John J. Pitney

The House GOP's Civil War: A Political Science Perspective

In 1997, just two years after their impressive show of unity on the Contract With America, the House Republicans were apparently turning into the House of Atreus. Squabbles high and low divided their leadership, demoralized their rank and file, and delighted their Democratic opponents. Many political commentators blamed this turmoil on the personal shortcomings of Speaker Gingrich and other top lawmakers. Such explanations did make some sense. At least part of the trouble stemmed from the Speakers ethics problems and the leaderships poor political judgments about disasterrelief legislation. But the House GOPs summer of

The Midterm: What Political Science Should Ask Now

The 2006 midterm has undercut some familiar assertions about contemporary electoral politics. Political analysts seem to have overstated Republican advantages in several areas: voter turnout, campaign finance, congressional apportionment, party unity, and social issues. The GOPs loss is the disciplines gain, as the election raises good questions for scholarly research.

The Future of the House Republicans

With each passing day, House Republicans are setting a new record. Between Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower, neither party had ever served in the minority in the House for more than sixteen years at a time. But since losing a short-lived majority in the 1954 midterm, House Republicans have served in the minority for forty years. This unprecedented time in the wilderness has some remarkable features. Of 256 House Democrats, only three have ever served in the minority: Jamie Whitten (Mississippi), Jack Brooks (Texas), and Sidney Yates (Illinois). (Whitten is retiring in 1994.) Of 178 House Republicans, not one has ever served in the majority. Twenty-seven current members thirteen Republicans and fourteen Democrats had not even been born when the GOP last had a majority. Despite this unique situation, political scientists have paid scant attention to the House GOP. We analyze how House Republicans are coping with their permanent minority status in light of the changing circumstances of the mid-1990s. We ask:

The Mixed Blessings of Graduate School

Many political scientists wonder why so few people in our discipline play key roles in presidential campaigns. After all, we have much to offer. In graduate school, we learn about statistics, policy analysis, voting behavior, and other topics with practical applications. During my own political experience-with the New York Legislature, the U.S. Congress, the Bush campaigns and other political organizations-I have often used my formal training in political science. The problem is that graduate school supplies only part of what political activists need. And in some ways, it can actually be a handicap.

Review of Do Not Ask What Good We Do and It's Even Worse Than It Looks

Abstract

The Politics of Constraint: House Republicans in Retrospect and Prospect

One must grade House Republicans on a curve. As co-partisans of President Bush, they were the party of government. As the minority in the House, they were also the party of opposition. This combination severely limited their power and political choices. Nevertheless, they did manage to win some defensive victories and score some public-relations points.