Political Consulting and the Legislative Process. Douglas A
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2001 Post-electoral consulting : political consulting and the legislative process. Douglas A. Lathrop University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Lathrop, Douglas A., "Post-electoral consulting : political consulting and the legislative process." (2001). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 1990. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1990 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POST-ELECTORAL CONSULTING POLITICAL CONSULTING AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS A Dissertation Presented by DOUGLAS A. LATHROP Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2001 Political Science © Copyright by Douglas A. Lathrop 2001 All rights reserved POST-ELECTORAL CONSULTING POLITICAL CONSULTING AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS A Dissertation Presented by DOUGLAS A. LATHROP Approved as to style and content by; Jerome Mileur, Department Chair ^T^olitical Science DEDICATION To my parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation and immeasurable gratitude to Jerry Mileur and Jeff Sedgwick. I doubt that I could have finished graduate school, much less finished a dissertation, without their support and interest in my professional goals. A special thanks to my outside reader, Jarice Hanson, who provided some helpful suggestions from an alternate perspective. I would also like to thank the consultants, lobbyists, and congressional staff who consented to be interviewed for the project. Their insights and illuminating commentary are crucial components of the study. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the unconditional support and encouragement my parents and friends have provided. They reminded me continually of the importance of the degree and the value of my research. V ABSTRACT POST-ELECTORAL CONSULTING POLITICAL CONSULTING AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS MAY, 2001 DOUGLAS A. LATHROP, B.A., THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT M.A., THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Ph.D., THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Jerome Mileur As political consultants become more prominent figures in congressional campaigns, they are simultaneously expanding their sphere of influence into the policy-making realm. No longer relegated to the limited confines of candidate-campaigns, many consultants remain principal advisors to politicians once in office. In addition, consultants are insinuating themselves into the legislative process by managing single-issue, grassroots movements on behalf of trade associations, corporations and advocacy groups in an effort to affect legislation as it moves through Congress. The flowering of a post-electoral consulting is due, in part, to the advent of the “permanent campaign.” Major policy initiatives have taken on the trappings of campaigns as politicians and interest groups court the public for support. Blurring the distinction between campaigning and governing places a premium on the specialized knowledge consultants possess in fields such as polling, mass marketing, and media relations. Post-electoral consulting raises important questions about the efficacy of applying campaign tactics in a governing context, the nature of political discourse in a mass media polity, and about the role of unelected figures in a representative democracy. VI CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES ....xi CHAPTER POLITICAL CONSULTANTS AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS 1 Introduction Literature Review 8 Early Works Recent Works Political Communication 25 Journalistic Works 29 Organization of the Dissertation ^2 II. POLITICAL CONSULTING: HISTORY AND METHODS 44 Introduction Techniques and Tactics 3 j Direct Mail 32 Mass Media Advertising 3g Public Opinion Polling ^3 Conclusion yq III. THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA 78 Introduction Foundations of the Contract with America 80 Political Consultants and the Transformation of the Contract 83 Political Consultants and Democratic Accountability 91 The Efficacy of Political Consulting 94 Conclusion 99 IV. MEDICARE Introduction The Legislative History of Medicare H 2 Why Did It Pass? Explanations for Medicare Ijg Different Circumstances: The Three Case Studies 127 V. THE CLINTON HEALTH CARE REFORM EFFORT 141 Introduction The Legislative History of the Clinton Health Care Reform . .144 Campaign Techniques and Policy Making 151 Conclusion VI. EXPERT ASSESSMENT OF POST-ELECTORAL CONSULTING 172 Political Consultants and Issue-Based Campaigns 174 Post-Electoral Consulting: A Lasting Addition to the Legislative Process 184 Post-Electoral Consulting and the Political Environment 189 Does It Really Work? 19 ^ VII. CONCLUSION 205 Political Consulting and the Legislative Process: What Has It Wrought? 209 The Future of Post-Electoral Consulting 215 APPENDIX: THE INTERVIEW SUBJECTS 222 BIBILIOGRAPHY ,225 LIST OF TABLES Table Page The Contract with America The Contract with America: House and Senate Action Health Care Initiative Chronology i IX CHAPTER I POLITICAL CONSULTANTS AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS Introduction Part of the genius of the American electoral system is its elasticity. The manner by which we select our public officials has managed to persist, despite vast shifts in social attitudes, enormous population growth, and monumental technological innovations. A citizen from the 1 8th century may be surprised to see women, blacks and young people at the polls, but he would recognize the electoral process. Yet the way we conduct elections m the twentieth century bears scant resemblance to the rustic, early days of the republic or, for that matter, even to the Jeffersonian party democracy of the nineteenth century. It can be safely said, without digressing into the history of American elections, that campaign methods have transcended the stump speech and the ward heeler. The modern era, owing partly to the rise of candidate self-selection and a communications revolution spurred by television, demands a dizzying array of technical wizards and political svengalis to manage an exceedingly complex and costly campaign. Although campaign advisors have existed in American politics since the 1700s, the twentieth century has witnessed the professionalization of campaign advising under the rubric of political consulting.* Political consultants, loosely defined, are men and women with whom candidates contract for a fee to provide expertise on topics ranging from the aesthetic to the substantive; from physical appearance and demeanor to policy issues. They are readily distinguishable from other paid campaign workers since they usually work for more than one client during an election and lack an intimate, personal connection to the candidate (a more rigorous definition will be provided later in the discussion). Independent consultants cooperate occasionally with political party leaders, but operate for the most part independently of the national party apparatus, though their party affiliation and especially their ideology often influences who their clients are. Consultants have no common pedigree, fixed training or standard accreditation, and though many claim governmental and political experience, a significant number do not. Business marketing, academia, and journalism are among the diverse fields that have produced successful political consultants. This eclectic background may be attributed to the relative immaturity of the profession. As recently as the 1970s there were fewer than 40 people who considered themselves full-time political consultants nationwide.^ Despite their currency and a dearth of empirical evidence, politicians and party leaders place stock m consultants' abilities and believe that they have had a profound impact on campaigning and the electoral process in general. As political consultants become more prominent in the American electoral process, they are simultaneously expanding their sphere of influence into the policy- making realm. No longer relegated to the limited scope of the campaign, many consultants remain principal advisors to the politician once in office. The flowering of a post-electoral relationship between public officials and consultants is due in large part to the advent of the “permanent campaign.”' Major policy initiatives take on the trappings of a campaign as politicians court the public for support. Blurring the distinction between campaigning and governing places a premium on the specialized knowledge consultants possess in fields such as polling, mass marketing, and media relations. Beginning with the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and his elevation of campaign pollster Pat Caddell to full-time political advisor, consultants have held prominent, if often unofficial, positions in the executive branch. Successive occupants of the White House have embraced and expanded upon this practice. In the early 1990s this trend migrated to the legislative branch where consultants employed their technical and communication skills to help clients wage policy battles in Congress. Before speculating on the effects consultants may have on the policy