Texas Politics

, by Newell, Charldean; Prindle, David F.; Riddlesperger, James

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ISBN: 9781111833060 | 1111833060
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 1/1/2012

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TEXAS POLITICS is a comprehensive text written by acclaimed Texas educators that critically compares Texas government and politics to the concepts of democratic theory by using three main themes: democratic ideals, conservatism, and conflict. Boxed features in every chapter make the text more engaging by providing human examples of more theoretical issues, including a "You Decide" box where readers can consider the pros and cons of important topics. Lively presentation of material encourages readers to consider controversial issues and debates. More policy coverage and new treatment of "Lone Star Media" keep this book cutting edge.

Preface	p. x
About the Authors	p. xv
The Context of Texas Politics	p. 2
Introduction	p. 3
Texas History: A Chronology	p. 4
The Earliest Days	p. 4
Anglo-American Colonization	p. 4
Revolution	p. 6
Early Statehood	p. 7
Post-Civil War Texas	p. 8
The Late Nineteenth Century	p. 9
The Early Twentieth Century	p. 11
Wars and Depression	p. 12
Post-World War II Texas	p. 15
Gradual Political Change	p. 15
Late-Twentieth-Century Texas	p. 16
Modern Times	p. 18
Texas as a Democracy	p. 19
Texas and American Federalism	p. 21
Texas in the International Arena	p. 23
The Texas Political Culture	p. 26
Economy, Taxes, and Services	p. 30
The People of Texas	p. 33
The Census	p. 33
The Political Relevance of Population	p. 34
The Plan of This Book	p. 35
Summary	p. 35
Glossary Terms	p. 36
The Constitutional Setting	p. 38
Introduction	p. 39
Purposes of Constitutions	p. 40
Legitimacy	p. 40
Organizing Government	p. 41
Providing Power	p. 41
Limiting Governmental Power	p. 42
Texas Constitutions	p. 42
The Present Texas Constitution	p. 45
General Features	p. 46
Specific Features	p. 47
Constitutional Revision	p. 55
Overview of the Need for Reform	p. 55
Recent Reform Efforts	p. 57
Constitutional Politics	p. 61
Something for Everyone	p. 61
The Political Process	p. 62
Summary	p. 65
Glossary Terms	p. 66
Interest Groups	p. 68
Introduction	p. 69
Interest Groups	p. 70
Definition	p. 70
Classification	p. 70
Interest Groups in the Political Process	p. 71
Lobbying	p. 82
Who Are the Lobbyists?	p. 82
What Lobbyists Do and How They Do It	p. 85
Regulation of Lobbying	p. 87
Major Interest Groups in Texas	p. 89
Texans for Lawsuit Reform	p. 89
Doctors	p. 91
Lawyers	p. 93
The Christian Right	p. 94
Organized Labor	p. 97
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)	p. 98
Teachers	p. 100
Conclusion	p. 102
Summary	p. 102
Glossary Terms	p. 102
Political Parties	p. 104
Introduction	p. 105
Ideology	p. 106
Conservatism	p. 106
Liberalism	p. 106
Ideology in Texas	p. 107
Political Socialization	p. 109
Family	p. 109
Schools and Churches	p. 109
Media	p. 111
Evaluation	p. 113
Interests	p. 113
Texas Political Parties: A Brief History	p. 114
Functions of Political Parties	p. 119
Party Organization	p. 119
The Temporary Party Organization	p. 120
Permanent Party Organization	p. 124
The (Un)Importance of Party Organization	p. 125
Two Parties, Three Factions (or Perhaps Four)	p. 127
Republicans	p. 127
Conservative Democrats	p. 129
Liberal Democrats	p. 130
The Uncertain Future of the Democratic Party	p. 131
Third Parties in Texas	p. 132
Summary	p. 135
Glossary Terms	p. 135
Voting, Campaigns, and Elections	p. 136
Introduction	p. 137
Voting	p. 138
Why Vote?	p. 138
Suffrage	p. 139
Registration	p. 140
Texas Turnout	p. 142
Government by the People?	p. 142
Why Don t Texans Vote?	p. 143
The Consequences of Nonvoting	p. 144
Election Campaigns	p. 146
Campaign Resources	p. 146
Negative Campaigning	p. 153
Public Elections	p. 155
Primary Elections	p. 155
General Elections	p. 157
Special Elections	p. 158
Absentee or Early Voting	p. 158
Recent Elections in Texas	p. 159
Elections of 1994 through 2004	p. 159
Election of 2006	p. 161
Election of 2008	p. 162
Election of 2010	p. 163
Conclusion	p. 164
Summary	p. 165
Glossary Terms	p. 165
The Texas Legislature	p. 166
Introduction	p. 167
Functions of Legislative Bodies	p. 168
Structure of the Legislature	p. 168
Size, Elections, and Terms	p. 169
Sessions	p. 170
Legislative Districts	p. 171
Party and Factional Organization	p. 174
Compensation	p. 177
Membership Characteristics	p. 178
Formal Qualifications	p. 178
Personal Characteristics	p. 178
Experience and Turnover	p. 181
Legislative Officers and Committees	p. 182
Presiding Officers	p. 182
Legislative Committees	p. 184
Legislative Staff	p. 187
Powers of the Presiding Officers	p. 189
Procedural Powers	p. 190
Institutional Powers	p. 196
Limits on Presiding Officers	p. 198
How a Bill Becomes a Law in Texas	p. 201
Step One: Introduction and Referral	p. 203
Step Two: Committee Action	p. 204
Step Three: Floor Action	p. 204
In the House: Steps One through Three Repeated	p. 205
Step Four: Conference Committee	p. 205
Step Five: The Governor	p. 206
Legislative Dynamics	p. 207
Handicaps	p. 207
Changing Alignments	p. 208
Nonlegislative Lawmaking	p. 209
Evaluation and Suggested Reforms	p. 211
Legislative Structure	p. 211
Legislative Process	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 219
Summary	p. 219
Glossary Terms	p. 221
The Governor	p. 222
Introduction	p. 223
Basic Structure of the Governor's Office	p. 224
Election	p. 224
Term of Office	p. 225
Tenure	p. 225
Impeachment and Succession	p. 227
Compensation	p. 228
Staff and Organization	p. 228
Qualifications for Governor	p. 230
Formal Qualifications	p. 230
Personal Characteristics	p. 231
Roles of the Governor and Limits on Those Roles	p. 235
Formal Roles and Limitations	p. 238
Chief Executive	p. 238
Chief Legislator	p. 242
Commander in Chief/Top Cop	p. 245
Chief of State	p. 246
Chief Intergovernmental Diplomat	p. 247
Informal Roles and Limitations	p. 248
Chief of Party	p. 248
Leader of the People	p. 249
Summary	p. 251
Glossary Terms	p. 252
The Administrative State	p. 254
Introduction	p. 255
State Administrative Agencies	p. 256
Agencies with Elected Executives	p. 258
Agencies with Appointed Executives	p. 261
Boards and Commissions	p. 262
Big Government: How Did It Happen?	p. 264
Postwar Growth	p. 265
1980 On	p. 266
Characteristics of Bureaucracy	p. 268
Traditional Characteristics	p. 268
Modern Characteristics	p. 269
Bureaucratic Survival Techniques	p. 272
Sources of Bureaucratic Power	p. 272
Bureaucratic Involvement in the Policymaking Process	p. 276
What Happens to the Public Interest?	p. 278
Bureaucratic Orientation	p. 278
Overstepping the Law	p. 279
Harnessing the Administrative State	p. 280
How Much Accountability to the Chief Executive?	p. 280
How Much Accountability to the Legislature?	p. 281
How Much Accountability to the Public?	p. 284
Is There Accountability?	p. 285
Suggested Reforms	p. 286
Summary	p. 287
Glossary Terms	p. 287
The Judiciary	p. 288
Introduction	p. 289
The Myth of the Nonpolitical Judiciary	p. 290
The Players in the System of Justice	p. 292
The Attorney General (AG)	p. 292
Lawyers	p. 293
The State Bar of Texas	p. 294
The Court System	p. 294
Municipal Courts	p. 294
Justice Courts	p. 296
County Courts	p. 296
State Trial Courts: The District Courts	p. 297
Intermediate State Appellate Courts: The Courts of Appeals	p. 297
Highest State Appellate Courts	p. 298
Juries	p. 299
Grand Juries	p. 299
Trial Juries	p. 300
Police	p. 300
Removal and Reprimand of Lawyers and Judges	p. 300
Issues Facing the Texas Judiciary	p. 301
Too Much Crime, Too Many Criminals	p. 301
Judicial Selection	p. 303
Equal Justice?	p. 308
Summary	p. 315
Glossary Terms	p. 316
The Substance of Justice	p. 318
Introduction	p. 319
Civil Liberties	p. 320
Freedom of Expression	p. 320
Freedom of Religion	p. 322
A Right to Keep and Bear Arms?	p. 326
Abortion	p. 328
Civil Rights	p. 330
School Segregation	p. 331
Education: A Basic Right?	p. 331
Civil Rights in Modern Texas: Jasper and Tulia	p. 333
Civil Rights for Convicted Criminals	p. 337
Capital Punishment	p. 339
Torts and Tort Reform	p. 343
Conclusion	p. 346
Summary	p. 346
Glossary Terms	p. 347
Local Government	p. 348
Introduction	p. 349
Counties: One Size Fits All?	p. 350
Historical and Legal Background	p. 350
Organization and Operation of County Government	p. 351
County Politics	p. 356
An Evaluation of County Government	p. 356
Cities: Managed Environments	p. 361
Organization of City Government	p. 364
City Politics	p. 373
Special Districts: Our Hidden Governments	p. 375
What Is a Special District?	p. 376
Why Special Districts?	p. 377
Assessment of Special Districts	p. 378
School Districts	p. 379
Local Government: Prospects for the Future	p. 381
Finance	p. 381
Other Issues	p. 383
Leadership in Local Government	p. 385
Summary	p. 385
Glossary Terms	p. 386
The State Economy and the Financing of State Government	p. 388
Introduction	p. 389
The Texas Economy	p. 391
Heart of the Economy	p. 391
Boom and Bust	p. 392
Creating a Favorable Business Climate	p. 393
Where Does the Money Come From?	p. 394
Collection and Administration	p. 396
Nontax Sources of Revenue	p. 397
Taxation	p. 400
The Tax Burden in Texas	p. 402
Who Benefits?	p. 405
Contemporary Issues	p. 407
Where Does the Money Go?	p. 409
Planning and Preparation	p. 411
Authorization and Appropriations	p. 414
Execution/Spending	p. 415
Summary	p. 419
Glossary Terms	p. 420
Public Policy-People	p. 422
Introduction	p. 423
Poverty, Welfare, and Health Care	p. 426
Poverty in Texas	p. 426
The Players and the Major Programs	p. 427
Recent Policy Developments	p. 432
Analysis	p. 435
Education Policy	p. 436
Education Reform	p. 438
Nontraditional Education Proposals	p. 439
Texas Textbooks and Curricula	p. 441
Texas Higher Education	p. 442
Analysis	p. 444
Conclusion	p. 444
Summary	p. 444
Glossary Terms	p. 445
Public Policy-Resources	p. 446
Introduction	p. 447
Water Supply	p. 448
Urban Dwellers versus Farmers	p. 449
Private Property Rights versus State Regulation	p. 450
Economic Development versus Environment	p. 451
Interbasin Transfers and Dam-Building	p. 453
Energy Supply	p. 455
Sources of Energy	p. 455
The Politics of Energy in Texas	p. 470
Protecting the Environment	p. 472
NIMBY and YBNIIMP	p. 472
Texas and Environmental Protection	p. 474
Public Policy and Private Interests	p. 475
The Problems Continue	p. 479
Transportation	p. 483
The Costs of the Internal Combustion Engine	p. 483
Which Way Transportation Policy?	p. 485
Summary	p. 491
Glossary Terms	p. 492
Notes	p. 493
Glossary	p. 523
Index	p. 533
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Texas Politics

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