Consider: What is the most significant influence on an MoC?

Homework: Assignment #6 for tomorrow; quiz and test Friday

THE “FEEL” OF CONGRESS: REPRESENTATION AND DECISION-

MAKING

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_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Constitution_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

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Colleagues and Caucuses

Logrolling - 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 barn-

raising 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

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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

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Staff and Support Agencies

Congressional staffers Agency staffers Committee staffers

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