For many observers, a key takeaway from the recent leadership struggle in the U.S. House is that Democrats skillfully manage their caucus while Republicans are uniquelydysfunctional.
This claim is based in large part on a comparisonbetween Republicans’ perceived disloyalty in removing their speaker, Kevin McCarthy, during the current Congress and Democrats’ apparent loyalty toward their speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in previous Congresses.
At first glance, this seems to be a fair comparison. Both parties have dissident – or anti-establishment – factions that sometimes chafe at the compromises made by their leaders. They include “the Squad” for Democrats and the Freedom Caucus for Republicans.
And both parties have lately held narrow majorities when in power, which gives potential leverage to these factions.
So why do Republicans seem to be having a harder time with these similar circumstances than do Democrats? Is it the relative skill of their respective leaders? Are Republicans simply more dysfunctional?
I am a scholar of Congress, political parties and elections. And I would argue that, other than possible differences in leadership skill or caucus dysfunction, there are three important factors that can help explain the observed differences in outcomes for the two parties:
For many observers, a key takeaway from the recent leadership struggle in the U.S. House is that Democrats skillfully manage their caucus while Republicans are uniquelydysfunctional.
This claim is based in large part on a comparisonbetween Republicans’ perceived disloyalty in removing their speaker, Kevin McCarthy, during the current Congress and Democrats’ apparent loyalty toward their speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in previous Congresses.
At first glance, this seems to be a fair comparison. Both parties have dissident – or anti-establishment – factions that sometimes chafe at the compromises made by their leaders. They include “the Squad” for Democrats and the Freedom Caucus for Republicans.
And both parties have lately held narrow majorities when in power, which gives potential leverage to these factions.
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