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dc.contributor.advisorHarris, Scott L
dc.contributor.authorKirk, Justin Ward
dc.date.accessioned2013-09-29T15:21:47Z
dc.date.available2013-09-29T15:21:47Z
dc.date.issued2013-08-31
dc.date.submitted2013
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/ku:12912
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/12223
dc.description.abstractThis paper examines four rhetorical events during the 2012 presidential election to examine how ideology and argument are informed by one another in discussions of policy during campaigns. Using the first two Republican primary debates as well as the party platform and the nomination acceptance speech by Romney, this study offers a descriptive analysis and ideological study of the arguments made in 2012 by Mitt Romney during his campaign for President. The study argues that ideological constraints prevented Mitt Romney from adequately developing substantive or flexible policy arguments during the course of the election. The study also offers a way of examining ideology from the arguments provided by candidates and party officials. This study examines the way in which taxation, government, and constitution operate to organize arguments around the relevant ideological markers. Using the Affordable Care Act as an example of these processes, this thesis will provide an explanation for the failure of purity demands and ideological argument in the context of a moderate and independent electorate.
dc.format.extent107 pages
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Kansas
dc.rightsThis item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
dc.subjectRhetoric
dc.subjectCommunication
dc.subjectPublic policy
dc.subjectArgument
dc.subjectIdeology
dc.subjectRomney, Mitt
dc.subjectPolitical conventions
dc.subjectPrimary debates
dc.subjectRepublican party
dc.titleIdeology and Argument: Mitt Romney and the GOP in the 2012 Election
dc.typeThesis
dc.contributor.cmtememberInnocenti, Beth
dc.contributor.cmtememberRowland, Robert C.
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineCommunication Studies
dc.thesis.degreeLevelM.A.
kusw.oastatusna
kusw.oapolicyThis item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria.
kusw.bibid8086352
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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