Tag Archives: ideology

Has Orrin Hatch been left behind by the Republican Party?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Adam Brown

Since 2001, Hatch has been less conservative than the Senate GOP average. Sarah Binder, a political scientist and Congressional expert at George Washington University, took a look today at Sen. Orrin Hatch’s voting record. (Her post is on the Monkey … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged congress, ideology, nominations, orrin hatch | 1 Comment

Who could run for Speaker or Senate President?

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Adam Brown

What makes a legislator a good candidate for leadership? Last fall, Becky Lockhart narrowly won the support of her fellow House Republicans and became the new Speaker, ousting David Clark. Meanwhile, Michael Waddoups fought off a challenge from Dan Liljenquist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, leadership, legislature, median voter theorem, nominate, senate president, speaker of the house | Comments Off

Who is REALLY the most conservative Utah legislator?

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Adam Brown

Interest group ratings are certainly useful, but it turns out there’s a much, much better way to figure out which legislators are most conservative and most liberal. Credit where it’s due: Robert Richards, my undergraduate research assistant extraordinaire, contributed heavily … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, legislature, measurement, nominate, rankings, roll call votes | 2 Comments

Will Utah’s redistricting committee be biased?

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Adam Brown

Speaker Lockhart and President Waddoups apparently did not try to stack the redistricting committee. Yesterday, legislative leaders announced which members of the Utah legislature would serve on the redistricting committee. Let’s consider which groups are well represented on this committee … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged bias, ideology, legislature, measurement, rankings, redistricting, republic, utah county | 2 Comments

Who has the decisive vote in the Utah legislature?

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Adam Brown

In 2011 the legislators with the most floor power were Sen. Stuart Adams and Rep. Don Ipson. If we look at floor votes in the Utah House and Senate, who are the most powerful legislators? Hint: It’s not the Speaker … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged backdoor power, floor power, ideology, leadership, legislature, measurement, median voter theorem, rankings, roll call votes, senate president, speaker of the house | Comments Off

Was HB 410 a bipartisan battle between moderates and ideologues?

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Adam Brown

It’s extremely unusual that the legislators in the center would team up to vote against the legislators at the extremes. Something weird happened today in the Utah legislature. The Utah House of Representatives voted on Becky Edwards’s HB 410, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, immigration, leadership, legislature, measurement, partisanship, roll call votes | 3 Comments

Will Sandstrom’s immigration bill pass the Senate?

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Adam Brown

If the Senate votes on HB 70 without any amendments, I predict that it will pass easily On Friday, the Utah House passed H.B. 70, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom’s illegal immigration enforcement bill. Now it goes to the Senate. If the … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, immigration, legislature, roll call votes | Comments Off

Do we live in a democracy or a republic?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Adam Brown

Maybe it’s not a coincidence that we began referring to ourselves as a “democracy” more frequently at the same time that our country became more (directly) democratic. Do we live in a democracy or a republic? Let’s ask Google. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged democracy, direct democracy, education, ideology, initiative, john adams, recall, referendum, republic, thomas jefferson | Comments Off

Is Rep. Dougall the same (ideologically) as Rep. Frank?

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Adam Brown

Utah news has been aflutter for the past week about an error made by the Utah County Clerk’s office that results in Rep. Craig Frank losing his seat. Seems that a couple thousand Utahns–including Frank–who thought they lived in Frank’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, legislature, partisanship, redistricting, utah county | 4 Comments

Why is Becky Lockhart the new speaker?

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Adam Brown

Don’t be too quick to conclude that leadership style alone decided the Speaker’s race, or that outside actors were decisive, or that money bought the Speaker’s race. It looks like Lockhart could have won on ideology alone. Officially, the battle … Continue reading →

Posted in Everything | Tagged ideology, leadership, legislature, median voter theorem, speaker of the house | Comments Off