Party polarization in Congress
By: Sean M. Theriault.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 243
ISBN-13: 9780521888936; 9780521717687
Subjects: United States. -- Congress; Political parties -- United States; Opposition (Political science) -- United States
Description: "The political parties in Congress are as polarized as they have been since the early 1900s. This book examines more than 30 years of congressional history to understand how it is that the Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have become so divided. It finds that two steps were critical for this development. First, the respective parties' constituencies became more politically and ideologically aligned. Second, members, in turn, ceded more power to their party leaders, who implemented procedures more frequently and with greater consequence. In fact, almost the entire rise in party polarization can be accounted for in the increasing frequency of and polarization on procedures used during the legislative process."--book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.