Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

A New Test Of Issue Ownership Theory: U.S. Senate Campaign Debates, John C. Davis

Speaker & Gavel

This study tests issue ownership theory on U.S. Senate debates. Issue ownership theory states that each of the two major American parties possess issues which the public perceive to be best handled by one party over another. Republicans are thought to be better at handling problems concerning national defense, foreign policy, and taxes. Democrats are believed to be better at addressing issues such as education, health care, and the environment. This study hypothesizes that, due to unique characteristics regarding the office being sought, U.S. Senate candidates from both major parties do not adhere to previously recognized patterns of issue ownership …

A Functional Analysis Of Non-Presidential Primary Debates, William L. Benoit, Jayne R. Goode

Speaker & Gavel

Despite the fact that political debates are increasingly common at all levels of government, relatively little work investigates the content of non-presidential debates (and work on primary debates is even less common). This study breaks new ground by analyzing four non-presidential primary debates. Two Democratic gubernatorial debates, one Republican U.S. Senate debate, and one Republican U.S. House debate were content analyzed using the framework of the functional theory of political campaign discourse. Overall, these debates were mainly positive, with 71% acclaims, 22% attacks, and 7% defenses. The Democratic (and gubernatorial) debates had more attacks and defenses and fewer defenses than …

Newspaper Coverage Of U.S. Senate Debates, William L. Benoit, Corey Davis

Speaker & Gavel

Political debates are important message forms, capable of informing and in-fluencing voters. However, news coverage of debates informs and influences both those who watch, and those who do not watch, the debates. This study compared the content (functions and topics) of 10 U.S. Senate debates from 1998-2004 with the content of newspaper articles about those particular debates. Newspaper coverage of debates was significantly more negative than the debates themselves, reporting a higher percentage of attacks and a smaller percentage of acclaims than the candidates employed. The newspaper articles also stressed character more, and policy less, than the candidates. This journalistic …

Encouraging Bipartisanship: Polarization And Civility As Rhetorical Tools For Ameliorating The U.S. Senate’S Partisan Environment, Angela Marie Mcgowan

Dissertations

On October 1, 2013, the Senate buckled under the pressure of intense partisanship. Dramatically demonstrating their lack of mutual agreement, senators refrained from conducting the nation’s business for 16 days. Considerable media attention covered this shut down, especially the ensuing rhetorical activities of the Senate’s female policymakers who urged bipartisanship. The flurry of activity surrounding the legislative impasse sparked this dissertation’s conceptual orientation. Accordingly, this investigation reveals how Washington lawmakers can, in good faith, set aside partisan views in order to accommodate policy objectives.

This project reveals rhetorical strategies that, when utilized, are capable of facilitating Senate bipartisanship. Each chapter …