Filibuster : Obstruction and Lawmaking in the U.S. Senate.
Title:
Filibuster : Obstruction and Lawmaking in the U.S. Senate.
Author:
Wawro, Gregory J.
ISBN:
9781400849475
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (326 pages)
Series:
Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives
Contents:
Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Figures -- Preface -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- 1.1 The Centrality of Obstruction to Senate Lawmaking -- 1.2 Obstruction Fundamentals -- 1.3 Layout of the Book -- Chapter 2. Obstruction in Theoretical Context -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Costs and Obstruction -- 2.3 Endogenous Rules -- 2.4 Filibusters as Wars of Attrition -- 2.5 Relational Legislating and Senate Obstruction -- 2.6 Predictions about Lawmaking -- 2.7 Discussion -- Chapter 3. The Mutability of Senate Rules -- 3.1 Rulings from the Chair and Procedural Innovation in the House -- 3.2 Rulings from the Chair and Procedural Innovation in the Senate -- 3.3 The Bank Bill of 1841 -- 3.4 The Federal Elections Bill of 1891 Revisited -- 3.5 Discussion -- Chapter 4. Where's the Pivot? -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Competing Theories about Coalition Sizes -- 4.3 Coalition Sizes on the Passage of Significant Legislation -- 4.4 Coalition Sizes and Presidential Regime Shifts -- 4.5 Coalition Sizes on Appropriations Bills -- 4.6 Coalition Sizes and Silent Majorities -- 4.7 Conclusion -- Chapter 5. Dilatory Motions and the Success of Obstruction -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Uncovering Obstruction -- 5.3 Modeling the Success or Failure of Obstruction -- 5.4 Discussion -- Chapter 6. Obstruction and the Tariff -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Antebellum Tariff Making -- 6.3 The Tariff from 1865 to 1889 -- 6.4 The Tariff from 1890 to 1930 -- 6.5 Conclusion -- Chapter 7. Slavery and Obstruction in the Antebellum Senate -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Predictions for Empirical Testing -- 7.3 Empirical Analysis of the Use of Dilatory Tactics -- 7.4 Support for Obstructive Efforts -- 7.5 Conclusion -- Chapter 8. Obstruction and Institutional Change -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Changes in the Political and Institutional Environment -- 8.3 Direct Election.
8.4 Conclusion -- Chapter 9. Cloture Reform Reconsidered -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 A Simple Model of Cloture -- 9.3 Alternative Explanations for Increases in Coalition Sizes -- 9.4 Conclusion -- Chapter 10. The Impact of Cloture on the Appropriations Process -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Institutional Change Relevant to the Appropriations Process -- 10.3 Cloture and Appropriations Deadlines -- 10.4 Conclusion -- Chapter 11. Conclusion -- 11.1 The Battle for Majority Cloture in Today's Senate -- 11.2 Confrontation, Compromise, and the Gang of Fourteen -- 11.3 Desirability of Reform -- 11.4 Prospects for Change -- Bibliography -- Index.
Abstract:
Parliamentary obstruction, popularly known as the "filibuster," has been a defining feature of the U.S. Senate throughout its history. In this book, Gregory J. Wawro and Eric Schickler explain how the Senate managed to satisfy its lawmaking role during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, when it lacked seemingly essential formal rules for governing debate. What prevented the Senate from self-destructing during this time? The authors argue that in a system where filibusters played out as wars of attrition, the threat of rule changes prevented the institution from devolving into parliamentary chaos. They show that institutional patterns of behavior induced by inherited rules did not render Senate rules immune from fundamental changes. The authors' theoretical arguments are supported through a combination of extensive quantitative and case-study analysis, which spans a broad swath of history. They consider how changes in the larger institutional and political context--such as the expansion of the country and the move to direct election of senators--led to changes in the Senate regarding debate rules. They further investigate the impact these changes had on the functioning of the Senate. The book concludes with a discussion relating battles over obstruction in the Senate's past to recent conflicts over judicial nominations.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
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