Political Theorist David R. Jones

When examining voter activity, one may ponder, what are conditions that persuade voters to exercise and determine their votes. As the political trajectory heightens in the mist of greatly debated executive and legislative activity, political theorists’ David R. Jones’ presents groundbreaking input in an appropriate evaluation of the effects of party polarization. Published in 2015, in the Political Research Quarterly, his work entitled Partisan Polarization and the Effect of Congressional Performance Evaluations on Party Brands and American Elections effectively continues the evaluation of American politics under the scope of comparative analysis.

In the authors work, using comparative data, the scholar demonstrates the argument that congressional performance evaluations are as important for American parties and elections according to the extent of party polarization in Congress.

When congressional parties are distinct, the author promotes that congressional performance assessments effect the majority functioning party’s brand. Essentially the author argues that when voters are favorably pleased with Congressional action, under the guidance of the majority party, the favorability, and morale of that party is enhanced.

The author extends such argument suggesting partisan polarization has similar effects in elections outside of Congress including state legislatures and within Executive branch leadership exhibited in the result of Presidential elections. To support his analysis, the scholar petitions the following arguments: the greater the level of partisan polarization in Congress, the more likely voters’ appraisal of congressional performance and secondly, Jones promotes the argument that the greater partisan polarization in Congress also increases the effect that congressional performance evaluations, including elections beyond federal governance.

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Using various methods of measuring data, the scholar insinuates that through his findings, a greater understanding of public opinion, elections, and parties are highlighted creating new perspective to evaluating comparative political study. To provide substance to the ideas presented regarding partisan polarization, Jones incorporates literature on the value of party brand favorability in connection to congressional performance review. The author’s methodology stems from existing works from comparative political studies that focus of party identification, voters association and party ideology. For this study the author used existing literature to identify how voters view parties, rather positive or negative at any given time, he coins this concept as party evaluation or party brand favorability. To support this claim he incorporates the written work of scholars work from the 1960s and 1970s that unanimously evaluate that in American politics, voters do not associate Congress in partisan terms.

From more contemporary study, the author draws the need for studying party polarization from the works of Cox and McCubbin (2005) and Grynaviski (2010) who focus on polarization in modern politics which draws great attention to the practices of parties using agenda-setting leverage to political leaders to advocate and ensure positive reflection of party branding. Creating the means establishing a hypothesis Jones presents two hypotheses: The greater the level of partisan polarization in Congress, the more citizens; ratings of congressional job performance will affect their favorability toward the majority’s party brand. Ratings of congressional job performance affect subsequent favorability toward a majority’s party brand. In the hypotheses presented, Jones explains that the performance evaluations are vital in elections, especially when conditions related to favorability contribute to congressional polarization. Specifying his argument, the scholar subsets his presentation by questioning conditions. The second set of hypotheses are the following:

The greater the level of partisan polarization in Congress, the more citizens’ ratings of congressional job performance will affect the majority party’s electoral prospects in presidential elections. The greater the level of partisan polarization in Congress, the more citizens’ ratings of congressional job performance will affect the majority part’s prospects in state legislative elections. Applying the mentioned hypotheses, Jones’ study reflects an argument using dual hypothesis to present partisan polarization in Congressional bodies increases the state that governing parties performance affect favorability in majority party brand. To measure the presented dynamic from an empirical and statistically stance, Jones’ uses data from the Rice index to calculate deference between Democrats and Republicans in American politics. The key used to control the variables are presidential performance and Congress’ majority and minority functioning parties.

To analyze the subset hypotheses, Jones incorporates partisan polarization of state legislative conditions that affect minority parties with substantive findings that in sum prove that with greater polarization, citizen disapproval is disproportion affecting the majority party’s brand greater than the minority. Through Jones’ evaluation, the scholar can support his argument by confirming that substantial effects of congressional review through his models conveys dependent factors based on the idea of majority favorability. From this extensive review, it is evident that Jones’ finding prove that as party’s brand grow more distinct, the idea of brand favorability will contribute great effect on brand favorability of majority party’s. Through this study, discussions that could be promoted include the debatable understanding on citizens’ evaluations foremost.

Secondly, discussion that could be prompted through this review of the idea that results from elections are sponsored through the actors, more specifically voters, performance on the interest presented to them which seemingly control the electoral base. Additionally, further discussion that may be derive from this work is the growing and fresh instructive factor that is branding now is beyond the idea of presidential approval. Lastly, discussion could be explored that the actions of the legislative body, rather federal or on state levels, are greatly contributing to the effect of party’s branding that ultimately suggest that perspectives can be shifted through entire political party effort. While Jones’ work is a fresh perspective to the political party favorability’s narrative in American politics that is yet to be explored, the potential framework provides statistical proven research that supports the idea that the factors expanded in the study will significantly influence political performance of majority evaluations affecting the outcome of elections and congressional bodies of the future.