Gosar Right in the Middle of Major Realignment

            Being a freshman is never easy, and in Congress it is no different. Recently elected Republican Paul Gosar will face quite an overwhelming task in his first term, but considering the recent overhaul of the House in favor of the Republicans, things should not be too bad. As Gosar and the Republicans are about to find out, when there is a major realignment in Congress, the majority has a powerful ability to legislate significant policy change.

            In Brady’s book Critical Elections and Congressional Policy-Making, he argues that when major realignments take place due to an election, several factors allow the majority party to initiate major policy change. First of all, the newly elected majority party feels that they have a mandate to instigate change, and due to the fact that they were elected on a key issue, it is a very cohesive party that is willing to work together. Gosar and the Republicans will surely take advantage of the current situation in Congress, and create policy favorable to Republicans.



Gosar hopes to get on a committee
of his choice



            A major element of Brady’s analysis of realignments is the drastic impact on committee membership. Committees will be reshaped with so many new members, particularly the influx of Republicans. An article from The White Mountain Independent discusses such matters and asks Gosar where he expects to be placed. Gosar indicated that he would like to be placed on the Energy and Commerce or Natural Resources Committees, due to their strong relevance in his district. Despite the relatively high prominence of those committees, Gosar expects to get what he wants. “In the past, freshmen wanting key posts would have a hard time, but we (GOP) have such a huge freshman class (replacing many Democrats) that this time we should get assignments.” Clearly the realignment theories discussed by Brady are coming to life here, as Gosar and his fellow Republicans should get unusually high rates of favorable placement in committees.

  

Incumbent Kirkpatrick Booted From Office

             The results are in, and first-term incumbent Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick has been defeated by Republican challenger Paul Gosar in Arizona’s 1^st. Gosar, a career dentist with no political experience, received 52% of the vote, with Kirkpatrick getting just 42%. Clearly, the national anti-Democratic attitudes proved costly for Kirkpatrick, as it did for the entire Democratic Party in Tuesday's House elections.

              





John Boehner is the new Speaker of the House



            As I predicted in my last blog, Gosar was going to win the race fairly easily, and he did. It should be noted how remarkable it is that he pulled off the win, considering a couple of months ago Kirkpatrick was the clear favorite. Gosar’s Republican rhetoric strongly appealed to the conservative district, and combined with the national political environment, Gosar was able to create a winning campaign. Conservative voters sent a clear message to the government yesterday that they are not happy with the way things are going. Gosar was among 60 Republicans who took seats away from House Democrats, enabling the Republicans to gain control of the House. The effect that such a radical shift in membership will have on legislation has yet to be seen, but surely there will be a great deal of gridlock in Congress over the next two years.



Gosar was a good dentist, will he be a
good representative?



              

           Gosar, a dentist, has a lot to prove once he gets to work in Washington. Considering his lack of political experience and lack of relevant work experience, Gosar will need to show his constituents that he was worth electing. His supporters are counting on him to join the rest of the freshmen Republicans in the House, and turn around the political environment in their favor.