Q3 Seminar Notes 1

a) Seminar Talking Points: These must summarise the main points and most salient evidence
from each reading, focusing on what you want to discuss or argue. You should also explain how
each reading connects with at least one other reading. Organise them by author and article title.

- Binder (Congress Readings From Stalemate)

- Gridlocks are impossible to resolve by legislators because it is a natural effect of the growing
polarisation of parties. And as party polarisation increases, the occurrence of gridlocks will
increase
- Cook & Wasserman (Atlantic A Look At the 2016 Election)
- Demographic trends are helpful for the Democrats, but cannot guarantee that that will hold the
white house beyond 2017

- Klein (Vox Why Democrats and Republicans dont understand each other)
- Gridlock is often the best small-government conservatives can hope for. And so Republicans
are more comfortable with it than Democrats.

- This relates to Binders gridlock argument it really is impossible and the two parties are
really different (evolved to be different)

- Democrats tend to project their preference for policymaking onto the Republican Party and
then respond with anger and confusion when Republicans don't seem interested in making a
deal. Republicans tend to assume the Democratic Party is more ideological than it is, and so
see various policy initiatives as part of an ideological effort to remake America along more
socialistic lines.
- The parties are good at different things because they really are different.
- Wolf (Financial Times The economic losers are in revolt against the elites)
- There are those, particularly the native working class, who are seduced by the siren song of
politicians who combine the nativism of the hard right, the statism of the hard left and the
authoritarianism of both.
- Those of the right take big risks in cultivating popular rage as a way to secure lower taxes,
increased immigration and weaker regulation. Elites of the left are also taking risks if they are
seen to sacrifice the interests and values of a struggling mass of citizens to cultural relativism
and lax control of borders.
- This links to the Klein article in that it furthers the argument by stating the different behaviours
of the elite right- and left-wing.

b) Seminar Questions: You must create three higher-order questions for discussion. These
should be open-ended and generate discussion. The should therefore not be overly specific or too
complicated. They can relate to a single reading, but better questions will draw on ideas and
evidence from multiple readings.
1) As Klein states, gridlocks are naturally favoured for Republicans because of their ideals of a
small government, but Binder on the other had argues that the growing polarisation is the
main cause of gridlocks. Is gridlock really as one-sided as Klein argues, or is it more due to
polarisation?
2) From the evidence provided by Cook and Wasserman in the Atlantic article, in your opinion,
would you argue that the Democrats are more likely to hold the White House or the
Republicans?
3) Are gridlocks an effective and sustainable political strategy, as identified as a strategy of the
Republicans by Klein, even though they are despised by the public and often the root cause
of Americans anger at the government?
c) You must also answer all of the questions below to ensure you have engaged in the kind of preseminar thinking expected.
1) Why are Americans so mad at their government?

1) They are mad at the inactivity and ineffectiveness of their government, even though the
system is designed to specifically allow them.
2) Why is Congress so ineffective?
It is hard for them to come to agreement, because the two parties are too much in conflict
and also the system allows for gridlocks easily.
3) Is Congressional stalemate due to institutional, political, or cultural factors?
All, because the structure of American legislation system simply allows for gridlocks
(although Binder argues that they cant really do much about it), and its also caused for further
polarisation (according to Binder) and the innate differences between the two parties (according to
Klein). It is also due to cultural factors, because according to Cook and Wasserman.
4) What does Congress do well, and how?
It is good at nothing, because of polarisation.
5) Which party is likely to control Congress in 2016? And beyond?
Democrats! I think.