Class And Party In American Politics

Jeff Stonecash is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. He is the author of Diverging Parties and Class and Party in American Politics.

• * List of Tables and Figures * Preface Inequality and Political Debate: The Failed Role of DemocratsConventional Wisdom * Another Look: Reconsidering Political Trends The Puzzling Survival of DemocratsLong-Term Trends * The Argument Social Change and Anticipating Party FortunesThe Presumption of an Emerging Republican Majority * The Persistence of Potential Democratic Issues * Summary Evolving Party Constituencies and ConcernsThe 1950s and Early 1960s: Party Differences with Limits * Initiating Change: Chickens and Eggs * Republican Tensions and Change * The Emergence of Conservative Support * Pursuing a Conservative Agenda * The 1994 Election and After * Attracting Conservatives * The Democrats * The 1950s and Early 1960s * The Emergence of a Liberal Agenda * Political Defections and Debating the Partys Focus * Interpreting the Democratic Situation * Liberal Dominance Within the Democratic Party * Summarizing Evolving Party Differences * Current Party Differences Political RealignmentIssue Concerns and Perception of Party Differences * Reactions to the Parties * Presenting Results * Structuring the Analysis * Middle-Class Political Behavior * The South: Net Party Reactions * Net Party Reactions Outside the South * Net Party Reactions: The Nation * Party Voting Patterns * The South * Outside the South * Party-Line Voting and Split-Ticket Voting * Conclusions Reconsidering Party and Issues in American PoliticsThe Current and Future Debate * The Turnout Issue * The Role of Other Issues * Conclusions * Appendix: The Analysis of Class Divisions in American Politics * Indicators and Different Trends * Neglecting Analysis: Why? * Missed Signals and Bad Luck * Neglecting Class Analysis: The Importance of Other Research * The Measurement of Class * Supporting Evidence: Real Income and Transforming the Public * Supporting Evidence: Intolerance and Doubts About Class Inclinations * The Declining Interest in Constituency-Politiciain Connections * Consequences * References * In