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Partisanship in Congress

Increased levels of partisanship in Congress


There has been an increase in party unity in congress in the past few years. Although this may suggest an increase in party power in congress, and the party leaders influence over voting in congress, it is possible to identify other factors that influence lawmakers into clear camps.

Partisanship in congress refers to the level of party unity in congress. Scholars agree that American politics is at its most partisan in history. The evidence for increased levels of partisanship is clear. In the 116th Congress, every Senate Democrat had a more liberal voting record than any Senate Republican, and vice versa.[1]

This contrasts greatly with the 86th Congress during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency where the majority of legislators existed in the space between the more conservative Democrat (Senator for South Carolina, Strom Thurmond) and the most liberal Republican (Senator for New Jersey, Clifford Case).

There has also been a significant increase in the number of party unity votes, where the significant majority of each party votes together. In 1970 around 50% of all votes in congress were party unity votes. In the 21stcentury, over 80% of all votes are party unity.[2]
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly willing to toe the party line than in the past. President Obama’s stimulus package received no votes from Republicans in the House and only three in the Senate. Compromise and negotiation between the two parties is also increasingly discouraged and unpopular. This was clearly illustrated with the ousting of John Boehner. Boehner’s’ ‘grand bargain’ with President Obama fell through after Boehner failed to win the support of key Republicans.[3]

The rise in party unity suggests a clear ideological division between the two parties. It also could imply that party control of congressmen and senators voting is stronger, and that party affiliation is an increasingly significant factor in legislators voting decisions. Whilst party leaders in Congress do have significant powers; namely ‘agenda control’ in the House, the individual and independent mandate of representatives seems to restrain party leader’s influence over individual votes. In the case of the ‘grand bargain’, the leader of the Republican’s in the House of Representative could not get the support of his own party. 

More convincingly, the increase in party unity in Congress simply reflects the greater levels of partisanship and polarisation in the country. A Pew Research study showed that 27% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans believe the other party’s policies are “a threat to the well-being of the nation”.[4]

[5]


















These stark figures illustrate how significant the ideological split between the electorate has grown and this polarisation is arguably a much better explanation for partisanship within Congress. The electorate’s increasing polarisation is reflected in the chambers of Congress where legislators resemble to the increasingly partisan electorate. As Mayhew and Fenno argued the main incentive of a politician is to be re-elected.[6] The threat of being accused to be a ‘RINO’ or ‘DINO’ and potentially facing a primary challenge from a more extreme and ‘principled’ party member is a significant influence on decision making for incumbents. 

The two parties have clearly split and become homogenous within Congress, so much that their member’s voting patterns more closely resemble a parliamentary style of government. However, the poll data clearly shows that this split is reflected at least in part by the public’s attitudes. Arguably the polarisation of US politics has resulted in these two firm camps emerging so distinctly in recent years and not any growth in the party leader’s ability to whip members into toeing the party line. John Boehner’s failure to gain support for his ‘grand bargain’ and retain the speaker position in the House is a prime demonstration of this. 

[1] ‘116th Congress’, VoteView, online at: https://voteview.com/congress/senate/115
[2] ‘Party Unity on Votes at Near-Record Levels Despite Dissension’, Vote Studies, online at: https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/file.php?path=Party%20Unity%20Tables/2015_Party_Unity.pdf
[3] Sarah A. Binder & Frances E. Lee, ‘Making Deals in Congress’, American Political Science Association, p.58
[4] ‘Growing Partisan Antipathy’, Pew Research Centre, (2014), online at: https://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/section-2-growing-partisan-antipathy/
[5] ‘Partisan Antipathy: More Intense, More Personal’, Pew Research Centre, (2019), online at: https://www.people-press.org/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal/
[6] E. Scott Adler, Jeffrey A. Jenkins & Charles R. Shipan, ‘The United States Congress’, (2019)

Comments

  1. LauraOctober 22, 2019 at 6:10 PM

    Great job on explaining the results that we have seen from growing polarization. I found it very interesting that 80% of votes are party unity. It makes me wonder whether members of Congress are actually thinking for themselves. Then again I understand that with so much polarization, it may be easier to just align with party views. Once again, great job!

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