Transcript The *Feel* of Congress: Representation and Decision

Consider: What is the most significant influence on an MoC?
Homework: Assignment #6 for tomorrow; quiz and test Friday
AP Government and Politics
Chapter 6
What Does “Representation”
Mean?
“Represent”: to act
in place of or on
behalf of someone
else
 “Constituency”:
the group on whose
behalf the legislator
acts

Representation in Congress

A historical question in US history since 1789:
 Is the primary concern of a representative the interests
of the whole nation or those of his/her constituency?

In traditional political science, two models of
representative function of Congress have been
offered:
 Trustee model – elected representatives are obligated
to act in accordance with their judgment as to what
policies are in the best interests of society
 Delegate model: elected reps are obligated to carry out
the wishes of those who elected them to office.
 Politico – a little bit of both, depending on the situation
Influences on Decision-Making


Later political research offers at least 3 theories why MoCs vote
the way they do:
Representational view
 Members want to get re-elected and therefore vote to please their
constituents
○ In what situations might this view be most likely?
○ What might make this view weak or less reliable?

Organizational view
 Members respond to cues provided by their fellow members; party is the
single most important of these cues, but interest groups/PACs may also
be important
○ In what situations might this view be most likely?
○ From which group inside Congress do members often take cues on how
to vote on bills? From which group outside of Congress?

Attitudinal view
 Position that ideology impacts a members vote; members are more
ideological in their thinking
 Because there are conflicting pressures, members are free to vote their
ideologies.
 On which type of issues will this be most strong? Most weak?
Questions to Consider

Which of the three theories above (Rep, Org, Att) do you
believe is practiced by most members during campaign
season?
 Would you expect the longer term of Senators to result in a
different mode of representation?

Which of the three theories do you most endorse?
 Which would you endorse as an MoC? Why might this be
different?

If you wanted an MoC to choose the representational
model, how could you make that happen?

If representatives are voting with their party, does this
necessarily mean they are less likely to be representing
their constituents’ attitudes?
Video: Thinking Like a
Political Scientist
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHA
RED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Constitu
tion_v2.html
6.5
How Members Make Decisions
Political Parties
Constituents
Colleagues and Caucuses
Interest Groups, Lobbyists and Political
Action Committees
 Staff and Support Agencies




6.5
Political Parties
 Influence of political
parties on the passage of
legislation
 Divided government
 Different political parties control
presidency and Congress
 Unified government
 Same political party controls
presidency and Congress
6.5
Constituents
 People who live, work and vote in a
member’s district
 Vote with about 2/3rds of the time
 Wedge issues
6.5
Colleagues and Caucuses
 Logrolling -
6.5
Supporting another member’s legislation in
exchange for future support
 The widest accepted origin is the old custom of neighbors assisting
each other with the moving of logs. If two neighbors had cut a lot of
timber which needed to be moved, it made more sense for them to
work together to roll the logs. In this way, it is similar to a barnraising where a neighbor comes and helps a family build their barn,
and, in turn, that family goes and returns the favor, helping him build
his.
 Special Interest Caucuses
 Informal groups based on shared interest
Interest Groups, Lobbyists and
Political Action Committees
 Research and Data
 Provide information to justify members’ positions on
legislation
 Persuade constituents to contact or pressure members
 Fundraising
 PACS
6.5
Staff and Support Agencies
 Congressional staffers
 Agency staffers
 Committee staffers
6.5