Replication Data for: Don't Call it a Protest: Congressional Support for Democratic Norms During the January 6th Insurrection

Increasing partisan polarization has characterized American politics for decades. But the popular perception – emphasized by media accounts – holds that on Jan. 6, 2021, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress condemned the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol. We hypothesize that even as the events themselves were unfolding, a marked partisan divide characterized congressional communication. We analyze all 1,861 tweets by members of Congress on Jan. 6 and find that Republicans were significantly more likely to characterize the invasion as a protest grown out of hand while Democrats described it as a violent insurrection. The results strongly indicate that partisan polarization was alive and well on Jan. 6 and may help to account for Republicans’ shift toward normatively positive portrayals of the day in subsequent months.

数十年来，美国政坛始终以党派极化程度持续加剧为显著特征。但媒体报道着重渲染的普遍认知却认为，在2021年1月6日当天，国会两党议员均谴责了针对美国国会大厦的暴力冲击事件。本研究提出假设：即便在事件发酵过程中，国会内部的沟通交流就已显现出鲜明的党派分歧。我们对国会议员当日发布的全部1861条推文进行了分析，结果发现：共和党议员更倾向于将此次冲击事件描述为一场失控的抗议活动，而民主党议员则将其定性为暴力叛乱。研究结果有力证实，2021年1月6日当天党派极化现象已然根深蒂固；同时该发现或可解释为何共和党在随后数月内，逐渐转向对当日事件持规范性正面描述的立场。