Abstract
During the last 30 years, the Republicans have expoused an interesting assortment of economic, international, and social conservatism, with each aspect having more prominence at distinct times. Examining key votes throughout this period, we assess how the most recent converts to the party, those from Southern states, align with Republicans from other regions on each of these three dimensions. We also estimate the relative importance of each of the three dimensions annually during this period. Finally, we examine whether the lack of coherence that haunted the Congressional Democrats through the first half of the Cold War era has merely found a new resting place in the Republican Party. In order to analyze these issues, House roll call votes from 1975 to 2000 are examined in order to determine how closely Southern and non‐Southern Republicans are aligned. Next, various issue dimensions are reviewed to assess how party cohesion is affected when different sets of issues take on greater legislative importance. Our findings confirm that issue dimensions affect party cohesion and that regional differences are an important distinction to consider when analyzing House Republicans in a modern context.
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