Remaking the House and Senate: Personal Power, Ideology, and the 1970s Reforms

• Autores: Eric Schickler, Eric McGhee, John Sides
• Localización: Legislative studies quarterly, ISSN 0362-9805, Vol. 28, N. 3, 2003, págs. 297-331
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Although much has been written on the critical congressional reforms of the 1970s, few studies have analyzed support for reform systematically. In this article, we draw upon previously untapped sources of information that make an individual-level, quantitative analysis possible. We analyze 20 indicators that measure support for a wide variety of reforms in both chambers. Our results reveal a remarkably consistent pattern: in virtually every case, junior members and liberals were more pro-reform than were senior members and conservatives. Also, Republicans were often more likely than Democrats to back reform. Our findings challenge the view that the reform movement was essentially a Democratic party phenomenon; liberals and junior members in both parties�not just Democrats�supported reform.