The Origins and Consequences of Congressional Party Election Agendas
Publication Date
2-23-2023
Description
This Element examines congressional party election agendas, asking first how they originate and what priorities within the party they strategically represent and, second, how they shape postelection legislative activity and policymaking. After surveying post-1980 agenda efforts, it focuses on two prominent cases, the Republican Contract with America (1994) and the Democratic New Direction for America (2006). Using archived records and other qualitative evidence, it shows that both agendas were leadership-driven but were developed in lengthy and relatively inclusive processes. Quantifying agenda content, it demonstrates that the parties strategically skewed agenda promises toward select segments of the caucus, as measured in bill introduction priorities, and the promises echoed leadership messaging from speeches and floor motions in the Congress before the election. After winning a majority, both parties shifted the House’s legislative activity sharply toward agenda priorities, but the impact on policy outcomes was substantially constrained.
ISBN
9781009264884
Keywords
American, Politics, Election, Congressional, Post election, Party, Agendas, Platforms, Campaign
Disciplines
American Politics
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
City
New York, NY
Department
Political Science
Files
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Recommended Citation
Meinke, Scott, "The Origins and Consequences of Congressional Party Election Agendas" (2023). Faculty Books. 121.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/books/121