Cargando…
Indecision in American legislatures /
"Why do politicians change positions on legislation, and what are the consequences for democratic politics? A fundamental element of democracy that is embodied in the legislative process is the importance of deliberation over alternatives. Lawmaking provides many opportunities for pro- posed po...
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
|---|---|
| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Ann Arbor :
University of Michigan Press,
2018.
|
| Colección: | Legislative politics & policy making.
|
| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
| Sumario: | "Why do politicians change positions on legislation, and what are the consequences for democratic politics? A fundamental element of democracy that is embodied in the legislative process is the importance of deliberation over alternatives. Lawmaking provides many opportunities for pro- posed policies to be altered, amended, tabled, or even stopped completely. A natural corollary of this perspective is that the ideal legislator should assess evidence for and against policy ideas over the course of the debate, update his or her beliefs with new information, and be willing to change course in some cases. In practice, however, lawmakers often face criticism from the media, the public, and their colleagues for switching sides, or "flip-flopping," on prior positions. Legislators may also only appear to change positions in some cases as a means of voting strategically. There exists a great deal of scholarship on how legislators make their final decisions on bills, but less work addresses the possibility that they might arrive at those choices after advocating for the other side. This book presents a systematic examination of legislative indecision in American politics. Legislative indecision occurs when legislators switch their official position on a bill. This might occur via "waffling" on legislation--where a legislator cosponsors a bill, then votes against it at roll call. Or it might occur when a legislator votes one way on a bill, then switches her vote to the other side. Jeffrey J. Harden and Justin H. Kirkland develop a theoretical framework to explain indecision itself as well as the public's attitudes toward indecision"-- |
|---|---|
| Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (xvii, 196 pages) |
| Bibliografía: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780472124268 0472124269 |