Philip A. Klinkner

Red and Blue Scare: The Continuing Diversity of the American Electoral Landscape

Despite often breathless claims in the media, there is little evidence to suggest that the United States is becoming increasingly segregated along political lines. Most Americans continue to live in electorally competitive areas and where they have a great deal of exposure to members of the other party.

The losing parties : out-party national committees, 1956-1993

The Democrats, 1956-60 the Republicans, 1960-64 the Republicans, 1964-68 the Democrats, 1968-72 the Democrats, 1972-76 the Republicans, 1976-80 the Democrats, 1980-84 out-party responses since 1984 party culture and out-party behaviour.

The Effect of a Campaign Internship on Political Efficacy and Trust

This study examines the effect of a 10-week campaign internship course on political efficacy and trust. We compared changes in these key political attitudes between a group of 33 undergraduate students in a campaign internship course and a control group of 65 students taking government courses. A multiple regression analysis indicates that participation in the campaign internship was associated with statistically significant increases in internal efficacy and trust in government. Although intern students reported reduced levels of external efficacy over the course of the internship, participation in the internship did not have a statistically significant effect on external efficacy when other intervening variables were taken into account. Overall, our findings provide additional support for the argument that internships can change the way that young people view political institutions and their role in the political system.

LBJ's Revenge: The 2008 Election and the Rise of the Great Society Coalition

Four decades ago, at the height of Lyndon Johnsons Great Society, Congress passed and the president signed landmark legislation to ensure voting rights, liberalize and expand immigration, and make higher education more accessible. In 2008, a coalition of minorities and upscale whites formed a coalition to elect Barack Obama to the White House. Although many of the Great Society goals remain elusive, the new Democratic majority assembled by Obama represents the emergence of a Great Society electoral coalition.

Red and Blue Déjà Vu: Measuring Political Polarization in the 2004 Election

An analysis of county-level data from the 2004 election shows only slight increases in geographic polarization and political segregation. In addition, there is no evidence that strongly partisan counties became more so between 2000 and 2004.

Challenging History: Barack Obama & American Racial Politics

Modern American racial politics remains sharply divided over racial policy issues, with coalitions of political activists, groups, and governing institutions aligned on opposing sides. A “color-blind” policy alliance urges government to act with as little regard to race as possible. A “race-conscious” alliance argues that policies should aim to reduce material racial inequalities and that race-targeted measures are often needed. These modern racial policy alliances are strongly identified with the two major parties; as a result, they contribute to modern political polarization. In a predominantly white electorate, color-blind policies are far more popular than race-conscious ones. President Barack Obama has responded by stressing goals of national unity and foregrounding color-blind policies, while quietly choosing among them on race-conscious grounds and adopting limited race-targeted measures. It remains to be seen whether his approach can succeed in reducing material racial inequalities or immunizing him from charges of reverse racism. It also faces challenges at home and abroad for privileging American national interests above multicultural and internationalist concerns.

MEASURING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHITE VOTING AND POLLING ON INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE

Major questions remain about the extent and political significance of White racial attitudes. In this paper, we examine an alternative source of data on racial attitudes—actual voting on the purely symbolic repeal of antimiscegenation referenda. By applying cross-level (ecological) inference methods to this unique data, we find, surprisingly, that White voting behavior differs dramatically from what would be predicted based on previous survey research on public and private attitudes.

America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception

Americas Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception. By Wayne E. Baker. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 328p.

Mr. Bush’s War: Foreign Policy in the 2004 Election

18.95. Wayne Bakers Americas Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception offers a recent addition to a growing literature in political science that examines the perception and, perhaps, reality of the polarization of American politics around cultural and moral issues. In this book, Baker sets out to provide an empirical examination of three aspects of Americas perceived crisis of values. The first of these is the trend hypothesis: In recent decades, America has experienced a significant decline in its commitment to traditional moral values. The second is the comparison hypothesis: Moral values in the United States have declined relative to most other nations. Third and finally is the distribution hypothesis: Americans have become increasingly polarized in their commitment to traditional moral values.