Thinking about my Generation: The Impact of Large Congressional Cohorts
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Burdett Loomis
Burdett Loomis is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas. He writes on legislative politics and interest groups. In 1988, he publishedThe New American Politician , a study of the new political style of the post-Watergate Democratic class in the House.
and
Timothy J. Barnett
Tim Barnett is Associate Professor of Political Science at Jacksonville State University. He teaches widely in American politics. In 1999, he publishedLegislative Learning , a study of the Republican congressional class of 1994.
Abstract
Large partisan congressional “classes,” once common, have become more the exception than the rule over the past 60 years. Thus, when they come along, as in 1974 and 1994 (and perhaps 2010), they receive a lot of attention. Moreover, they often do help to change the institution of the House in dramatic ways. After a few years, all such classes lose their distinctiveness and meld into the legislative flow of the era. Still, these cohorts may have lasting effects in a host of ways, from movement into House power positions, to successful attempts to run for the Senate in large numbers, to the dispersion of many individuals into the Washington milieu of lobbyists and lawyers, where they can continue to affect policy. This article takes a first cut at how large partisan classes affect the institution of Congress, as well as at the careers of their individual members. Both the 1994 and 1974 cohorts were important as they burst upon the scene. Yet they have had differing impacts as the “long tail” of these classes continues to make a mark on politics and policy.
About the authors
Burdett Loomis is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas. He writes on legislative politics and interest groups. In 1988, he published The New American Politician, a study of the new political style of the post-Watergate Democratic class in the House.
Tim Barnett is Associate Professor of Political Science at Jacksonville State University. He teaches widely in American politics. In 1999, he published Legislative Learning, a study of the Republican congressional class of 1994.
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©2014 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Reflections on the Study of Generations in Politics
- The Long Shadow of Parental Political Socialization on the Development of Political Orientations
- Baby Boomers
- Political Generations in American Politics: Insights from Research in International Relations
- More Than a Trace: Political Periods, Presidential Losers, and the Goldwater and McGovern Experiences
- How Impressionable Were the Younger Reagan Cohorts?
- Thinking about my Generation: The Impact of Large Congressional Cohorts
- Class Connections: Congressional Classes and the Republicans of 1994
- Congressional Cohorts: The House Republican Class of 2010
- Foreign Junkets or Learning to Legislate? Generational Changes in the International Travel Patterns of House Members, 1977–2012
- Book reviews
- Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945
- Social Democratic America
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Reflections on the Study of Generations in Politics
- The Long Shadow of Parental Political Socialization on the Development of Political Orientations
- Baby Boomers
- Political Generations in American Politics: Insights from Research in International Relations
- More Than a Trace: Political Periods, Presidential Losers, and the Goldwater and McGovern Experiences
- How Impressionable Were the Younger Reagan Cohorts?
- Thinking about my Generation: The Impact of Large Congressional Cohorts
- Class Connections: Congressional Classes and the Republicans of 1994
- Congressional Cohorts: The House Republican Class of 2010
- Foreign Junkets or Learning to Legislate? Generational Changes in the International Travel Patterns of House Members, 1977–2012
- Book reviews
- Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945
- Social Democratic America
