Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State / Edition 4

by Brian P. Janiskee, Ken Masugi

Overview

Modeling their themes (as well as their title) after Tocqueville's Democracy in America, Janiskee (political science, California State U.) and Masugi (director, Center for Local Government at the Claremont Institute) offer an introduction to the politics and government of the state of California. Chapters on the values and diversity of the citizenry and the constitutional history of the state set the stage for individual examinations of public opinion and the media, parties and interest groups, campaigns and elections, the legislatures, the executive, the courts, the budget and government finance, and local government. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442247536
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2015
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian P. Janiskee received his PhD from Michigan State University and is a professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, San Bernardino, where he is also a faculty member in the national security studies program. He has published several articles and books on such topics as special districts, crime policy, presidential elections, American colonial local government, and national security.

Ken Masugi received his PhD from the New School for Social Research and teaches for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Advanced Studies in American Government in Washington, DC. He is editor of Interpreting Tocqueville's "Democracy in America"(described in the American Political Science Review as representing a "revolution in Tocqueville scholarship") and coeditor of nine other books on modern and American political thought. Masugi is a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute,a Distinguished Fellow of the Center for American Greatness, and is editor of Unmasking the Administrative State (2019), by John Marini.

Christina G. Villegas received her Ph.D. from the University of Dallas and is associate professor of Political Science at California State University, San Bernardino, where she teaches courses in American government, political theory, and public policy.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

About the Authors xiv

Introduction 1

1 Diversity 5

Issue Highlight: Illegal Immigration 14

Conclusion 15

2 A Progressive Constitution 16

Issue Highlight: Affirmative Action 21

Conclusion 22

3 Public Opinion and the Media 23

Public Opinion 23

Salience Effects 24

Attention Cycles 24

Public Opinion Polling 25

Recent Findings 27

Media 28

Entertainment Industry Influence 29

Issue Highlight: The Decline of Local Reporting 29

Conclusion 30

4 Parties and Interest Groups 31

California Political Parties 32

Official Definitions 32

Why Only Two Major Parties? 32

Party Structure 33

Weakened Parties 33

Relative Strength of the Two Parties 35

Interest Groups 35

Regulation of Interest Groups 36

Interest Group Activities 36

Lobbying Expenditures 37

Interest Groups as Factions 37

Issue Highlight: Public Employee Unions 38

Conclusion 39

5 Campaigns and Elections 40

All Elections Are State Elections 40

Voter Qualifications 41

Mail Ballots 41

Candidate Qualifications 41

Types of Elections 42

Partisan and Nonpartisan Elections 42

Primary Elections 42

Types of Partisan Primaries in the United States 43

Direct Democracy 44

The Initiative 44

The Referendum 44

The Recall 45

Memorable Initiatives 46

The Role of the Courts 46

Vital Election Statistics 47

Campaign Finance 47

Voter Turnout 47

Issue Highlight: California's "Top Two" Primary 48

Conclusion 49

6 The Legislature 50

Legislation as Practical Wisdom 50

The Nature of Political Decisions 50

Legislation in a Republic 51

The Bicameral System 51

Districting 51

Conflicts over Redisricting 52

Terms 53

Partisan Division and Organization 53

The Speaker of the Assembly 53

Presidenr Pro Tempore of the Senate 54

Legislative Process 54

Introduction of a Bill 54

Committee Consideration 55

Floor Vote and Consideration in the Other Chamber 55

Consideration by the Governor 55

Issue Highlight: "Gut and Amend" 57

Conclusion 58

7 The Executive 59

California's Governor 59

Terms and Elections 60

Veto 60

Budget 60

Other Elected Executives 62

Other Agencies and Departments 66

Bureaucracy 66

Issue Highlight: Limits of Progressive Leadership 67

Conclusion 68

8 The Courts 70

Types of Courts 71

Supreme Court 71

Superior Courts 73

Courts of Appeal 73

Functions of the Courts 73

Issue Highlight: Three Strikes Law 77

Conclusion 78

9 The Budget and Government Finance 79

Budget Process 79

Revenues and Expenditures 81

General Fund Expenditures 81

Overall Revenues 82

Characteristics of Each Tax 82

Income Tax 82

Sales Tax 83

Fees, Item-specific Taxes, and Property Taxes 83

Ballot Initiatives 84

Bonds 84

Issue Highlight: California's Budget Drama 85

Conclusion 86

10 Local Government 87

Cities 88

Counties 89

Special Districts and School Districts 90

Proposition 13 90

Issue Highlight: Special Districts in California 91

Conclusion 92

Epilogue 93

Glossary 95

Notes 98

Bibliography 116

Index 130

Editorial Reviews

Janiskee and Masugi have done it again... producing a cogent analysis of California politics that is both timely and rooted in historical context. With tight prose and thorough research, it shows how Progressivism continues to shape state politics, with results that are often far from progressive. This book is a wonderful brief introduction to the not-always-golden politics of the Golden State.

John J. Pitney Jr.

Review of previous edition: In their succinct, highly-readable, and now updated guide to California politics, Janiskee and Masugi provide a historical overview and contemporary account of the major constitutional features, governmental arrangements, fiscal practices, and diverse social characteristics of the Golden State. Aiming high, they consciously model their Democracy in California on Tocqueville's Democracy in America. They offer thoughtful meditations on Tocqueville's insights into the principles, problems, and prospects of democratic life. Their aim is uncannily accurate. This is an indispensable book for anyone wishing to understand and assess the successes and failures of California politics and government.

Ralph A. Rossum

Democracy in California is the best book of its kind. With a view to the enduring questions of political life, the authors present a view of the Golden State unlike that of any other textbook available today. The case studies are especially useful, providing students with readable and memorable examples of the central ideas of each chapter. The result is a cogent yet comprehensive account of America’s most important state.

Scot Zentner

Non-Californians and even some Californians struggle to understand the State's various political, social, and economic crosscurrents. Democracy in California sorts through the complexities of this diverse and trend-setting state. The book artfully puts the present situation in the context of the state's history. If you want to understand California's exceptionalism, beyond the trite clichés, here's a good place to start.

Steven Greenhut

A brief but valuable textbook on the operation of one of the most important and complex governments in the world: the State of California. Tip O'Neil was right that all politics are local; this book shows how the great issues of self-government work out at the most prosaic of levels
— Michael Potemra

National Review