Political Science 345: The Legislative Process Class 11: Parties

1. Political Science 345: The Legislative ProcessClass 11: Parties Professor Jon Rogowski

2. Collective decision-making is difficult • Collective action problems • Arise when benefits are collective but costs are individual • Cycling • Lack of information • About each other’s preferences • About what constitutes “good” outcomes

3. These problems are particularly acute in legislatures • Discrete, nested jurisdictions • Staggered elections • An inattentive public • Not very informed • Unconstrained policy views • Short time horizons

4. One solution: Parties

5. One solution: Parties

6. One solution: Parties Party: A group of citizens who (a) hold in common substantial elements of a political doctrine identified, both by party members and outsiders, with the name of the party; (b) choose candidates, either from within the group or by selecting outsiders, for political office with the objective of carrying out this doctrine; and (c) organize the members of their delegation to the assembly of the political unit where the party is active. (Hinich and Munger 1994)

7. Three-part parties Party organization Party committees, leaders, activists Citizens who identify with the party Party candidates and public officials Party in the electorate Party in government

8. Traditional theories of parties • Parties as diverse coalitions • In a diverse republic, the problem is the opposite of majority tyranny (Madison) • A major party aggregates many diverse interests to form a majority • Responsible party thesis • The party as a collective enterprise, organizing competition for the full range of offices, provides the only means for holding elected officials responsible for what they do collectively • Parties unify fragmented institutions (across branches, layers of government, etc) • Parties and electoral competition • Parties seek the benefits of office • Formulate policies to win elections rather than winning elections to enact policies (Downs) • Competition between parties harnesses ambition of parties of promote desires of citizens

9. Parties in the legislature • The organization of the two parties is interwoven with the organization of Congress. • Every major leadership position in Congress is a partisan position. • Majority party • Determines Speaker of the House • Manages floor action in the Senate • Chooses chairs of all committees in both houses • Hires and fires committee staff • Disproportionately dominates committees

10. Leadership structure: 113th Congress

11. Party Leaders vs. Committee Chairs • Seniority rule directed that the most senior member of the majority party automatically became chair. • Members could win chairs even if they didn’t support the party leadership • Democratic caucus revised seniority rule in the mid-1970s. • Caucus can challenge and depose chairs by secret ballot. • Fundamentally changed power structure in favor of party leaders

12. The Gingrich Revolution • 1995: In order to fulfill the Contract, Republicans needed strong party leadership and discipline. • Seniority rule set aside; Gingrich allowed to appoint committee chairs. • Party loyalty trumps seniority. • But when Republicans lose seats in midterm elections, Gingrich forced to resign. • Hastert retained strong powers, but exercised them more judiciously. • Pelosi leaned more toward seniority. • Boehner and Tea Party freshmen

13. Methods of Party Influence • Lots of carrots, a few sticks • Parties can offer • Committee assignments • Pork • Information • Electoral resources • Party leaders are chosen by members (delegation) and can be removed. • MCs can vote against the party without fear of losing their jobs.

14. Party Leaders’ Balancing Act • Party leaders need the power to twist arms of marginal MCs to win roll calls. • But asking MCs to vote against constituent interests often and/or on big issues risks losing the seat altogether. • Strategic use of party power means picking fights and controlling the agenda. • Often the best tactic is to keep issues that divide the party off the agenda altogether. • Focus on feasible, desirable policy changes. • For this reason, party leaders excuse some disloyalty on substantive issues but demand complete loyalty on procedural issues.

15. MD M MR W(Q1) Q2 Q1 Q5 Q4 Q3 W(Q2) W(Q3) W(Q4) W(Q5) Parties as Procedural Coalitions Democrats Republicans

16. Positive and Negative Agenda Control • Parties use negative agenda control to keep losing or divisive issues off the agenda. Thus we may never see the party lose a vote, even when it is internally divided. • But parties can do much more than block. Parties coordinate agendas: • Facilitate logrolling across committees • Broker deals across Houses of Congress and with the White House

17. Party Unity in Congress Source: Keith Poole, http://www.voteview.com.

18. Congressional Party Polarization Source: Keith Poole, http://www.voteview.com.

19. When Are Parties Most Unified? • On organizational issues • On the president’s proposals • On issues central to party brand name • Does competition promote party unity? • At the level of the individual legislator, close races encourage greater sensitivity to constituency • At the level of the legislature as a whole, close party competition tends to increase party voting.

20. Where’s the party? “The crucial question has to do with individual legislators’ policy preferences. In casting apparently partisan votes, do individual legislators vote with fellow party members in spite of their disagreement about the policy in question, or do they vote with fellow party members because of their agreement about the policy in question?” - Krehbiel 1993, 238

21. Party Effects in Congress Source: James M. Snyder, Jr. and Tim Groseclose, 2000, “Estimating Party Influence in Congressional Roll Call Voting”, AJPS.

22. Do Parties Push Members Apart?

23. Do Parties Push Members Apart?

24. Party effects in nonpartisan legislatures?