Lawmakers and Lobbyists: Policy Outreach through One-Minutes and Press Releases

Authors

  • Christine DeGregorio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2010.31.0.113-135

Abstract

Elites in Washington behave as if the successful passage of controversial policy rests on their ability to reach the American people with a clear and resonant argument. With an aim toward understanding the strategic nature of this discourse, I examine the themes most repeated by allies and adversaries in five, high profile policy battles of the 107th Congress (2001-2002). The data include one-minute speeches offered by lawmakers on the House floor (274) and press releases (495) posted on the Web pages of the involved interest-groups. The results provide evidence on the determinants of polarized, policy discourse and affirm that no one party, nor interest group-type, dominates policy promotion.

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Published

2010-07-01

Issue

Vol. 31: Summer 2010

Section

Articles

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