Congress as Public Enemy: Public Attitudes toward American Political Institutions / Edition 1

by John R. Hibbing, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Overview

This timely book describes and explains the American people's alleged hatred of their own branch of government, the U.S. Congress. Focus group sessions held across the country and a specially designed national survey indicate that much of the negativity is generated by popular perceptions of the processes of governing visible in Congress. But Hibbing and Theiss-Morse conclude that the public's unwitting desire to reform democracy out of a democratic legislature is a cure more dangerous than the disease.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521483360
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/29/1995
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; Preface; 1. Introduction: what is wrong with the American political system?; 2. Changing levels of support for individual institutions; 3. Perceptions of political institutions; 4. Perceptions of congressional features and reforms; 5. Focus groups and perceptions of the Washington system; 6. Who approves of congress?; 7. Support for democratic processes; 8. Conclusion: the people and their political system; Appendix; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...Congress as Public Enemy is an important and timely report that should be of interest to anyone who studies public opinion, attitude measurement (especially in terms of the complementary use of survey research and focus groups), or American politics generally." Stephen C. Craig, American Political Science Review

"This excellent piece of research and analysis gives much to think about as we focus on maintaining public support of our political institutions." W.K. Hall, Choice

"This excellent piece of research and analysis gives much to think about as we focus on maintaining public support of our political institutions." W.K. Hall, Choice

From the Publisher

Despite a sensationalistic title, this highly theoretical explication of public attitudes toward all three branches of federal government offers no hard evidence of any citizen revolts in the making; nor is it likely to incite any. Based on findings drawn in 1992 from 1400 30-minute telephone interviews with a nationwide sample of voting-age residents, plus eight two-hour focus-group sessions of 10 participants each at locations across the country, the book is a densely written, abstruse work likely to appeal mostly to political scientists. Readers not familiar with the scholarly sources cited will have to accept the authors' summariesand debunkings of previous research on faith, there being scant explanation of prior research. The authors examine at length the difference between people's feelings toward the various institutions of government and toward the members of those bodies. Perhaps most disturbing is their view that the American people, while supporting the notion of a democratic government, have little patience for the actual workings of democracy, its unruly debates and inevitable compromises. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Congress, the people's branch of government, is passionately ridiculed with great regularity by the people. But why? Does everyone really despise Congress, and what about it do they hate? These questions have finally been posed in a major research project conducted by two political scientists at the University of Nebraska. Blending the findings of a 1400-person national telephone survey and eight two-hour focus group meetings of average Americans at sites around the country, the authors discovered that most people dislike the legislative process (e.g., lengthy debate, compromise, interest group activity) and not the institution. From their wealth of original data, Hibbing and Theiss-Morse compare public support for each branch of government as an institution and public support for the people who hold office in each branch. The public, they contend, draws a reasonably clear distinction between the constitutional system, which they favor, and the contemporary Washington political system, which they loathe. This is an important book for students of Congress, public opinion, and American politics generally. A major contribution to our understanding of contemporary American politics, it should be widely quoted and cited.Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Library Journal