of a strong, centralized government. One of the major compromises that led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution was to leave a lot of governing authority at the state level. However, Article VI of the U.S. Constitution provides that the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the national government take precedence over the constitutions and laws of the states. This is known as the supremacy of laws clause of the U.S. Constitution, or, more simply, the supremacy clause. In other words, in the event of a conflict between the U.S. Constitution, or the laws of the U.S. and a state s constitution or laws, the U.S. Constitution takes precedence. What is important to understand is that historically the states have been mostly left to themselves to create their own laws and policies on many areas of public policy. It has only been largely since the 1970s that we have seen a movement to create more centralized laws and regulations that would make certain policies uniform throughout the country. A recent example of the is the Leave No Child 13

14 Behind Act, which sought to create national standards that all state schools had to live up to. As an attempt to counter-balance the powers of the national government, the 10 th Amendment to the United States Constitution states that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This has come to be known as reserved powers, which, in theory, are powers left to the states. Over the history of the United States there has been a struggle to understand the exact nature of the relationship between the states and the national government. At times it has become extremely violent (as evidenced by the Civil War), but at other times it has been fought out through the court systems. It is an evolving concept in that the exact nature is never clearly known. This continues today, and will continue into the foreseeable future. Specific Features of the Texas Constitution Your textbook does a very good job of summarizing the specific features of the Texas Constitution. However, there are a few things to note here. Article I the Bill of Rights. What is a bill of rights? Basically, it tells you of your protections against government interference. Provides for equality under the law, allows for religious freedom, the separation between church and state, freedom of the press, etc. As an interesting note about the Texas Constitution s Bill of Rights, however, is that there is a provision that calls for a test for people who wish to hold public office. In order to do so you must acknowledge the existence of God. This is not enforced however, because that violates the U.S. Constitution (see deadwood below). We will discuss the concepts of civil rights and civil liberties later in the semester. Article II of the Texas Constitution outlines the separation of powers. It is debatable as to whether this needs to exist here at all, considering that other articles establish the different branches of government and discuss their specific powers Article III, establishes the legislature, its composition, qualifications, organization, and meeting time. It is extremely limiting! The legislature can only meet every other year (and since the 1950s, for only 140 days), unless called into emergency session by the governor. Salaries are also fixed, and can only be changed by constitutional amendment. It creates two houses, a Senate (31 members) and a House of Representatives (150 members). Article IV specifies the executive branch. It is very IMPORTANT to note here is that the governor has limited authority to appoint other members of the executive branch. We will discuss the concept of the plural executive more fully later in the semester, but basically it means that other important executives are also elected independently of governor. These include the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public accounts, Commissioner of General Land Office, Secretary of Agriculture, and 14

15 members of the Railroad Commission as well as the State Board of Education. All in all, the governor of Texas is one of the weakest governors in all of the United States. Article V establishes the judicial branch. This is extremely confusing! Distinct features include: 1) six different types of courts including two supreme courts 2) each level of trial courts has concurrent, or overlapping, jurisdiction 3) qualifications are such that no legal training is required for some positions (not required to have a degree in law) 4) all judges in Texas are elected Articles III, IX, and XI deal with various levels of local government. Local governments fall into 3 categories: counties, municipalities, and special districts (which we will discuss more in last unit of semester). There are many interesting little features of the Texas constitution that are generally ignored because of a variety of problems. These are known as deadwood because they cannot be made operational. Because they have been written into the constitution the only way we could get them out is with a constitutional amendment! One of the specific features of the Texas constitution that is a piece of deadwood is a provision that stipulates that you must be 21 to vote. Since this violates the laws of the U.S. it is just ignored. Revision of the Texas Constitution The deadwood referred to above is one of the reasons that many people talk about the need to revise our constitution. As we mentioned last time, it is a complex and confusing document: long, wordy, with many mistakes. Rather than create only the essential structure of the state government, the delegates who wrote our constitution in 1876 implemented many legislative provisions within the body of the document. This has led to it being amended an inordinate number of times (432 as of today, and counting!). In general there are five things that advocates of constitutional reform generally focus on: 1) the biennial legislative session 2) the judicial system 3) the fragmented executive branch 4) county government 5) detailed provisions of the constitution. There have been several attempts at revising and/or rewriting the current constitution. As of this date, no major overhaul has been successful. Why? In general, people seem satisfied with the way things are. Also, it is generally hard to get people to change things. Unless there is some major crisis, most people tend to resist change, especially Texans. 15

16 Amendment Process Finally, I want to mention one final thing about our constitution, how the Texas constitution can be amended. In Texas there is only one way to amend our constitution, please know this: 1) proposals must originate in the legislature, and can only occur during a regular or special session. 2) must have a two thirds vote of both houses for an amendment a proposed change to be put to the Texas voters. 3) Legislature specifies the date of the election, and then the proposed amendment(s) must be advertised in a paper in each county once a week for four weeks starting 3 months prior to the election 4) Voters only have to approve of an amendment by a simple majority vote. This process does NOT include the governor, other than if an amendment is approved by the citizens of the state, the governor s office makes an announcement indicating such approval. Voting, Campaigns and Elections In order for us to begin to understand how and why we vote, we first must have an understanding of how and why we think the way we do. We all have certain ideas and beliefs about a wide variety of things, including political ideas, values and beliefs. Typically, we refer to these ideas, values and beliefs as ideology. However, before we discuss ideology, we first must understand where these ideas come from. The learning process by which we teach and learn our political knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, values and habits of behavior is referred to as political socialization. These things tend to pass from one generation to the next, thus this is somewhat how we explain the conservative nature of the Texas political culture. Essentially, there are five basic agents of political socialization: family, peers, schools, churches, and the media. The family. This is considered to be the most important agent of political socialization. The reason for this is a learning theory from education called the primacy principle. What this says is that the things that we learn first are often lodged most firmly in one s mind. In Texas we have a heritage of a general anti-government attitude and a conservative point of view that is passed along to our children. As children grow, they tend to develop the ideological traits that their parents have adopted, thus conservatism remains a dominant force in Texas government and politics. 16

17 There are two other learning theories that you should be aware of. The second theory, structuring, states that early learning structures later learning. In other words, what we learn early in life tends to cause us to continue to learn in a manner that supports what we already believe. Thus we continue to behave in a manner consistent with what we learn at an early age. The third learning theory is called the age-cohort tendency. What this says is that if there is going to be significant change in our behavior (from that of our parents) it is going to happen at a younger age. It is very rare that older citizens change their positions on political opinions. Schools, peers and churches. These agents help enable our conservative attitude. This is in large measure because they reflect the values already in place in society. We do not often associate ourselves with people who challenge the way we think. What these agents tend to do is reinforce these attitudes rather than challenge them (such as saying the Pledge of Allegiance in grades schools, for example). We are brought up to respect our government institutions and think that we should not challenge them. The media. The media can simply be defined as those business organizations that exist to provide us with news, information about what is happening in the world around us. We generally separate the media into two types: broadcast (television and radio), and print (newspapers and magazines). I do not feel that it is overly important to know much (at this point) about the media). However, I do feel that you should be aware that the media tends, in Texas, to be pretty conservative, primarily because the media more often than not relies on advertising revenues from other businesses in the local areas, thus tending to reflect the business point of view on most issues (hard to bite the hand that feeds you). Many people today feel that the media is becoming even more conservative in light of the fact that many large media corporations are purchasing news outlets and thus controlling more of what gets distributed as news. With regard to the political process, the media serve an important function because they provide us with a link to our political institutions and leaders. This is one of the important concepts from this unit: linkage institutions (political parties, interest groups, and the media). Because we do not often have direct access to our leaders today we rely on these groups to carry our message to our political leaders. Ideology: a consistent pattern of behavior based on a core set of ideas, values and beliefs. The two dominant systems of beliefs and values in America and Texas today are referred to as liberalism and conservatism. In your professor s humble opinion, these terms are thrown about much too casually by many people including the media, as well as political pundits. What does it really mean to be liberal or conservative? This is not easy to answer. Liberalism is often identified as being left wing, while conservatism is often referred to as being right wing. How do we classify ideology? This can be VERY confusing. 17

18 Many sources simplify this issue based mostly along economic policy, but today it is much more difficult to understand what the differences really are. Our analysis on ideological types is based upon looking at ideology on these four policy areas: 1) economic issues 2) social issues (government s role in resolving complex social problems: school desegregation, health issues, etc) 3) government s role in deciding moral issues 4) position on civil liberties Below are summaries of how each of these ideologies views these different issues. Conservatism: 1) Economic issues: basic belief in laissez-faire, but in practice tend to be pseudo laissez-faire. That is, the theoretical assertion that an unregulated economy produces the best results coupled with practical support for government policies that help business to overcome problems in the marketplace. Commonly referred to as the right wing of the political spectrum. Conservatives often argue that economic problems are caused by over-regulation by the government. 2) Do not necessarily believe that government has a role in solving social issues. 3) Do tend to believe that government should support traditional values, including morality, and teaching respect for institutions. Believe in government having a role in the regulation of religion, sexual activity (except that government should NOT distribute condoms), and drug use. This tends to come from a very pessimistic view of how people behave. Have to save people from themselves. 4) Civil liberties: complex! Believe government has no role in regulating ownership of handguns, but then support things that would limit freedom of expression in certain areas (including religion). Also tend to be tough on crime, to the degree that they do not fully support all Bill of Rights issues involving rights of the accused. Liberalism: 1) Economic issues: more apt to blame market failure for economic problems and to place more faith in the ability of government to direct economic activity. Commonly referred to as the left wing of the political spectrum. 2) Do tend to support government involvement in solving social problems (expansion of voting rights). 3) Prefer that government NOT be involved in moral issues. This primarily stems from belief that each individual has right to determine their own destiny. 18

19 4) Civil liberties: also complex! Tend to support restriction of gun ownership rights, but otherwise they are considered civil libertarians, strongly supporting freedom of expression, religion, and rights of accused. In addition to liberals and conservatives, there are also two other ideological types that deserve mention here: libertarians and populists. These are two ideological types that have a certain amount of influence in policy areas. Generally speaking (and very simply), libertarians distrust government influence in just about every sector of policy issues. We cannot consider them as simply anarchists, because they do view the role of government as being somewhat legitimate, but very limited. Populists are the polar opposites of libertarians. In general, they view the role of government as being very active in virtually all policy areas. REMEMBER: all of the above are to a degree generalities. Even within ideological types there can be wide variation on policy issues. In most circumstances, citizens can vary widely in how they feel ideologically based on specific policy issues. For example, a person may find his or herself strongly conservative when it comes to economic issues, but more liberal when it comes to social issues. This is not at all uncommon. What is important to remember for our class is that TEXAS is STRONGLY CONSERVATIVE!!!! This has a very strong affect on party politics in this state. In general, today, we associate the Republican Party with conservatives, and the Democratic Party with liberals. However, Texas, up until a generation ago, was primarily a Democratic state. Why would that be? Is Texas liberal? Not at all. The primary reason that Texas was a Democratic state was the influence of the Civil War and the fact that the Republican Party was the party which was in power in Washington during that period. The Republicans during this period were largely dominated by radicals who wanted to punish the South for the Civil War. Many were strong abolitionists, and they supported a military occupation of the South to enforce policies that were very unpopular. The distaste for these policies was so strong that even though the South was considered ideologically conservative, it still took several generations of voters to pass before the South started becoming more Republican. One thing to note: the Democratic Party in Texas is still quite conservative in terms of comparing it with the Democratic Party in other parts of the United States. With regard to the actual concept of voting, the term suffrage is simply defined as the right to vote. Today, in the United States, you must be 18 years of age on election day and a citizen of the United States in order to register to vote. Another common provision is that one not be under indictment for a felony or already been convicted of a felony to be able to vote. However, all states have provisions that allow ex-felons to possibly regain their voting status after a certain period of time (assuming good behavior). 19