Keywords

incivility, comity, congress, civility, rancour, rancor

Abstract

Many have decried the lack of civility in Congress. However, to this point, few have attempted to isolate individual level explanations for the lack of comity. This research attempts to rectify this lapse. Through matched pair analysis using quota sampling with replacement, the significant predictors of uncivil behaviors are isolated in a Logistic regression. Initially, a sample is established using the New York Times and Washington Post, 1933-2005, inclusive. This time period begins with the 73rd Congress and ends with the 109th. Incidents of incivility were catalogued and the details concerning the individuals involved were gathered. In the end, the research finds several significant predictors of incivility; tenure, ideological extremism, electoral safety, and previous state legislative experience are all significantly associated with the likelihood of engaging in uncivil acts. By isolating the factors that likely contribute to incivility, it may be possible to make recommendations concerning the recruitment of future candidates; recommendations that may lead to a more productive legislature.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Schraufnagel, Scot

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Political Science

Degree Program

Political Science

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002153

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002153

Language

English

Release Date

June 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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