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Leadership Choice and Party Performance: The DemocraticTakeover of the 110th Congress—Editor'sIntroduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2008

Douglas B. Harris
Douglas B. Harris
Affiliation:
Loyola College in Maryland
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Extract

Having been out of power in the House since 1994 and in the Senatefor 10 of those 12 years as well, congressional Democrats' takeoverof Congress in the 2006 midterm elections was an important moment inAmerican political history. Having won the House and, somewhat moreunexpectedly, the Senate by a bare majority, the Democratsrecaptured control of an entire branch of the federal government forthe first time since Bill Clinton left the White House. Controllingthe levers of power in the House and the Senate—the legislativeschedule, committees and subcommittees, and, to the extent thatparty bonds hold, the majority of votes in committee and on thefloor—Democrats were poised to influence, but of course notunilaterally control, policymaking in the 110th Congressand the conduct of the last two years of the Bush administrationthrough key congressional resources including funding andadministrative oversight.I would liketo thank all of the authors in the symposium for theirwillingness to participate and their excellent contributions. Aspecial note of thanks also goes to Sean Kelly for hisencouragement and advice on this project from first conceptionto final completion. Thanks also to Stephen Yoder and RebeccaFowler at PS for their patience and guidancethroughout.

Information

Type
SYMPOSIUM
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 43 - 47
Copyright
© 2008 The American Political Science Association

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