Tejas Prakash
Tracing the History of Polarization in Congress
Scholars and commentators argue that Congress is broken because both parties’ politicians take increasingly extreme positions on issues, failing to listen to voters. However, these claims are based on assuming that politicians of both parties don’t adjust which proposals they make as voters’ demands and the world change. In other words, many claims that politicians don’t listen to voters are based on the assumption that politicians don’t listen to voters. In this project, I will use a new methodology developed by Professor Broockman to measure how politicians’ positions have changed over time. The method requires present-day voters or politicians to express how they would have voted on legislation Congress voted on in the past. The project will involve collecting the details of historical legislation to form the survey questions in this survey.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for the opportunity to continue my summer research! In an increasingly polarized political climate, getting the chance to engage hands on with attempts to understand the nature of this polarization is both interesting and gratifying.