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Texas Government Margin Notes

Part #1   Foundations

The Texas Constitution

Federalism

The Context of Texas Politics

Part #2   Processes

Political Socialization

Public Opinion

The Media

Voting Behavior

Interest Groups

Political Parties

Campaigns and Elections

Part #3   Institutions

The Texas Legislature

The Texas Governor

The Texas Bureaucracy

The Texas Courts

Local Governments: Counties, Cities and Special Districts

Policy Making

Texas Finances

Issues in Texas Politics: Water Resources, Criminal Justice, Public Education, Religion & Politics, Demographics, The Environment & Climate Change

Need Help with Your Course? Try These Resources!

How To Read a Texas Legislative Bill (PDF)

Republican Presidential Primary Satire

Super PACs 2012

Super PACs 2016 (PDF)

Rights and Equal Protection Cases 1856-1948 (MP3 Audio Downloads, varying lengths)

Landmark United States Supreme Court decisions focusing on civil rights and equal protection between 1856 and 1948.

The Geography of US Elections (Online Videos, varying lengths)

Led by Martin Lewis, this map-intensive YouTube course explores the geography of US elections (both past and present) and challenges the suggestion that we are simply divided into a Red America and Blue America. It's really much more complicated than that. The course was first offered by Stanford's Continuing Studies program in 2008. (The original posts – "the course will last five weeks," "includes a debrief after the election," "begins in October," "a new lecture will be posted each Wednesday" and etc – are still online. Ignore those. The course ended 2 years ago but all materials were left for public use.)

The 10th Amendment and States' Rights (video – 56 min)

Roger Pilon and Louis Michael Seidman talk about what the 10^th amendment entails and discuss the concept of states' rights.

The Marketplace of Democracy (MP3 Audio Downloads, varying lengths)

Incumbents have won more than 98% of their races for the US House of Representatives since 1998. The electoral advantages of incumbency have also grown for senators and in state and local elections. With rising concern about the dearth of competition, the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution have come together to sponsor a conference that addresses several vital questions: Does the lack of electoral competition harm American democracy? Why are incumbents virtually certain to be reelected? Does campaign money or redistricting doom challengers? What might be done to increase competition in our elections?

The 4-minute You Tube video, Texas Legislation, is several years old but still just as true – and just as shocking – today.

Negative Political Advertising (3-hour video)

Speakers talk about the impact of negative political advertising on the 2012 election, including the history of negative ads and how those ads affect people's views.

The Negative Consequences of Uncivil Political Discourse (PDF)

Political Spin and Media Coverage (44-minute video)

A panel discussion about political spin and media coverage of campaigns and politics

Political Ads (45-minute video)

Kenneth Goldstein on the latest technologies in customized political advertising used by political parties and election campaigns

What Home Pages Tell (and Don't Tell) About a Candidate

What it’s like to live on $2 a day in the United States (PDF)

What Do You Believe? (PDF)

Who's in Charge? (PDF)

US Income Inequality Stats