Path to Power
Professor Thomas Schaller makes sense of institutional shifts in modern American politics
in The Stronghold.
The Republican Party has lost four of the last six U.S. presidential elections and lost the popular vote in five of the last six, while at the same time establishing powerful majorities in both houses of Congress. How can we make sense of these seemingly contradictory trends in the partyÂ’s popularity?
In his new book The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House (Yale University Press, 2015), Thomas Schaller examines the institutional transformation of the national Republican Party since President Ronald Reagan left office in 1989. Schaller, professor and chair of political science, is a nationally recognized scholar of American politics and political institutions. He has already received widespread praise for the book, which is poised to make a lasting impact on political discourse in America.
“I call this book an ideological institutional argument,” explains Schaller. “It talks about the lining up of the Republican Party, as it’s become more conservative, with congressional strength, and that makes intuitive sense.”
The core argument of Schaller’s book centers around the idea that Republicans have not just become a congressional party, but one that is focused on the House of Representatives. In conducting research for his book, Schaller observed that Republicans have pursued a path of what he calls “retrenchment” over the last 25 years — maximizing the power of a fixed share of Republican voters who tend to show up at the polls more during midterm elections.
Schaller argues that by pursuing retrenchment with a focus on its congressional wing, the Republican Party has shifted attention away from developing a fuller national strategy that would help presidential candidates become more competitive.
“The Republicans, despite their presidential woes, are doing pretty well on the rest of the ballot, but it sends a bit of a false confirmation of their message because it’s appealing to a somewhat significantly contracted electorate in a country where we’re lucky to have 60% of the eligible voters turn out in a presidential election and 35% of the eligible electorate in midterm elections,” says Schaller. “So it’s appealing to only one-third of the electorate.”
With its in-depth analysis of how and why Democrats have been able to succeed in recent presidential elections and Republicans have become more of a House-centered party, Schaller is hopeful The Stronghold will provide a deeper level of understanding for readers seeking to learn more about modern political institutions.
“There’s this conventional wisdom in the mainstream media and Washington that you have to really prove that you can govern effectively or you won’t be given the reins of power. I just don’t think that’s true anymore,” asserts Schaller. “Americans are upset with gridlock. They hate partisanship and they say they want the two parties to work together, but the structural incentives for both parties, especially for the Republicans, is not to cooperate.”
Schaller is presenting a Social Sciences Forum talk on his new book on Wednesday, February 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the University Center, Room 310. To hear Schaller explain more about the main argument of his book, watch the video below.
Schaller has received extensive local and national media coverage for The Stronghold. For a complete list, see below:
Surrendering the White House? (NBCÂ’s Meet the Press-Press Pass)
Create jobs, defeat ISIS are top U.S. priorities (MSNBCÂ’s Morning Joe)
The GOPÂ’s field of dreams (MSNBCÂ’s The Cycle)
Conservatives better suited to Congress (Baltimore Sun column)
Paul Ryan may not be running in 2016, but heÂ’ll loom large over the election (Talking Points Memo column)
Key to understanding the new Congress: GingrichÂ’s contract with America (American Prospect column)
What the GOP is losing by winning (National Journal)
NewtÂ’s shocking legacy: Was he more important than Reagan? (Salon)
The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House (Majority Report with Sam Seder)
Tom Schaller: Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd (Blog Talk Radio)
Political Tomfoolery (Nicole Sandler Show- Radio or Not!)
Congressionalization (SlateÂ’s The Gist Podcast)
New Books in Political Science with Heath Brown (New Books Network)
The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House (WYPRÂ’s Maryland Morning)
How the GOP Captured Congress (WYPRÂ’s Midday with Dan Rodricks)
Thomas Schaller on the C4 Show (WBAL Radio)
(Updated 2/10/2015)
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