Now updated with complete information on the 108th Congress, Politics in America 2004 features objectively written, crisp profiles on every member of Congress, Each profile examines the member's performance in Congress and major accomplishments. Profiles of every member of Congress include: Biographical data, committee assignments, election results and key votes, interest group ratings and CQ vote studies; New and detailed descriptions of each member's congressional district based upon the 2000 census and redistricting, including updated maps, voting trends, and business and industry information; An analysis of each member's legislative priorities, personal style, and achievements; 2000 presidential votes reconfigured by congressional district. New to the 2004 edition: with your purchase of the hardbound version of Politics in America 2004, you are entitled to free, single user password protected access to the electronic versions of the last three editions of Politics in America (2000, 2002, and 2004) via the Internet. Through the electronic versions of Politics in America users can subscribe for free to CQ Daily Monitor Midday Update to get the latest congressional news - includin

Now updated with complete information on the 108th Congress, Politics in America 2004 features objectively written, crisp profiles on every member of Congress, Each profile examines the member's performance in Congress and major accomplishments. Profiles of every member of Congress include: Biographical data, committee assignments, election results and key votes, interest group ratings and CQ vote studies; New and detailed descriptions of each member's congressional district based upon the 2000 census and redistricting, including updated maps, voting trends, and business and industry information; An analysis of each member's legislative priorities, personal style, and achievements; 2000 presidential votes reconfigured by congressional district. New to the 2004 edition: with your purchase of the hardbound version of Politics in America 2004, you are entitled to free, single user password protected access to the electronic versions of the last three editions of Politics in America (2000, 2002, and 2004) via the Internet. Through the electronic versions of Politics in America users can subscribe for free to CQ Daily Monitor Midday Update to get the latest congressional news - includin

The authors explore how Americans' levels of political knowledge have changed over the past 50 years, how such knowledge is distributed among different groups, and how it is used in political decision-making. Drawing on extensive survey data, they present compelling evidence for benefits of a politically informed citizenry--and the cost of one that is poorly and inequitably informed. 62 illustrations.

Chronicles the life of Martin Van Buren, focusing on his role in the development and transformation of American politics in the early part of the nineteenth century.

Pulp Politics helps us understand how political ads work by exploring how people think and feel, how our brains work, and how we tell and listen to stories. The book dissents from much popular and scholarly opinion that contends that political advertising only despoils democracy. It proposes that the fabric of popular culture, not the essentials of informed consent, constitutes the communicative core of contemporary political campaigns. The book subjects campaign spots to compellingly detailed and nuanced analysis.

Today, in growing numbers, from kitchen tables to nonprofit organizations to corporate boards, Americans are turning away from the bickering and division of politics as usual and turning toward a new politics-what activist-turned-attorney Mark Satin christens here as "radical middle" politics.Instead of the usual blame games, the radical middle appreciates the genuine and often very reasonable concerns of the left and right, which many of those disillusioned with political partisanship will find refreshing. As the nation heads into the 2004 presidential election, the radical middle dares to propose bold and innovative solutions to problems that affect us all, from health care reform to corporate accountability to the fight against terrorism.Radical Middle offers an innovative yet practical handbook that addresses many of the most vexing social problems of our time. A whole new movement is on the march-the radical middle movement-and this is its manifesto. It shows how to understand politics, how to quiet the din of overheated rhetoric, and how to make modern politics reflect the true expression of rational and creative people everywhere.

Divided America tells the biggest story in American politics today. It's the story behind the emergence of a ferocious power struggle between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats that is tearing the country's politics apart. Drawing on extensive polling data and close analyses of presidential, senatorial, and congressional elections over the past fifty years, two eminent political scientists show, for the first time, how partisan warfare has reduced both major parties to minority status and locked them into fierce power struggles in each election cycle, thereby making America less stable and more difficult to govern. Because the two major parties are now evenly balanced in the national electorate, control of the White House and Congress can shift dramatically with each election. Neither Republicans nor Democrats operate with any "lock" on the presidency, House of Representatives, or Senate, as demonstrated by the 2006 congressional elections. Earl Black and Merle Black examine the party battles as they've played themselves out in the nation's five principal geographic areas. Each party has developed two important regional strongholds, as exemplified in the 2004 elections, when Republicans won all the electoral votes and sizable majorities of House and Senate seats in the South and Mountain/Plains states while the Democrats won almost all the electoral votes and large majorities in the Northeast and the Pacific Rim states. The Midwest is the perennial swing region. The authors describe the enormous changes that have occurred in the electorates of each region over the past fifty years -- with emphasis on how the size and partisan affiliations of key groups have changed -- and show how these transformations have generated today's unstable two-party battles. Although the relentlessly competitive nature of modern American politics is generally appreciated, the regional causes underlying this new state of affairs are not well understood. Because neither Democrats nor Republicans can produce national majorities simply by sweeping their regional strongholds, they are locked in a fierce power struggle in each election. Divided America tells the story of these remarkable developments in clear, vigorous prose and provides a pragmatic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each party. For the foreseeable future, each party will be within striking distance of winning -- or losing -- political power in every national institution. Understanding the party battles in America's regions is vital to understanding how today's losers can become tomorrow's winners