Toward a More Programmatic Democratic Party? Agenda-Setting and Coalition-Building in the House of Representatives

Abstract

In 1981 House Democrats adopted a new set of mechanisms-the Committee on Party Effectiveness, task forces to draft issue manifestos, and the Message Board to perform public relations activities-intended to unite their membership around a core set of issues, put forward a national political agenda, and elect a Democrat to the White House. Although only a few of the participants were familiar with the notion of responsible party government, the goals, activities, and products of this effort bore a striking resemblance to the reforms advocated by the American Political Science Association's Committee on Political Parties. We describe the House Democrats' efforts, note similar efforts among the Republicans, assess how closely they approximated the APSA recommendations, and discuss the obstacles in the way of developing responsible parties in the United States.