Reasonable Disagreement: Two U.S. Senators and the Choices They Make, Karl A. Lamb. Garland Publishing, 1998. ISBN:0815328028, $26.95 paper, 184 pp. and The Education of a Senator, Everett McKinley Dirksen and Howard H. Baker Jr. University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN: 0252024141, $29.95 cloth, 312 pp. The 1998 publication of these two books sheds light on the important question of what motivates members of the Senate in approaching the choices they are confronted with on a daily basis. Lamb's analysis of the senatorial careers of two U.S. senators, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Richard Lugar of Indiana, is especially insightful. Lamb asserts that when making decisions, senators are influenced by six factors: personality, ideology, constituency, party, policy preference, and political context. According to Lamb, a senator's personality and ideology are formed early in life through contacts with family and early school relationships. These influences are internalized, and rarely do senators consciously consider the role that their personalities and ideologies play in their decision-making process. Similarly, Lamb asserts that senators do not need to give conscious consideration to constituency concerns when making most decisions. Nor, he claims, do they pay much attention to the preferences of the political parties with which they are associated. However, Lamb claims that senators very consciously consider their own personal policy preferences and the broader political context when making decisions. Lamb's case studies are interesting and easy to read, and they function as parallel biographies of two distinguished and senior members of the U.S. Senate. The broader context provided throughout his model of senatorial choice draws the case studies together and provides a useful framework for thinking about senators' decisions. Dirksen's posthumously-published autobiography provides innumerable insights into the mind of the Republican Senate minority leader who served during the 1960s. Chronicling both personal and political influences on his career, the book takes the reader into Dirksen's service in the House of Representatives from his earliest political successes to the time of his first election as a U.S. Senator from Illinois in November 1950. The reader comes away with a view of Dirksen as a compassionate man keenly interested in serving his country and the public good. Dirksen's autobiography helps to support Lamb's model of senatorial decision making, as Dirksen clearly identifies his family and community as the earliest influences on his future political career. Taken together, these two books provide insight into the ways in which senators approach important decisions about policy, politics, and their careers. Lauren Cohen
The Freshmen: What Happened to the Republican Revolution? Linda Killian. Westview Press, 1998. ISBN: 0813399505, $17 paper, 480 pp. Killian, a journalist, explores the identities and goals of many of the 73 freshmen of the '94 GOP class. Combining investigative journalism and a Fennoesque soaking and poking style over several years, Killian produces an impressive narrative of the "Republican Revolutionaries." Her ultimate product is a fascinating account that largely allows the members themselves to tell their story, capturing the heights and depths the freshmen experienced. Killian explains what happened to the freshmen through a chronological history of their progress in Congress. Through it all, her book is worth reading alone for the candid remarks of interviewees and the unique observations she recorded in her time spent with members. Killian provides a candid and disciplined narrative of the 104th. Her work touches on themes in careerism, leadership, leadership-followership relations, party politics, and divided government relations. Ultimately, The Freshmen is a historical narrative devoid of hypotheses, theories, or explanations for the rise, apex, and passing of the power within the 104th GOP class-she tells us the events, and we are best left to draw our own explanatory theories. Killian concludes her story suggesting that the freshmen never composed a revolution, misread their mandate, and over-reached in their actions. While perhaps true, her ruminations seem ill-placed to conclude her chronological narrative. Her contribution is best regarded as an historical account than political analysis. Craig A. Williams
Conservative Reformers: The Republican
Freshmen and the Lessons of the 104th Congress, Nicol
C. Rae.
Conservative Reformers analyzes the role of the Republican freshmen of the 104th Congress and their impact on the American political system. Rae centers his book around three overarching themes: 1) the freshmen's ability to restore public faith in the institution; 2) the differences in roles and impact between the 73 House freshmen and the 11 Senate freshmen in their respective chambers; and 3) the limited amount of change the freshmen were actually able to effect given the institutional constraints they faced. Ultimately Rae provides ample evidence pointing to an "arrested" Republican revolution. The eleven "Neglected Revolutionaries," Rae argues, made a more immediate impact upon their chamber than did their House counterparts on theirs. >From an initial crucial vote to change the Senate majority whip, to a concerted and distinct effort to cooperate on rules changes and policy reform, these members encountered the peculiar seniority-driven culture of the Senate. Much less aligned with their leader, Bob Dole, than the House freshmen were with Newt Gingrich, the Senate freshmen, Rae argues, became successful operators in an environment in which they were less powerful and appreciated than their House counterparts. Overall, Rae argues that 1995 was an interlude of congressional dominance in the American federal government brought about by unusual political circumstances, concluding that Congress, because of its nature and powers, generally cannot lead. Rae's work blends critical historical background, countless personal interviews, trenchant analysis, and a unique approach to the Senate freshmen, perhaps his greatest contribution. This book is undeniably central to the study of the freshmen and their short- and potentially long-term impacts on the American federal government. Craig A. Williams
Masters of the House: Congressional Leaders over Two Centuries, Roger H. Davidson, Susan Webb Hammond, Raymond W. Smock, editors. Westview Press, 1998. ISBN: 0813368952, $30 paper, 345 pp. Masters of the House is a collection of essays on influential legislative leaders in the House of Representatives, introduced as the "undiscovered heroes" of politics. While the speakership is central to the collection, the book offers rare and informed insights into other positions and their occupants. The transition from the early Speaker-as-moderator to the Speaker-as-majoritarian is examined through the leadership of Clay, Stevenson, and Polk by Elaine K. Swift. Randall Strahan's chapter on Speaker Reed shows him reforming the rules of the House to strengthen the majority party's power. Uncle Joe Cannon's powerful leadership, wielded like a czar, is documented by Scott William Rager. James S. Fleming describes how much of Cannon's power would consequently go to Oscar W. Underwood as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and majority leader. Speaker Nicholas Longworth would ultimately reclaim much of the influence that had been lost, and Donald C. Bacon terms him the "genial czar." Fellow Texans and Speakers John Nance Gardner and Sam Rayburn are subjects of separate chapters by Anthony Champagne, and Lewis L. Gould and Nancy Beck Young, respectively. Barbara Sinclair's study of the contemporary Speakers from Tip O'Neill to Newt Gingrich highlights the political and institutional context with which these speakers had to deal. The individual characteristics and the diverse paths to power are detailed, but the reader also can glimpse the overall workings of the House and its evolution as an institution. The interplay of the majority and minority is highlighted as are the interactions of the leaders and the various presidents. Donna R. Hoffman
Coalition Government, Subnational Style: Multiparty Politics in Europe's Regional Parliaments, William M. Downs. Ohio State University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0814297480, $27.50 paper, 316 pp. William M. Downs examines the process of coalition building in subnational legislative assemblies in Germany, France, and Belgium. He gives the reader an insider's account of the methods utilized by political parties and politicians as they broker the structure and composition of new governments following elections in which no party has achieved a clear victory in national elections. The process of representative democracy in Germany, France and Belgium is better understood after reading Downs' study. Scrutinizing post-election alliance-building illuminates many of the political processes essential to representative democracy, including the interpretations of electoral verdicts; the compromises of campaign pledges; the trade-offs between policy and power; the temporary detente between long-term opponents; collective decision making; and the blurring of lines of accountability through collective responsibility. Downs utilizes various methodological techniques to support his findings. He employs cross-national survey responses, interviews with political elites, and historical analysis of years of post-election studies of alliance building in German state parliaments, the French regional assemblies, and the Belgian provincial councils and regional parliaments. By looking at more numerous and diverse cases of subnational legislatures rather than national assemblies, Downs questions some of the key assumptions of democratic theory. His findings also raise important concerns about the behavior of individual political actors and political organizations as they struggle for power and status. The results of these struggles can bring about widely diverse governments among the cases examined. Mitchell F. Fuller
The Day After Reform: Sobering Campaign Finance Lessons from the American States, Michael J. Malbin and Thomas L. Gais. The Rockefeller Institute Press, 1998. ISBN: 0914341553, $16.95 paper, 194 pp. The Day After Reform is an examination of campaign financing regulation in the states. Malbin and Gais offer the investigation as guidance for the national debate on campaign finance reform, following the oft-quoted characterization of the states as "laboratories for the nation." Malbin and Gais build their analysis around a framework that presents the campaign finance debate as being driven by two divergent positions. First, some advocates of reform want to see private money removed from politics. "Private money is the root of all evil," according to supporters of this position. The other position argues that there should be no regulation of political campaign activity. Regulating political campaigns would make it more difficult for the electorate to choose representatives. Many of the campaign finance laws written by state governments have attempted to address both positions, resulting in regulation doomed to fail. According to the authors, there are two important aspects of campaign finance regulation which must be considered. First, one must consider the laws themselves. The second aspect to be considered is the administration or implementation of the regulation. In a relatively brief book, unusual for an analysis of campaign financing, Malbin and Gais raise constitutional issues, political concerns, and public administration dilemmas. The authors use a number of different methodological approaches to answer the question: What have been the results of campaign finance reform in the states? Instead of identifying a "magic bullet" to correct the problems of money in political campaigns, Malbin and Gais offer a simple suggestion. They write: "Do not embrace an idea until you have thought through the side effects" (p. 178). The admonition is useful guidance for proponents of any campaign reform. John David Rausch, Jr.
The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests, Kenny J. Whitby, University of Michigan Press, 1998. ISBN: 0472108050, $37.50 cloth, 170 pp. The Color of Representation investigates the current status of Congress' response to issues of fundamental interest to the black electorate in contemporary society. Focusing on substantive representation, Whitby offers a causal model of representation that merges aspects of the work of Hanna Pitkin and Heinz Eulau and Paul Karps.Whitby's conceptual framework combines four different dimensions of representation: specifically the formal electoral linkage, descriptive traits, and symbolic (attitudinal) representation on substantive policy outcomes. The introductory chapter concludes with a second analytic model to describe and explain congressional roll call behavior on black policy preferences. Whitby's second model becomes the basis for his data analysis. He hypothesizes that members of Congress confront four different voting strategies--highly supportive of black interests, least supportive, deceptive (where supportive preferences on final votes mask behind-the-scenes opposition or low levels of support on earlier amendments), and deviant (where supportive preferences in the amendatory process are contradicted on final roll calls). The causal and policy responsiveness models provide helpful references throughout the remaining chapters. Each chapter opens with a brief historical overview in an effort to assist the reader's appreciation of the analysis and understanding of Congress' crucial role in resolving race relations problems in the United States. Whitby's findings demonstrate that the policy interests of most African Americans are better reflected in the legislative activities of black lawmakers. Methodologically, his analysis relies on least squares and logistic regression and the analysis is reported in twenty-four tables and ten figures. Detailed endnotes and extensive references make the work a valuable research resource. The appendices offer a description of the measures during the amending phase of the voting rights acts, a description of the Fair Housing Amendment of 1988 and the Civil Rights Amendments in 1991, and a description of the five most divisive votes in the LCCR Index. The book provides a substantial contribution to the literature on representation and will be appreciated by political scientists, historians and sociologists. Debra St. John
Great Theatre: The American Congress in the 1990s, Herbert F. Weisberg and Samuel C. Patterson, editors. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN:0521585252, $19.95 paper, 272 pp. The authors in this edited collection argue that the theatre provides a useful metaphor for viewing the function of Congress. This thesis is substantiated by the media coverage received by the 104th Congress; however, the authors further assert that the Congress has historically taken on the form of theatre. Congress resembles the theatre in many ways. Both arenas emphasize the audience and involve enlightenment, symbolism, and representation. The book is divided into three sections. In Part I, Kenny Whitby, Franklin Gilliam, Samuel Patterson, David Kimball, and Dean Lacy address the public's role as an audience of the congressional theatre. Paul Herrnson, Tim Groseclose, David King, Barry Burden, and Aage Clausen turn our attention in Part II to characteristic elements of and recent developments in congressional action. The final chapters broaden the focus to include congressional interaction with other branches of government. This section incorporates analyses by Barbara Sinclair, Elliot Slotnick, Sheldon Goldman, Lori Hausegger, Lawrence Baum and Randall Ripley. Through their analysis of the Congress as theatre, the authors find first that the problem of representation and the feature of divided government continue to characterize the U.S. Congress. Second, public evaluations of congressional performance depend upon discrepancies between expectations and perceptions. Third, while the committee system continues to dominate congressional activity, strong political leadership and partisanship has characterized the past few decades. These findings, colored by the remarkable Republican takeover of 1994, lead the authors to predict that the fascinating drama of the congressional theatre will continue to unfold. Jocelyn Jones
Congressional Caucuses in National Policy Making, Susan Hammond Webb. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN:0801856825, $39.95 paper, 264 pp. Susan Webb Hammond offers students of Congress a valuable tool for understanding the role of caucuses at the federal level of American policy making. Hammond's focus is on the external and internal events which allowed caucuses to form, the purposes, goals, and organization of caucuses, the issues and activities of caucuses, and the interaction of caucuses with congressional and administrative agendas. Her coverage of the role, type, membership and behavior of the caucus is comprehensive and thorough. Utilizing surveys, interviews, constituency data, caucus memberships, roll call data, congressional documents, and media reports, Hammond identifies six types of caucuses and compares them. She classifies the six types as: party caucus, personal interest caucus, national constituency caucus, regional caucus, state/district caucus, and industry caucus. Hammond compares the membership and activities of the caucuses and discovers, to no one's surprise, that different caucuses pursue different agendas, utilize different strategies, concentrate on different issues, and include different members. The only explicit conclusions are that Republicans, senior members, and party or committee leaders tend to be the least involved in caucuses. In addition, neither the size nor the homogeneity of the caucus is a predictor of agenda setting or style of activity. Also, Hammond notes that the caucuses' relationship with the federal branch of Congress and the executive is governed by conflict and cooperation, yet caucuses are seen as legitimate and highly organized policy actors. In conclusion, although caucuses are an example of fragmentation, they provide members with invaluable sources of information and cooperation. Furthermore, caucuses provide an opportunity for members to exercise leadership and receive exposure. The contribution of Congressional Caucuses in National Policy Making is that it sheds light on an aspect of federal policy making that is often overlooked. Thus, students of Congress and federal policy making are enriched by Hammond's comprehensive and thorough study of the role of this unique congressional form of organization. Josh Stockley
Executive Decree Authority, John M. Carey and Matthew Soberg Shugart, editors. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN:0521597226, $24.95 paper, 304 pp. Carey and Shugart have presented a pathbreaking research agenda on comparative legislatures by putting together a collection of excellent essays on executive decree authority in both mature and emerging democracies. The authors in the volume contradict the conventional usurpation theory that executive authority is evidence of marginalization of legislatures and leads to erosion of democratic political systems. True, there are cases, episodes, and opportunities in which executive authority, exercised in form of decree or emergency power, has marginalized legislatures. A detailed comparative analysis spread over a mix of regimes, however, suggests that "the executive decree is tolerated - or even preferred - by legislative majorities." Two central theses provide a focus around which the chapters are written: 1) decree authority provided by legislative assemblies is built into procedural constraints that protect the interests of legislatures; and 2) decree authority is prevalent not only in presidential systems but also in parliamentary and hybrid political systems. Illustrating institutional, political, and historical conditions in which decree authority is present or absent, the book presents four Latin American cases (Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela), a post-communist case (Russia), and three advanced industrial states (France, the United States, and Italy). Drawing on constitutional texts, electoral laws, and empirical work, the authors explain the practice of the executive to establish law in lieu of action by the assembly. Written not as an apologia for executive decree, this volume offers valuable insights into how and why executives and legislatures prefer rule making by executive decree rather than by standard legislative procedures. In light of transition to democratic consolidation in post-communist societies and Latin America, this book is more than a timely reminder to reassess the linkage between legislative bargaining strategies and presidential democracies in particular. Ashwani Kumar
When Women Lead: Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures, Cindy Simon Rosenthal. Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0195115414, $18.95 paper, 240 pp. When Women Lead provides a welcome new addition to the literature on women officeholders in American politics and on the practice of legislative leadership in the states. Using multiple methods of research, Rosenthal examines the leadership styles of state legislative committee chairs, an interesting cohort to study because of the sheer number of women who are "integrating" this level of formal power in legislatures. Rosenthal posits a continuum of leadership styles ranging from aggregative, which is characterized as competitive bargaining similar to James Macgregor Burns's classic formulation of transactional leadership, to integrative, which emphasizes mutual commitments, collaboration, and nonhierarchical relationships. Using a national survey of all female state legislative chairs and a random sample of male chairs, Rosenthal finds modest but statistically significant differences between women and men, with women more likely to prefer and use more integrative leadership behaviors. These differences, she argues, are a by-product of socialization, traditional social roles, and the gendered world of work. These findings replicate similar gender findings in management studies and organizational behavior. Using multiple regression analysis, however, Rosenthal adds the insight that legislative institutional variables - the gender composition of a legislature, the extent of power held by women, and the extent of legislative professionalization - provide important influences on the preference for and use of different leadership styles. Her analysis suggests that professional legislatures are least conducive to the practice of integrative leadership. The strength of Rosenthal's study, however, comes not from the survey data but rather from a series of focus groups with committee chairs and three richly drawn field studies of committee leaders in Colorado, Ohio, and Oklahoma. In particular, the case studies drive home her argument that legislative leadership is performed in gendered contexts. Pressures to conform to legislative norms are described, and the challenge that women face in assuming leadership roles is documented. Combining different theoretical threads - organization theory, new institutionalism, gender and leadership - Rosenthal provides a compelling argument that our legislative organizations are not gender-neutral. Moreover, she concludes that the paradigmatic view of legislative leadership as transactional or aggregative behavior is the product of studying mostly male legislatures. Gary Copeland
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