Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T19:10:30.491Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Closing Down and Cashing In: Extremism and Political Fundraising

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Stan Oklobdzija
Stan Oklobdzija*
Affiliation:
University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
*
Stan Oklobdzija, University of California, San Diego. Department of Political Science. Social Sciences Building 301, 9500 Gilman Drive, #0521 La Jolla, CA 92093-0521, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Can politically polarizing events bear dividends for extremist lawmakers? Evidence from California legislative financial disclosures suggests they can. During the state's numerous budget shutdowns of the last 30 years, extremist legislators outside their party median could expect greater fund-raising hauls than their more centrist counterparts. The results suggest that polarizing events such as California's perennial budget impasses can make extremist positions more appealing to the polarized political elites who generally fund political campaigns. Regardless of the motivation, however, these results suggest a strong incentive to prolong political discord by extremists—a troubling outcome in cases where supermajority votes are required.

Keywords

interest groups and electionspolitical behaviorcampaign financeparties in legislaturesparties and interest groupslegislative behaviorlegislative politicsstate constitutions
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 201 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowitz, Alan I., and Saunders, Kyle L.. 2008. “Is Polarization a Myth?” The Journal of Politics 70 (2): 542–55..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John. 1995. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Party Politics in America. Vol. 15. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, de Figueiredo, John M., and Snyder, James M.. 2003. “Why Is There so Little Money in U.S. Politics?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17 (1): 105–30..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, and Snyder, James M. Jr. 2000. “Valence Politics and Equilibrium in Spatial Election Models.” Public Choice 103 (3–4): 327–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bafumi, Joseph, and Herron, Michael C.. 2010. “Leapfrog Representation and Extremism: A Study of American Voters and Their Members in Congress.” The American Political Science Review 104 (3): 519–42..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bafumi, Joseph, and Shapiro, Robert Y.. 2009. “A New Partisan Voter.” The Journal of Politics 71 (1): 1–24..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldassare, Mark, Bonner, Dean, Patush, Jennifer, and Petek, Sonja. 2009. “PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government.” September. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.Google Scholar
Balz, Dan, and Clement, Scott. 2013. “Poll: Major Damage to GOP after Shutdown, and Broad Dissatisfaction with Government.” The Washington Post, October 22. https://www.wash-ingtonpost.com/politics/poll-major-damage-to-gop-after-shutdown-and-broad-dissatis-faction-with-government/2013/10/21/dae5c062-3a84-11e3-b7ba-503fb5822c3e_story.html?utm_term=.a6ff527f19b1Google Scholar
Barber, Michael. 2016. “Ideological Donors, Contribution Limits, and the Polarization of American Legislatures.” Journal of Politics 78 (1): 296–310..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry M. 2000. “Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (1): 35–50..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry M. 2010. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Bonica, Adam, McCarty, Nolan, Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 2013. “Why Hasn't Democracy Slowed Rising Inequality?” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 27 (3): 103–23..Google Scholar
Bowling, Cynthia J., and Ferguson, Margaret R.. 2001. “Divided Government, Interest Representation, and Policy Differences: Competing Explanations of Gridlock in the Fifty States.” Journal of Politics 63 (1): 182–206..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caughey, Devin, and Warshaw, Chris. 2014. Dynamic Representation in the American States, 1960–2012. APSA 2014 Annual Meeting Paper; MIT Political Science Department Research Paper No. 2014-22. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2455441 or http://dax.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2455441Google Scholar
Christie, Jim. 2009. “California Government Declares Fiscal Emergency over Budget.” Reuters, July 1. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-economy-california-budget-idUS-TRE5601F220090701Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 2005. Setting the Agenda: Responsible Party Government in the US House of Representatives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Decker, John. 2009. California in the Balance: Why Budgets Matter. Berkeley: Berkeley Public Policy Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P., and Abrams, Samuel J.. 2008. “Political Polarization in the American Public.” Annual Review of Political Science 11:563–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R., and Lewis, Jeffrey B.. 2004. “Beyond the Median: Voter Preferences, District Heterogeneity, and Political Representation.” Journal of Political Economy 112 (6): 1364–83..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 2012. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Goldmacher, Shane. 2010. “State Again Misses Budget Deadline.” Los Angeles Times, June 16. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/16/local/la-me-state-budget-20100616Google Scholar
Goldmacher, Shane. 2011. “California Legislature to Forfeit Pay, Chiang Says.” The Los Angeles Times, June 22. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/22/local/la-me-lawmakers-pay-20110622Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 1996. “A Niche Theory of Interest Representation.” The Journal of Politics 58 (1): 91–111..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groseclose, Tim, and McCarty, Nolan. 2001. “The Politics of Blame: Bargaining before an Audience.” American Journal of Political Science 45 (1): 100–19..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Andrew B. 2015. “What Happens When Extremists Win Primaries?” The American Political Science Review 109 (1): 18–42..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, John. 2006. “Republicans Recall the 10th Anniversary of Pringle's Assembly Speakership.” Capitol Weekly, May 1. http://capitolweekly.net/republicans-recall-the-10th-anniversary-of-pringles-assembly-speakership/Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1989. “Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of US House Elections, 1946–86.” The American Political Science Review 83 (3): 773–93..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, Shannon. 2006. “The Impact of Party and Ideology on Roll-Call Voting in State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31 (2): 235–57..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiewet, Roderick, and McCubbins, Mathew. 1991. The Logic of Delegation. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Kousser, Thad, and Phillips, Justin H.. 2012. The Power of American Governors Winning on Budgets and Losing on Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1998. Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La Raja, Raymond J., and Wiltse, David L.. 2011. “Don't Blame Donors for Ideological Polarization of Political Parties: Ideological Change and Stability among Political Contributors, 1972-2008.” American Politics Research 40:501–30.Google Scholar
Lax, Jeffrey R., and Phillips, Justin H.. 2012. “The Democratic Deficit in the States.” American Journal of Political Science 56 (1): 148–66..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Frances E. 2009. Beyond Ideology: Politics, Principles, and Partisanship in the U.S. Senate. Vol. 9. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowery, Annie, and Shear, Michael. 2013. “Shutdown to Cost U.S. Billions, Analysts Say, While Eroding Confidence.” The New York Times, October 18. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/shutdown-to-cost-us-billions-analysts-say-while-eroding-confidence.htmlGoogle Scholar
Luhby, Tami. 2009. “Cash-Poor California Turns to IOUs.” CNNMoney.com, July 3. http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/02/news/economy/California_IOUs/Google Scholar
Mann, Thomas E., and Ornstein, Norman J.. 2012. It's Even Worse than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
McGreevy, Patrick. 2016. “Sacramento Six' Face Conservative Backlash.” The Los Angeles Times, March 22. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/22/local/me-recall22Google Scholar
Miller, Jim. 2016. “Trump's California Delegates include Former, Current Officials.” The Sacramento Bee, May 9. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article76655162.htmlGoogle Scholar
Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 2000. Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Powell, Eleanor Neff. 2012. Dollars to Votes: The Influence of Fundraising in Congress. Working Paper. http://www.eleanorneffpowell.com/uploads/8/3/9/3/8393347/powell_-_apsa_2012.pdfGoogle Scholar
Reinhold, Robert. 1992. “California Forced to turn to I.O.U.'s.” The New York Times, July 2. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/02/us/california-forced-to-turn-to-iou-s.htmlGoogle Scholar
Romer, Thomas, and Rosenthal, Howard. 1979. “The Elusive Median Voter.” Journal of Public Economics 12 (2): 143–70..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1998. The Decline of Representative Democracy. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Verba, Sidney, and Brady, Henry E.. 2012. The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoen, John. 2013. “Government Shutdown: Cost Could Be up to $24 Billion.” NBC News, October 17. http://www.nbcnews.com/business/budget-battles-bite-out-economy-will-be-billions-8C11409508Google Scholar
Shear, Michael. 2013. “Government Gets Back to Business, but Effects of the Shutdown Linger.” The New York Times, October 17. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/us/politics/government-reopens.htmlGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris, and McCarty, Nolan. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” The American Political Science Review 105 (3): 530–51..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill, and Moncrief, Gary. 2010. State Legislatures Today: Politics under the Domes. Upper Saddle River: Longman.Google Scholar
Steinhauer, Jennifer. 2009. “Coffers Empty, California Pays with I.O.U.'s.” The New York Times, July 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/us/03calif.html?pagewanted=allGoogle Scholar
Tausanovitch, Chris, and Warshaw, Christopher. 2013. “Measuring Constituent Policy Preferences in Congress, State Legislatures, and Cities.” The Journal of Politics 75 (2): 330–42..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Brady, Henry E., and Nie, Norman H.. 1993. “Citizen Activity: Who Participates? What Do They Say?” The American Political Science Review 87 (2): 303–18..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voorheis, John, McCarty, Nolan, and Shor, Boris. 2015. Unequal Incomes, Ideology and Gridlock: How Rising Inequality Increases Political Polarization. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network.Google Scholar
Warren, Mark. 2014. “Help, We're in a Living Hell and Don't Know How to Get Out: Where Congress Went Wrong, a Candid Conversation.” Esquire, October 15. http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a23553/congress-living-hell-1114/Google Scholar
Warshaw, Christopher, and Rodden, Jonathan. 2012. “How Should We Measure District-Level Public Opinion on Individual Issues?” The Journal of Politics 74 (1): 203–19..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Gerald C., and Schaffner, Brian F.. 2002. “The Influence of Party: Evidence from the State Legislatures.” The American Political Science Review 96 (2): 367–79..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yackee, Susan Webb. 2009. “Private Conflict and Policy Passage: InterestGroup Conflict and State Medical Malpractice Reform.” Policy Studies Journal 37 (2): 213–31..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamane, David, and Oldmixon, Elizabeth A.. 2006. “Religion in the Legislative Arena: Affiliation, Salience, Advocacy, and Public Policymaking.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31 (3): 433–60..CrossRefGoogle Scholar