1
President Bush’s nomination of John Roberts for the U.S. Supreme Court
on July 19, 2005, set off a long-anticipated battle over the composition of the high
court. The participants in this conflict include, of course, the President and
senators of both parties, as well as spokespersons for the Republican National
Committee and Democratic National Committee. Much of the contest, however,
is being waged between two coalitions of interest groups, one liberal and
Democratic-affiliated, the other conservative and Republican-affiliated. The
interest groups within each coalition cooperate to prepare common message,
influence media coverage, and sponsor television ads. They are aided by an
echo chamber of friendly media sources: distinctly conservative and liberal
magazines, talk show hosts, and websites.
The contest over Roberts’ nomination is a microcosm of contemporary
American politics. In the policy-making process, the “party in government” and
“party as organization”, in V.O. Key’s terminology, are now just a fraction of the
two de facto political parties. Like the Roberts fight, major legislative battles now
commonly feature coordinated publicity, lobbying, and fundraising by interest
groups seeking to aid an allied political party. We witness the same in electoral
politics. While some donors and organizations are genuinely independent, many
other interest groups, donors, and tax-exempt 527 organizations tacitly function
as extensions of the two formal parties.
We contend that any effort to understand the influence and polarization of
political parties in American politics must incorporate this extended network of
affiliated groups and media. By itself, this is not a new idea. Joseph
Convention