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American Government Lecture One (view source)

Revision as of 19:08, July 10, 2010

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concept of gerrymandering explained
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role of campaign spending
 
role of campaign spending
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== "Midterm" Elections ==
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The Tuesday after the first Monday in November this year is November 2, and that is Election Day.  All 435 House seats are up for election, and 33 out of 100 (U.S.) Senate seats are likewise on the ballot.  The president is not on the ballot because this year, 2010, is not divisible by 4; the presidential term is 4 years and Barack Obama was elected to that position in 2008.
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Due to gerrymandering, however, less than 100 out of the 435 House seats are "in play," such that either party could win it.  Gerrymandering is one many new terms you will learn as part of this course.  Its name comes from a cartoon making fun of Governor Eldridge Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812, who signed into law a redistricting for state that used odd shapes in order to help his political party be elected.  This is possible because voting patterns become predictable over time:  many neighborhoods are known to vote heavily Democratic or heavily Republican based on prior elections. 
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For example, San Francisco is a heavily Democratic area, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi represents a "safe seat" there.  Indeed, over 335 out of the 435 House seats represent districts that are safely Republican or safely Democratic.  In those districts, the only way to defeat an incumbent (the person in office running for reelection) is to defeat him in the primary.
    
concept of "political machines."
 
concept of "political machines."
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"safe seats" produced by gerrymandering
      
polling, and the influence of polling
 
polling, and the influence of polling
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