Conflict and cooperation : divided and unified government during the George W. Bush presidency

Abstract

This study aims at substantiating the hypothesis that there was no significant difference in the amount of important legislation enacted during unified or divided governments during the George W. Bush administration, but there was a significant change in the number of vetoed bills and signing statements depending on what party was in control of Congress. The alternation of unified and divided governments between 2001 and 2007 allows a comparative study of the cooperation and the conflicts between the executive and the legislative branches. Significant legislation was selected following David R. Mayhew’s method, using end-of-the-year wrap-up articles published by the Washington Post and the New York Times. This selection was subjected to a validation process using the annual compilation made by the Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus for each year. The impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was taken into account, and the hypothesis was reevaluated after the emergency legislation enacted was set aside. The resulting inventory confirmed that there was no significant difference regarding legislative productivity between divided and unified governments for the time period under consideration. This study extended the research to the relations between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. The party control conditions had a substantial influence on the level of conflict between the president and Congress. The number of presidential vetoes increased dramatically in conditions of divided party control, while the number of signing statements decreased accordingly. The study further explores the social and political conditions that made possible and necessary the enactment of significant legislation as well as the complex relations between the political actors that are instrumental in passing legislation in Congress. Most of the legislation addressing national security issues passed in Congress with bipartisan support, while most of the legislation addressing domestic policy issues and trade passed in Congress along party lines. President George W. Bush was successful in promoting his political agenda during his first term in office, while after his reelection the Republican-controlled Congress gradually started to oppose him. After the midterm elections of 2006, the Democrat-controlled Congress promoted its own political agenda, and the conflict with President Bush materialized in seven vetoed bills. The legacy of the George W. Bush controversial presidency, marred by terrorist attacks, wars and natural disasters, is difficult to assess when events still have a widespread emotional impact, but future generations will have a better perspective and a better understanding of the long-lasting consequences of these troubled times.