Concordance: Black Lawmaking in the U.S. Congress from Carter to Obama

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Concordance During the height of the civil rights movement, Blacks were among the most liberal Americans. Since the 1970s, however, as Blacks have turned from activism to formal politics and gained increasing representation in national, state, and local government, they have moved closer to the political center. Turning the spotlight on the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Katherine Tate studies the ways in which the nation’s most prominent group of Black legislators has developed politically. Organized in 1971, the CBC set out to increase the influence of Black legislators. Indeed, over the past four decades they have made progress toward the goal of becoming recognized players within Congress . And yet, Tate argues, their incorporation is transforming their policy preferences. Specifically, since the Clinton administration, CBC members—the majority of whom are Democrats—have been less willing to oppose openly congressional party leaders and both Republican and Democratic presidents. Tate documents this transformation with a statistical analysis of Black roll-call votes, using the important Poole-Rosenthal scores from 1977 to 2010. Although growing partisanship has affected Congress as a whole, not just minority caucuses, Tate warns that incorporation may mute the independent voice of Black political leaders. Katherine Tate is Professor of Political Science at Brown University. Concordance Black Lawmaking in the U.S. Congress from Carter to Obama Katherine Tate The University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2014 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2017 2016 2015 2014 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tate, Katherine. Concordance : Black lawmaking in the U.S. Congress from Carter to Obama / Katherine Tate. pages cm. — (The politics of race and ethnicity) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-472-11905-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-472-02956-3 (e-book) 1. African American legislators—History. 2. African Americans—Politics and government. 3. United States—Politics and government. 4. United States. Congress—History. I. Title. E185.96.T37 2014 323.1196'073—dc23 2013031495 ...