Are There Two Presidencies? Yes, But Only for Republicans

Abstract

Analysis of conflictual roll call votes in the House and Senate indicates that presidents tend to win more often on foreign policy than on domestic policy. And we find no evidence that the differences have diminished over the period from 1953 through 1984. The two presidencies phenomenon, however, characterizes only Republican administrations. We analyze support for the president from different party factions (i.e., liberal Democrats, conservative Democrats, liberal Republicans, and conservative Republicans) and party and committee leaders to determine why the two presidencies phenomenon is limited to Republican administrations. We find that Republican presidents tend to receive greater support on foreign policy issues from liberal Democrats and from Democratic party and committee leaders. Analysis of a subset of important votes shows less difference between the two policy areas. The two presidencies phenomenon for Republican presidents does not appear on important votes because liberal Democrats are less supportive on foreign policy.