Since its first edition, Congress Reconsidered was designed to make available the best contemporary work from leading congressional scholars in a form that is both challenging and accessible to undergraduates.
With their Thirteenth Edition, Lawrence C. Dodd, Bruce I. Oppenheimer, and C. Lawrence Evans, and now Ruth Bloch Rubin from the University of Chicago, continue this tradition as their contributors focus on how various aspects of Congress have changed over time. With a strong focus to the historical development of political institutions in their role in preserving democratic government, this bestselling volume remains on the cutting edge with key insights into the workings of Congress.
Since its first edition, Congress Reconsidered was designed to make available the best contemporary work from leading congressional scholars in a form that is both challenging and accessible to undergraduates.
With their Thirteenth Edition, Lawrence C. Dodd, Bruce I. Oppenheimer, and C. Lawrence Evans, and now Ruth Bloch Rubin from the University of Chicago, continue this tradition as their contributors focus on how various aspects of Congress have changed over time. With a strong focus to the historical development of political institutions in their role in preserving democratic government, this bestselling volume remains on the cutting edge with key insights into the workings of Congress.
Preface
Contributors
Part I: Patterns and Dynamics of Congressional Change
Chapter 1: The Senates Struggle to Govern Itself - Steven S. Smith
Fundamentals
An Illustration
Partisan Obstructionism and the 60-Vote Senate
The Majority Response
Consequences for Senate Parties
Consequences for Legislating
Senators Reactions
Reform
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Legacies of Leadership in the Contemporary House of
Representatives - Ruth Bloch Rubin
Thinking About Leader Power
The Perceived Perils of Leading Divided Parties
Evaluating The Conventional Wisdom
Divided Parties, Strong Leaders
Assessing and Comparing Collaborative Capacity
An Evolving Factional Landscape
From Showdown to Shutdown: How Boehner Lost the Republican Conference
The Enduring Costs of Factional Asymmetry
Symmetry Across the Aisle
Conclusion
Part II: Elections, Constituencies, and Representation
Chapter 3: Voters, Candidates, Parties, and Issues in Congressional Elections
- Robert S. Erikson and Gerald C. Wright
The National Verdict in House Elections
The Partisan Base of the Congressional Vote
Electoral Change as a Search for Policy Direction
The Role of Candidates in House Contests
Candidates, Issues, and the Vote
Voter responsiveness to candidate ideology: In decline?
Congressional Elections and Representation
HouseSenate Differences in Representation
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Partisanship, Money, and Competition: Elections and the
Transformation of Congress since the 1970s - Gary C. Jacobson
The Fundamental Trend: Partisan Realignment
Trends in Individual Voting Behavior
Aggregate Effects
The Evolution of Congressional Campaigns
Sources of Campaign Money
Party Money
Non-Party Independent Spending
Money and Competition
Candidate-Centered Elections?
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Candidates and Competition in U.S. House Primaries - Danielle M.
Thomsen
Measuring Electoral Competition
Competition: Votes versus Money
Candidates: Number and Quality
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Shaping the Narrative: Congressional Communication and Digital
Adaptation - Annelise Russell and Maggie Macdonald
A Forty-Year Evolution of Digital Communication Norms in Congress
Defining a digital press shop and correcting the myths of communication
Digital Communication and New Audiences
Conclusion
Part III: Parties, Polarization, and Interests
Chapter 7: The Future of Black and Latino Interests in a Diverse and
Polarized Congress - Michael D. Minta
Diversity and the Substantive Representation of Minority Interests
Empowerment, Incorporation, and Uneven Trust in Congress
Civil Rights Groups and Legislative Advocates
Challenges of Empowerment and Incorporation
Challenges for Black and Latino Leadership
Conclusion
Chapter 8: Challenges of Legislating in Partisan Times - Sarah Binder
Theories of lawmaking
Patterns in postwar lawmaking
Explaining legislative deadlock
Lessons from the Obama years
Lessons from the Trump years
Lessons from the Biden years
Conclusion
Chapter 9: The Undemocratic Senate - C. Lawrence Evans
The Undemocratic Senate
Parties, Polarization, and Demography
Decision Making
Conclusion
Part IV: Congress and the Policy Process
Chapter 10: Carrying the Conflict: The Politics of the Budget and
Appropriations Process in the Contemporary Congress - Molly E. Reynolds
An Overview of the Budget and Appropriations Process in the House and
Senate
Appropriations Bills as an Arena for Party Conflict: The Case of the House
of Representatives
Budget Reconciliation and the Senate Majority Partys Agenda
Interbranch Negotiations in the Contemporary Environment: The Case of the
Fiscal Responsibility Act
Conclusion
Chapter 11: The Value of Relationships in a Changing Congress - James M.
Curry and Jason M. Roberts
The Challenge of Lawmaking
How Washington Was & How it Changed
How Relationships Help: Trust & Familiarity
Relationships in Action: The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Conclusions
Chapter 12: Reconsidering Lawmaking Effectiveness in a Changing Congress* -
Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman
Changing Ideology, Changing Demographics
Measuring Lawmaking Effectiveness
Correlates of Lawmaking Effectiveness
Changing Patterns of Effective Lawmaking in Congress
Highly Effective Lawmakers in Todays Congress
Conclusion
Chapter 13: Congress: An Enduring Obstacle to Political Parties - James M.
Curry and Frances E. Lee
Constrained Parties, Not Low Productivity Overall
The False Hope of Party Cohesion
Narrow Majorities
Structural Roadblocks on Capitol Hill
Build Back Better
Conclusion
Part V: Congress in a Separation of Powers System
Chapter 14: Congress and the Judiciary in a Partisan and Polarized Era -
Michael A. Bailey, Forrest Maltzman, and Charles R. Shipan
Creation of a more politicized and partisan judiciary
A Strategic Court and Congressional Incapacity
Congressional responses to an activist Court
Conclusion
Chapter 15: Investigative Politics in a Polarized Era - Douglas L. Kriner and
Eric Schickler
Why Investigations Matter
The Forces Driving Congressional Investigative Activity
Conclusion
Appendix
Chapter 16: Congress and the Bureaucracy: Back-channel Policymaking - Melinda
N. Ritchie
The Evolution of the Separation of Powers
Backdoor Lawmaking
What Does the Court Say about Back-channel Policymaking?
Looking forward
Implications for Representation, Transparency, and Accountability
Conclusion
Chapter 17: Congress, the President, and the Constitutional Order - John A.
Dearborn
Reconfiguring the Separation of Powers
Reemphasizing the Separation of Powers
Conclusion
Chapter 18: The 2024 Elections and Beyond - C. Lawrence Evans and Bruce I.
Oppenheimer
Interpreting the 2024 Congressional Election Results
The Senate Elections
The House Elections
Gender and Ethnicity in the New House and Senate
Regional Strengths of the Parties
Assessing the Aftermath
The Policy Agenda
Conclusion
Suggested Readings
Endnotes
Lawrence C. Dodd holds the Manning J. Dauer Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science at the University of Florida. His books include Coalitions in Parliamentary Government (1976), Congress and the Administrative State (coauthored with Richard Schott, 1979), The Dynamics of American Politics (coedited with Cal Jillson, 1994), Learning Democracy (coauthored with Leslie E. Anderson, 2005), and Thinking About Congress (2012). His articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Polity, Journal of Democracy, and elsewhere. Dodd has served as a congressional fellow, Hoover national fellow, and Woodrow Wilson Center fellow; president of the Southern and Southwestern Political Science Associations; and chair of the APSAs Legislative Studies Section.
Bruce I. Oppenheimer is professor of political science at Vanderbilt University and director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He has been a Brookings fellow in Governmental Studies (19701971) and an APSA congressional fellow (19741975). He is author of Oil and the Congressional Process: The Limits of Symbolic Politics (1974). His book Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation (1999), cowritten with Frances Lee, was awarded the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundations D. B. Hardeman Prize for the best book on Congress. He is also the editor of U.S. Senate Exceptionalism (2002) and the author of numerous articles. His recent research focuses on Congress and energy policy and on variation in competition in open-seat House primaries.
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