George W. Bush, the Party System, and American Federalism

George W. Bush's presidency presents two major puzzles. The Republican Party has traditionally stood for "limited government," but Bush's principal legacy for federalism is centralization of power in the federal government and the executive branch. Most modern presidents have neg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Publius 2007-07, Vol.37 (3), p.478-503
Main Authors: Milkis, Sidney M., Rhodes, Jesse H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Centralization
Congressional elections
Conservatism
Executive branch
Executive power
Federal Government
Federalism
Government
Leadership
Party leadership
Party systems
Political aspects
Political campaigns
Political candidates
Political Parties
Political partisanship
Political Power
Politics
Presidency
Presidents
Republican parties
Self government
States
U.S.A
United States of America
War
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Summary:George W. Bush's presidency presents two major puzzles. The Republican Party has traditionally stood for "limited government," but Bush's principal legacy for federalism is centralization of power in the federal government and the executive branch. Most modern presidents have neglected their partisan duties, but Bush has been a uniquely vigorous party leader. Here, we show that Bush's puzzling lack of attention to federalism issues is in large part the result of his efforts to strengthen the Republican Party to cope with the political and electoral challenges characteristic of the contemporary political context. We explain why the Bush administration's strategy for redressing the Republican party's shortcomings has presupposed the deprecation of federalism, and consider the implications of our argument for the development of federal arrangements.
ISSN:0048-5950
1747-7107
DOI:10.1093/publius/pjm012