Publication Date

1996

Abstract

Because the U.S. House of Representatives is supposedly most responsive to popular opinion, the research here investigates possible determinants of this trend as manifested by our Representatives in the House. This research postulates that not only divided government and the decline of the conservative coalition, but also the Contract with America contribute to the causation of party unity, and ultimately to the causation of party polarization on welfare issues. Consequently, this research reveals that the conservative coalition did not decline, that the unity of both parties did increase after the Contract With America, and that the Democrats remain consistently more unified than the Republicans despite the perception that Republicans are more unified as a result of their Contract With America.

Disciplines

Political Science

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