Study of voting alignments in the 1977 U. S. House of Representatives : a policy dimension approach.

This study examines voting alignments in the 1977 U. S. House of Representatives. A strong linkage between the voting alignments of the entire House membership in different policy areas was predicted. Six policy dimensions were utilized: "NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITMENT REORIENTATION" (military policy), "ENVIRONMENTALISM," "LABOR UNION DEVOTION" (labor-management issues), "CIVIL LIBERTIES," "GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT" (governmental regulation of private business and the economy), and "SOCIAL WELFARE." Every Representative was assigned six "policy dimension" voting scores. Each score was based upon the level of support that the House member gave to the particular policy concept through his voting record. The voting scores of the Representatives on separate policy dimensions were cross-tabulated to determine if there were any statistical relationships between them. It was assumed that the statistical relationship would indicate the degree of similarity between the voting alignments of Congressmen on different policy dimensions. A strong linkage was discovered between the voting alignments involving the entire House membership in separate policy areas. The primary hypothesis was confirmed. The cross-tabulation procedure was repeated for the three party groups (Northern Democrats, Republicans, and Southern Democrats) to determine if the political alignments of party members were similar in different policy areas. The correlation coefficients for the party groups were consistently smaller than the correlation coefficients for the entire House membership on the same set of policy dimensions. There was a degree of dissimilarity between the intra-party voting coalitions in certain instances. The Northern Democrats exhibited the greatest differentiation between their voting alignments in separate policy areas. There was usually a clear linkage between the voting alignments of Southern Democrats on separate policy dimensions. The party groups adopted different positions on the political spectrum. The Northern Democrats and the Republicans promoted conflicting viewpoints. The Northern Democrats were generally "anti-military," "pro-environment," "pro-organized labor," "pro-civil liberties," "pro-governmental regulation," and "pro-welfare." The Republicans assumed a "pro-military," "anti-environment," "anti-organized labor," "anti-civil liberties," "anti-governmental regulation," and "anti-welfare" political stance. The Southern Democrats displayed greater compatibility with the Republicans compared to the Northern Democrats. However, their aggregate voting position was distinctly more moderate than the position adopted by the Republicans. Three variables were utilized to determine the ideological position of the individual House members: the Americans for Democratic Action voting score (liberal), the Americans for Constitutional Action voting score (conservative), and the "Conservative Coalition Support" voting score (conservative). The Northern Democrats displayed a moderate-liberal ideological viewpoint. The Republicans exhibited a generally conservative political orientation. The Southern Democrats were mildly conservative in their voting behavior. The political decisions of the 1977 U. S. House were not dominated by any particular alliance or viewpoint. Despite the 2-1 Democratic majority, the Republicans frequently prevailed on important floor votes. The Republicans received indispensable assistance from conservative-leaning Southern Democrats and a recognizable minority of Northern Democrats on numerous important occasions.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1979

Author dc:creator

• DeVries, John T., 1954-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Curry, James A. (James Allan), 1946-

• United States Congress.
• United States House.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13252

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13252