Turning the Legislative Thumbscrew

Dion, Douglas

doi:10.3998/mpub.14912

Cited by 142 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The S e n a t e ' s coefficient for the main predictor variable, "We e k s B e f o re Recess," is insignificant and the results are inconsistent when controlling for over time factors. 1 8 H o w e v e r, it may be suggested, as has been by Crain, Leavens, and Tollison (1986), Dion (1986) and others, that the congressional adjournment each year drives the bulk of the relationship between major congressional breaks and the roll call vote pattern. If this is the case, then the re s u l t s p resented thus far may be masking the true effect of cong ressional deadlines on voting behavior.…”

Section: Testable Implication Onementioning

confidence: 92%

“…Many scholars have found that one power, the scheduling power, can be a particularly important tool for congressional leaders to influence legislative outcomes. For example, Sinclair (1994) and Dion andHuber (1996, 1997) find evidence that strategic scheduling exists in their work on the use of restrictive rules by majority party leaders. Work by Cox and McCubbins (1993: 243-48) ties the power of scheduling more directly to the use of deadlines in the House.…”

Section: Susan Webb Yackee University Of Michiganmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Punctuating the Congressional Agenda: Strategic Scheduling by House and Senate Leaders

Yackee

2003

Political Research Quarterly

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I gathered background information for this article in four interviews withMembers of Congress during the summer of 1999. I also conducted several informal interviews with congressional staffers in the summer of 1999 and during the spring and summer of 1998. I do not assert that these interviews provide a representative sample of congressional opinion; however, the meetings were quite useful for the theoretical development of this paper and provide solid, albeit anecdotal, examples of the opinion of a few members.

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Section: Testable Implication Onementioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Susan Webb Yackee University Of Michiganmentioning

confidence: 99%

Punctuating the Congressional Agenda: Strategic Scheduling by House and Senate Leaders

Yackee

2003

Political Research Quarterly

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“…Although workload and chamber membership increased considerably during the era, there was no commensurate attempt to restrict debate. Sentiment for restrictions existed (rather sporadically or episodically) and proposals were made (likewise), but the rhythm of restrictions on debate did not flow linearly from workload (Binder 1997;Dion 1997).…”

Section: Rules and Norms Affecting House And Senate Debate In The Antmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Golden Age” Senate And Floor Debate in the Antebellum Congress

Wirls

2007

Legislative Studies Qtrly

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An image of an antebellum “golden age” of Senate debate and deliberation has passed virtually unblemished from one generation of historians and political analysts to the next. In what ways, if any, is the image of a more deliberative Senate evident in the realities of antebellum House and Senate debates? In this article, I present a series of case studies to examine elements of the quantity and quality of floor debate in each chamber. By providing comparative evidence about House and Senate debate during the antebellum period, I offer an assessment and critique of the bicameral implications of the largely untested “golden age” understanding of the Senate and join other recent efforts to reassess the nature of the early Senate and its relation to the House. My results show the conventional wisdom to be an oversimplification, at least in its implications about the scope and depth of House debates. The House debated as long, and arguably as well, as the Senate on the signal issues of the day.

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“…Yet a predominantly partisan focus may not capture all of the important aspects of this kind of behavior. Dion (1997) develops a partisan-based theory of obstruction as part of his more general enterprise of explaining procedural innovations regarding minority rights in legislatures. Dion's model focuses on how the size of the majority party caucus affects its ability to agree on a policy that will lead to changing the status quo on the floor.…”

Section: Strategies Of Obstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extant research generally examines obstruction through the prism of partisanship (Binder 1997;Binder and Smith 1997;Binder, Lawrence, and Smith 2002;Dion 1997). Party-based theories of obstruction have proven to be successful in explaining obstruction in the modern Senate, but other factors may be equally or more relevant to explaining this behavior prior to the Civil War.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peculiar Institutions: Slavery, Sectionalism, and Minority Obstruction in the Antebellum Senate

Wawro

2005

Legislative Studies Quarterly

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This article examines obstruction in the U.S. Senate, focusing on political conflict in the antebellum period. I consider different theories that predict when obstruction should occur and conduct individual‐level analysis of the use of and support for dilatory tactics. The analysis investigates how the costs of obstruction, the probability that obstruction succeeds, the policy preferences of the senator, and the salience of legislation relate to decisions to obstruct. I find that both sectional and partisan factors influence obstruction, with the former being especially important for legislation related to slavery. In particular, Southern senators' concerns about being in the minority led them to obstruct to protect their interests in slavery.

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Turning the Legislative Thumbscrew

Cited by 142 publications

References 2 publications

Punctuating the Congressional Agenda: Strategic Scheduling by House and Senate Leaders

Punctuating the Congressional Agenda: Strategic Scheduling by House and Senate Leaders

The “Golden Age” Senate And Floor Debate in the Antebellum Congress

Peculiar Institutions: Slavery, Sectionalism, and Minority Obstruction in the Antebellum Senate

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