NEW  TO  2012

POLITICS IN AMERICA 9TH ED

POLITICS: WHO GETS WHAT, WHEN, AND HOW

Politics is an activity by which people try to get more of whatever there is to get. It is about the struggle over the allocation of values and resources in a society. Simply put, it is about "who gets what, when, and how".

By using Harold Lasswell's classic definition of politics as its unifying framework, Politics in America, Ninth Edition, strives to present a clear, concise, and stimulating introduction to the American political system. Politics consists of all of the activities -- reasonable discussion, impassioned oratory, campaigning, balloting, fund raising, advertising, lobbying, demonstrating, rioting, street fighting, and waging war -- by which conflict is carried on. By examining the struggle for power -- the participants, the stakes, the processes, and the institutional arenas -- Politics in America introduces students to the political struggles that drive democracy.

WHY POLITICS IN AMERICA?

Politics in America was written with the principal objective of interesting students in politics and public affairs. Politics is not a dull topic and textbooks should not make it so. This book is designed to challenge students to think about and talk about controversial issues. We would rather have students leave the course saying that it was one of the most interesting courses they have ever taken, then to have them leave reciting "how a bill becomes a law". We strive to inspire a continuing interest in politics and public affairs. This does not mean that we overlook the basics of American government. But the focus of this text is on conflict and controversy -- the struggle for power.

Politics in America is NOT politically correct. It presents balanced arguments on highly sensitive issues, including abortion, gun control, same-sex marriage, marijuana for medical use, affirmative action, and immigration reform. An underlying question throughout the text is whether or not American government is growing too powerful . Each chapter contains a variety of special features designed to inspire discussion and controversy in the classroom.

What Do You Think features in each chapter asked students to take up sides on controversial questions, for example: Can you trust the government? Does immigration help or hurt America? Are the media biased? Should we scrap the electoral college? How would you rate the presidents? How much money does the government waste? Are persons captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq entitled to constitutional protections? Do you favor affirmative action? When should United States to use military force?

Controversy features present students with some of the more vexing issues currently confronting American politics, for example: Is the government growing too big?; Are we one nation "under God"?; Marijuana for medical use?; Should violence against women be a federal crime?; Abortion: the "hot button" issue; Did the media favor Obama?; Political correctness versus free speech on campus; The tea party protests.

A Conflicting View features challenge students to rethink conventional wisdom in American politics, for example: Sometimes it's right to disobey the law; Anti-federalist objections to the Constitution; The dark side of federalism; Easy voting encourages fraud; Fox News "fair and balanced"?; Eliminate campaign-finance limits; Terrorism requires restrictions on civil liberties; We should enact a flat tax; Is big government the "change" Americans voted for?

People in Politics features focus on the early education and entrance into politics of key figures, both historical and contemporary -- from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cezar Chavez, to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Scott Brown, Rahm Emanuel, and Bill O'Reilly.

Politics up Close features provide students with engaging examples of political issues, organizations and events, for example: Dirty politics, Hillary versus Barack, Obama versus McCain, the Christian Coalition, The American Civil Liberties Union, Emily's List, How Obama changed campaign funding using the Internet, Bush  v. Gore in the Supreme Court, and How to run for office (brief guidelines for students interested in running for office themselves).

Compared to What features provide students with a comparative perspective on many key elements of the American political system, including: freedom and democracy around the world, income and inequality, the European Union and federalism, world opinion about the USA, voter turnout, proportional representation, parliamentary government, and the size of government.

A Constitutional Note concludes each chapter and integrates the topic with reference to the Constitution. Moreover, the Constitution itself is presented in annotated fashion with extended commentary to encourage students to read and understand the document. Annotated versions of Federalist 10 and Federalist 51 are found in the appendix.




NEW TO THE NINTH EDITION

In the early Obama years the struggle for power was as intense as ever in American politics. The Wall Street bailout, the massive "stimulus" package, new financial regulations, proposals for "cap and trade" legislation, and the transformation of nation's healthcare system, are described in the context of the government's growing role in society. The Republican resurgence in the 2010 midterm congressional elections is described and analyzed.

Among the new topics introduced in the Ninth Edition:

Republicans rebound in 2010.
ObamaCare and its challenge to federalism.
Social mobility: getting ahead in America.
Can Arizona passes on immigration law?
California to bypass parties
The tea party protests.
How Obama changed campaign fund-raising through the Internet.
The argument over corporate campaign contributions.
Service Employees International Union
Politics and sexual orientation.
Healthcare transformation.
Rahm Emanuel, exercising power behind the scenes
Sonia Sotomayer, a Latina for the Supreme Court.
Cezar Chavez, mobilizing Latino workers.
Scott Brown, revolt in Massachusetts.
Is government growing too big?
How Washington dealt with financial crisis
Is big government in the "change" that Americans wanted?
The war in Afghanistan.

Brief descriptions of proportional representation and the parliamentary system have been added to the Compared to What features.

Pearson Education -- Longman has added learning objectives and assessments to each chapter. Professor John Robey of the University of Texas-Brownsville assisted in the development of these teaching and learning tools.




NEW TO  2012

UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC POLICY 14TH ED

The new fourteenth edition of Understanding Public Policy focuses on the policy challenges confronting the Obama administration.

Can America's health care system be transformed according to a rational-comprehensive plan? A new chapter describes earlier incremental changes in healthcare -- Medicare for the aged, Medicaid for the poor, and SCHIP for children -- and then describes the conditions inspiring more comprehensive reform. Many working Americans and their dependents, roughly 15 percent of the population, went without health insurance. The cost of healthcare in America consumes a larger share of the nation's economic resources (about 15 percent of the gross domestic product) than any other country. Yet the United States ranks well below other nations in many common majors of national health, including life expectancy and infant mortality. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 represents a rational-comprehensive approach to transforming health care in America. The chapter covers the Act's individual mandate, employer mandate, Medicaid expansion, health-care exchanges, taxes and costs. It also describes the controversy surrounding "Obamacare", notably the constitutionality of the individual mandate.

The economic policies of the Obama administration defy the traditional incremental model. The economic chapter describes the Wall Street bailout, the TARP program, the stimulus package, mortgage modification and new financial regulations. But the demise of the incremental model is especially evident in the explosive growth of federal spending under President Obama and the resulting unprecedented annual federal deficits. The chapter describes the recommendations of the president's deficit reduction commission -- recommendations ignored by the president -- as well as Republican efforts to cut federal spending. The chapter ends with a discussion of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

The policy effects of the Republican capture of control of the House of Representatives in the midterm congressional elections of 2010 are reflected in several chapters. The tax chapter describes the tax compromise package in the "lame duck" session of Congress in 2010, in which President Obama was obliged to give up his efforts to raise the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6 percent. The energy and environment chapter describes the demise of the comprehensive "cap and trade" program in the Congress, as well as the attempts by the Environmental Protection Agency to achieve by regulation what the Obama administration failed to achieve by legislation, namely the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions. The international trade and immigration chapter describes the gridlock over immigration reform, and the president's failure to win the enactment of the Dream Act.

The institutional model is strengthened with added coverage of state policies in the federalism chapter. Federalism allows policy variation among the states, notably in educational spending, the costliest function of state government. And states display a wide variation in tax policies, including differences in their reliance on income versus sales taxation. Federalism also envisions conflict between the national government and states. The chapter covers federal intervention in traditional state policy domains with grants-in-aid, preemptions, and mandates. But it also covers state challenges to national policies, including state medical marijuana laws, Arizona's immigration law, and state opposition to "Obamacare". Direct democracy, in the form of the initiative and referenda, is available only in state and local government. State referenda voting provides information on popular policy preferences.

The defense policy chapter describes the Obama administration's shift in priorities from Iraq to Afghanistan. The announced mission in Afghanistan is not nationbuilding but rather to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat" Al Qaeda. The transition to Afghan security control "will begin in 2011 and conclude in 2014." US troops are combined with NATO forces in an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) committed primarily to counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan. The chapter also continues the discussion of when to use military force: US intervention in Libya illustrates the contrast between advocates of using force only when vital interests of the United States are at stake, versus Obama's justification of using force for the humanitarian purpose of protecting the civilian population of Libya.

Finally, the homeland security chapter describes the Obama administration's reversal of its earlier decisions to close the Guantánamo prison and to try terrorists  in civilian courts. The Obama administration now argues that it has the authority to hold enemy combatants who pose a danger to national security until the cessation of hostilities. The president has also ordered new military commission trials for certain Guantánamo detainees , including the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Kalid Shiekh Mohammed.



                                                                                                           
















































































NEW   TO  2012