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Representational Style And Congressional Elections: New York's 19th District In The 115th Congress, Margaret Mccormick
Representational Style And Congressional Elections: New York's 19th District In The 115th Congress, Margaret Mccormick
Honors Theses
The disconnect between members of Congress and the American public is no secret. Of the three branches of government, the legislative branch is intended to be the most representative of the people. However, it consistently faces the lowest approval ratings among the American public. Although the public largely disapproves of Congress as a legislative body, most Americans support their own representative. This phenomenon is reflected in high reelection rates for congressional incumbents. My thesis examines the relationship between congressional representation and elections through an evaluation of the representational style of Congressman John Faso. Faso, who represented New York’s 19th District …
Institutional Ambition And The Decline Of Congress, Ryan A. Case
Institutional Ambition And The Decline Of Congress, Ryan A. Case
Honors Theses
According to James Madison's theory of separated powers, ambition among members of each branch of government should prevent one branch from usurping the powers of another. However, this is hard to reconcile with the modern trend of congressional decline and executive aggrandizement. This paper takes a historical and developmental approach to argue that the informal changes to the American Constitution that took place throughout the 20th century combined with the modern trends of polarization and weak citizenship have left Congress weak and Madison's theory ineffective.
Better Left Unsaid: The Connection Between Members Of Congress, Presidents, And Political Ambiguity, Grace Alexa Pittman
Better Left Unsaid: The Connection Between Members Of Congress, Presidents, And Political Ambiguity, Grace Alexa Pittman
Honors College Theses
During the course of an election cycle, candidates often deliver vague statements regarding their positions on policies. Furthermore, incumbent candidates typically have a record of obscure actions unknown to the voter. Presently, existing literature maintains ambiguity in terms of an interaction between the candidate and the constituent. According to this literature, candidates use ambiguity to exploit voter uncertainty on policy issues. However, I argue that congressional members, motivated by re-election, will act similarly to candidates by utilizing ambiguity. In this research, I propose that it is the president’s popularity that triggers a congressional member’s ambiguity. Using a method of linear …
The Good, The Bad, And The Uncivil: An Analysis Of Uncivil Members Of Congress From The 45th To The 113th Congresses, Nathan Lea Holm
The Good, The Bad, And The Uncivil: An Analysis Of Uncivil Members Of Congress From The 45th To The 113th Congresses, Nathan Lea Holm
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Incivility in Congress has often been attributed to partisan and ideological conflict, but there is a growing body of evidence that suggests incivility may hinge on factors concerning members’ personal attitudes as defined by their life experiences. To investigate this, background and experiential factors that may lead to incivility are tested, including variables such as family dynamics, religion, occupation, and education. All of these factors are tested on the basis that they could have formative influence on a legislator’s behavior and how they conduct themselves as a member of the US Congress. Seven members of Congress from the 45th to …
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study Of Social Media As An Agenda Setting Tool In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Jenna Floricel Lewinstein
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study Of Social Media As An Agenda Setting Tool In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Jenna Floricel Lewinstein
Scripps Senior Theses
The purpose of “Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study of Social Media as an Agenda Setting Tool in the U.S. House of Representatives” is to explore the impact of a politician’s social media presence on agenda setting in Congress. It was born out of the research question, “how do freshman members of the House of Representatives seek power and influence in their first term?” I answer this using Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a case study, as she is a current freshman legislator with undeniable power and influence. I studied Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets from two time periods: the month leading up …
Talking Red White And Blue: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Polarization And Congressional Floor Speech, Dawson Patrick Honey
Talking Red White And Blue: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Polarization And Congressional Floor Speech, Dawson Patrick Honey
Senior Independent Study Theses
No abstract provided.
Catching Congress Up: Restoring The Office Of Technology Assessment, Bruno Youn
Catching Congress Up: Restoring The Office Of Technology Assessment, Bruno Youn
CMC Senior Theses
Congress has become infamous for its lack of understanding of technology, particularly with the Facebook and Google hearings in 2018. To improve this understanding, this thesis argues for the return of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a congressional support agency created in 1972 that provided science and technology expertise to Congress until its termination in 1995. It also considers potential changes that might be made to the old OTA model and the political environment in which a new OTA would need to survive.