Crossing the Aisle: Party Switching by US Legislators in the Postwar Era
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Adapted edition, 11/26/2015
EAN 9781107536067, ISBN10: 1107536065
Paperback, 230 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm
Language: English
Switching parties is arguably the most important decision a politician will ever make. This book is the first-ever systematic study of the causes and consequences of legislative party switching in the United States. The author argues that re-election alone does not explain party switching. He proposes an ambition-based theory that accounts for multiple goals (including higher office aspirations and the desire for influence in the legislature) with a focus on the electoral costs and the institutional benefits of the decision. The book combines the statistical analysis of electoral data and legislative careers in the US Congress and state legislatures with elite interviews of party switchers, non-switchers, and a party leader. The case study of a party switcher's decision in 'real time' documents the complexity of the decision in a politician's own words prior to and following the switch. The book raises important questions regarding the meaning of a party label.
Part I
1. Legislative party switching in the United States
an introduction
2. Party switching
a theoretical framework
Part II
3. Why do members of Congress switch parties?
4. Progressive ambition and party switching
testing the model on state legislators
Part III
5. The electoral consequences of party switching among members of Congress
6. The benefits of party switching
intrainstitutional advancement and the committee assignment process
Part IV
7. Behind the scenes
the role of party leaders, rank-and-file members, and former party switchers
8. A 'real-time' look into the decision to cross the aisle
9. Conclusion.