For the next several years, federal politics may remain quite similar to what they were during the second half of the 1990s. Feigned bipartisanship especially in rhetoric will be pervasive, but the real thing will be rarer. Instead, members of both parties will wage fierce public relations battles to attempt to seize the high ground of public opinion so as to strengthen their position for when negotiations become necessary, as they inevitably will. Legislative accomplishments, while not completely absent, will be sparse and many in both parties will again look to the next election to settle the country s direction. References Crabtree, Susan.
Moderates Seek More Influence.
Jon Bond and Richard Fleisher. Sinclair, Barbara. 1983. Majority Leadership in the U.S. House . Johns Hopkins University Press. . The Transformation of the U.S. Senate .