The President and Congress: A Strategic Relationship Part II
You will turn in notes for participation credit. What should the relationship between the president and Congress look like? To what degree should Congress look to the president for policy leadership? To what degree should partisanship govern the president’s relationship with Congress? Under what circumstances do you think the president and Congress should compromise? You will turn in notes for participation credit.
Unified and divided government To what degree does partisanship govern the president’s relationship with Congress? Unified and divided government Mayhew’s argument
Passage of major legislation, 1947-1990 Number passed… Unified Government Divided Government By partisan majority in both houses 14 By bipartisan majority in both houses 73
Passage of major legislation, 1947-1990 Number passed… Unified Government Divided Government By partisan majority in both houses 14 10 By bipartisan majority in both houses 73 123
Unified and divided government An advantage… Not a total advantage To what degree does partisanship govern the president’s relationship with Congress? Unified and divided government Mayhew’s argument An advantage… Not a total advantage
Under what circumstances will the president and Congress compromise? Logic of compromise: When a party to a negotiation prefers any improvement over the status quo to the status quo itself.
Under what circumstances will we see the president and Congress compromise? Unified government Issue is good for one party and bad for the other Long time until the next election Major legislation
Under what circumstances will the president and Congress fail to compromise? Logic of the failure to compromise: Hard to explain to enthusiastic supporters Parties wish to maintain differences Reduces chances of getting more later
Under what circumstances will the president and Congress fail to compromise? Divided government Issue is subject of intense interest by active pressure groups Issue is good for one party and bad for the other Elections are close
Veto bait Divided government only Congress passes an uncompromising bill Veto imposes costs on the president Can lead to game of successive approximations How can the president win?