Assignment task:
"Congress and the President in a Partisan Era" John R. Bond and Richard Fleisher As the title suggests, this book chapter examines how trends in partisanship from 1953-1996 have affected the ability of presidents to secure votes on legislation on the floor the House or Senate. This assignment will ask you to read and respond to the chapter, making certain to address the following questions along the way. - How do the authors define and measure partisanship? - In what ways does the institution of Congress reinforce partisanship? - According to the authors' analyses, how has partisanship in Congress changed over the period of the study (1953-1996)? o What (if any) impact have the trends had upon the ability of presidents to get their agendas passed through Congress? - Do you agree or disagree with the authors' analysis? o Feel free to address their theory, methodology or conclusions. - Speculate as to the extent to which partisanship in Congress has changed since 1996. o What impact might such changes have upon the authors' conclusions?