Home style in the 21st century

This dissertation is a replication study of the pioneering work of Richard F. Fenno’s Home Style, originally published in 1978. In that study, Fenno observed the behavior of members of the House of Representatives when interacting with constituents in their home districts. This work gave congressional scholars new concepts that have since become part of the discipline’s lexicon, including concentric circles of a constituency, constituency careers, and running for Congress by running against Congress. But few scholars have continued this ethnographic research tradition, what Fenno calls “soaking and poking.” It has been nearly 40 years since the publication of Home Style, so naturally we might wonder what has changed in that time. If someone traveled with members in their districts today, what differences and what similarities would he find compared to Fenno’s study? The findings presented here are based on time spent with seven sitting members of the House as they traveled about their districts in 2013 and 2014. Some of Fenno’s conclusions are remarkably stable over time, particularly the importance of member fit with the district as well as the personal touch that gives each member a unique home style. But American politics today is characterized by partisanship in a way that it was not in the 1970s, and some, but not all, representatives base their presentational style on partisan expressions meant to foster a bond between constituents and representative. In addition, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is a particularly polarizing issue, especially for Republican members. Overall, the research presented here shows the need for additional ethnographic research of members in their districts in order for congressional scholars to better understand how the concepts presented in Home Style have evolved since the 1970s.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Eric Radezk