Politicians Do Pander: Mass Opinion, Polarization, and Law Making
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Paul J Quirk
The capabilities of the American state sometimes depend on the ability of policy-makers to act autonomously, on the basis of their own preferences and beliefs, in ways that serve broad societal and state interests but lack support from powerful constituencies. In a highly acclaimed book on the politics of health care reform in the Clinton administration, Jacobs and Shapiro (2000) argue that "politicians don't pander." Rather, they do indeed act on their own ideological and policy views, using polls mainly to guide rhetorical strategy, not to make policy decisions. I challenge their interpretation and bring to bear other considerations to argue for an increased influence of mass opinion, and to present a high-pandering, limited-autonomy account of the contemporary politics of law-making. In concluding, I comment briefly on this account's consistency with recent events and on the issues it poses for future research.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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- Why Can't Americans See the State?
- The Winds of Congressional Change
- `Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare:' A Prescription that Progressives Should Fill
- The Case of the Missing Spymaster
- Bankruptcies, Bailouts and the Banking Bureaucracy: The Bush Agenda and the Capacity for Crisis
- Modern Presidents and the Transformation of the Federal Personnel System
- The Politics Measurement Makes: Performance Management in the Obama Era
- Overhead Agencies and Permanent Government: The Office of Management and Budget in the Obama Administration
- The Evolving American State: The Trust Challenge
- Politicians Do Pander: Mass Opinion, Polarization, and Law Making
- Review
- Review of The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform
- Review of No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Why Can't Americans See the State?
- The Winds of Congressional Change
- `Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare:' A Prescription that Progressives Should Fill
- The Case of the Missing Spymaster
- Bankruptcies, Bailouts and the Banking Bureaucracy: The Bush Agenda and the Capacity for Crisis
- Modern Presidents and the Transformation of the Federal Personnel System
- The Politics Measurement Makes: Performance Management in the Obama Era
- Overhead Agencies and Permanent Government: The Office of Management and Budget in the Obama Administration
- The Evolving American State: The Trust Challenge
- Politicians Do Pander: Mass Opinion, Polarization, and Law Making
- Review
- Review of The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform
- Review of No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures
