Congressional communication : content & consequences / Daniel Lipinski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lipinski, Daniel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Congress--Constituent communication.

United States.

United States. Congress.

Communication in politics--United States.

Communication in politics.

Physical Description:

xii, 143 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2004]

Summary:

Congressional Communication challenges the notion that legislators "run against Congress" by routinely denigrating the institution. Using a unique, systematic analysis of the communication from members of Congress to their constituents over a five-year period, Daniel Lipinski demonstrates key partisan differences in representatives' portrayals of congressional activities. While members of the majority party tend to report that the institution - and, hence, their party - is performing well, members of the minority party are more likely to accuse Congress of doing a poor job. The findings in Congressional Communication offer the first strong empirical evidence from the electoral arena in support of controversial party government theories. Moving beyond previous studies that look only at legislators' messages, Lipinski's research also reveals the effects of these politically strategic claims on voters, whose interpretations don't necessarily bear out the legislators' intended effects.

Contents:

Studying congressional communication

Measuring members' messages with mail

Members' messages regarding Congress

Running with the party

Members' success in communicating information to constituents

The electoral impact of members' messages

A new view of members' behavior and the representative-constituent connection.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-139) and index.

ISBN:

0472030191

OCLC:

54670230