Speeches and Legislative Extremism in the U.S. Senate

Résumé du chapitre :

The following chapter investigates the relationship between legislative activity and legislative speech in the U.S. Senate between the 101st and 108th Congress. The analysis measures the link between the quantity of speech used on the floor by particular senators and their individual level of legislative productivity. This chapter focuses on the number of bills introduced and cosponsored by senators. Controls for party affiliation, majority status, ideology, and proximity to an election were also added to determine whether certain context specific factors have an impact on the amount of floor speeches. The analysis demonstrates that the existence of a relationship between speech and action in the policy processes. However, this relationship is mitigated by ideology (liberals speak more) and by the distribution of partisanship in the Senate (senators in the minority obstruct more). The analysis also indicates that in later congresses, more conservative senators began to behave just like their liberal counterpart. The previous findings seem to indicate that the recent increase in roll call polarization in the U.S. Congress is also present in legislative debates and proceedings.

Résumé du livre :

George Bush’s 1988 campaign pledge, "Read my lips : no new taxes," has become a mantra for those who distrust politicians and bureaucrats. The gulf between what political leaders say and do seems to be widening, and in democratic societies around the world, contributing to an atmosphere of cynicism and apathy among the citizenry. Understanding the characteristics and functions of speech in policy processes is a requirement for trying to overcome this problem. However, there has been scant analysis of political discourse ; the aim of this book is to help fill this analytical gap, by exploring political speech from a variety of perspectives, including normative, epistemological, and empirical. Incorporating insights from economics, political science, philosophy, and law, and evidence from the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Turkey, and the EU, the book addresses a wide variety of timely issues, including :

• Fiscal discipline in speeches vs budget balance

• Revenues forecasted in budget speeches vs realized budget outcomes

• Electoral pledges vs actual realizations

• Ideological stance in party publications vs spending and revenues of party governments

• The political business cycle

Other questions explored include : Should policy makers always tell the truth and all the truth ? What are the benefits and the costs of transparency ? How can we resolve the apparent contradiction between the democratic demand for transparency and the efficiency requirement of secrecy in many policy areas ? Under which conditions is secrecy acceptable in a democratic society ? To what extent may deception and lies lead to a breach of trust or to power abuse ? What are the most efficient institutional mechanisms to prevent such abuse ? Collectively, the authors present new insights for understanding political process and government activity, and suggest avenues for further research.

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