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ABSTRACT the Path to Party Unity: Popular Presidential Leadership ABSTRACT The Path to Party Unity: Popular Presidential Leadership and Principled Consensus Mark A. Scully, Ph.D. Mentor: David K. Nichols, Ph.D. This dissertation examines the role of presidential rhetoric in the process of partisan regime creation. I identify three types of presidential rhetoric: principled, ideological, and pragmatic. I contend that principled rhetoric is necessary to achieve the reconstruction of a new partisan regime. Furthermore, the two variant forms of presidential rhetoric—ideological and pragmatic—contribute to a specific pattern of regime destabilization and construction. That pattern begins with the emergence of an oppositional candidate employing ideological leadership while opposing the regime party and followed by a pragmatic response from the regime party. This combination of ideological rhetoric of the opposition party, which lacks broad appeal, and the broadly appealing pragmatic rhetoric of the regime party leads to an influx of interests and groups into the regime party’s coalition. Far from strengthening the regime party, however, the pragmatic rhetoric employed tends to confuse the partisan consensus that bound the party together, and that confusion leads to a period of regime destabilization. The vulnerability of the regime party creates an opportunity for a president employing principled rhetoric to reconstruct a new partisan regime. To demonstrate these variations in presidential leadership, as well as the specific pattern of regime reconstruction, I employ two case studies of major regime reconstruction in American history, which both reveal a common pattern of destabilization and reconstruction. The first begins with the ideological rhetoric of William Jennings Bryan, the pragmatic response of William McKinley, the party destabilization of the progressive era, and the principled reconstruction of Franklin Roosevelt. I then turn to the ideological rhetoric of Barry Goldwater, the pragmatic response of Lyndon Johnson, the party destabilization of the late 1960s and 1970s, and the principled reconstruction of Ronald Reagan. This dissertation demonstrates the power of presidential rhetoric to unify a political party behind a principled conception of the common good, as well as the power of rhetoric to drastically shift partisan dynamics by fragmenting the party into ideological or pragmatic factionalism. The Path to Party Unity: Popular Presidential Leadership and Principled Consensus by Mark A. Scully, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Political Science ___________________________________ W. David Clinton, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee ___________________________________ David K. Nichols, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Mary P. Nichols, Ph.D. ___________________________________ W. David Clinton, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Patrick Flavin, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Martin J. Medhurst, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School May 2014 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2014 by Mark A. Scully All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: Rhetorical Leadership and the Reconstructive Process ......................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review.................................................................................................... 2 Theory ................................................................................................................... 15 Case Selection and Methods ................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER TWO: The Bryan Campaign: A Matter of Principle ..................................... 45 Introduction: The Conversion of the Democratic Party ........................................ 45 Bryan’s Principled Vision ..................................................................................... 48 The Free Silver Campaign: Bryan Explains Democratic Populism ...................... 53 Conclusion: Bryan and the Principled Consensus ................................................ 69 CHAPTER THREE: The McKinley Campaign: A Pluralistic Coalition ......................... 72 Introduction: An Era of Republican Dominance? ................................................ 72 McKinley’s Vision of Social Harmony ................................................................ 75 McKinley’s Campaign: Patriotism, the Tariff, and Sound Money ....................... 80 The McKinley Administration and the Unraveling of the Republican Coalition . 92 Conclusion: McKinley and the Pluralistic Coalition .......................................... 102 CHAPTER FOUR: Franklin Roosevelt and Liberalism: Searching for a Principled Consensus ........................................................................................................... 104 Introduction: Principled of Pragmatic? ............................................................... 104 Forming the New Deal Coalition ........................................................................ 109 Roosevelt’s Vision of Liberalism and Economic Freedom ................................ 114 v The First New Deal (1933-1935): Searching for Balance .................................. 130 The Second New Deal (1936-1938): Ideological Reflexivity ............................ 142 The Third New Deal (1938-1945): Consumption, Spending, and Consensus .... 156 Conclusion: A Lasting Liberal Coalition ............................................................ 173 CHAPTER FIVE: The Barry Goldwater Campaign: Extremism in Pursuit of Virtue ... 175 Introduction: Barry Goldwater’s Ideological Leadership ................................... 175 Goldwater’s Conservative Vision ....................................................................... 178 Goldwater’s Campaign: The Difficulties of Ideological Rhetoric ...................... 192 Conclusion: A Party of One ................................................................................ 208 CHAPTER SIX: Lyndon Johnson: President of All the People ..................................... 211 Introduction: Lyndon Johnson’s Pluralistic Coalition ........................................ 211 Johnson’s Vision, the Great Society, and the Democratic Coalition .................. 214 The Johnson Campaign: Unity, Prosperity, and Peace ....................................... 222 The Demise of the Johnson Administration: The New Left and the Silent Majority ................................................................................. 240 Conclusion: Johnson and Pragmatic Leadership ................................................ 253 CHAPTER SEVEN ........................................................................................................ 255 Ronald Reagan and the Conservative Principled Consensus .............................. 255 Introduction: the Triumph of Conservative Republicanism ............................... 255 The Republican Coalition and Reagan’s Conservative Principles ..................... 259 Economic Issues and Social Conservatives ........................................................ 271 Social Issues and Economic Conservatives ........................................................ 287 Conclusion: Creating a Politically Effective Whole ........................................... 303 vi CHAPTER EIGHT: Conclusion ..................................................................................... 307 Presidential Rhetoric and American Statesmanship ........................................... 307 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 318 Speeches Cited .................................................................................................... 318 Works Cited ........................................................................................................ 324 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Spectrum of Presidential Rhetorical Leadership ................................................16 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Typology of Rhetorical Leadership .....................................................................15 Table 2: Process of Regime Construction ..........................................................................28 Table 3: Summary of Case Study Findings .......................................................................36 ix CHAPTER ONE Rhetorical Leadership and the Reconstructive Process Introduction This dissertation examines how principled presidential rhetoric affects partisan coalitional dynamics, and ultimately how it contributes to partisan regime reconstruction. I evaluate how presidents use political principles to define party unity in a way that creates a diverse but coherent partisan coalition; these principles provide clear and concrete public policy goals that advance the specific interests of coalition members. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, for instance, made arguments about liberalism and conservatism that united diverse groups within their party, clearly demarcated differences between the parties, and advocated specific public policy programs that instantiated the principles guiding their rhetoric. Principled
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