2.2: functions of congress; representation Flashcards
Representation
which groups must they represent?
- constituency
- their party
- functional: all socioeconomic groups
these different forms of representation can cause conflict in congress.
constituency representation
what is it
- house members are allocated congressional districts to represent: these are state divided and roughly based on population
- each member is therefore able to represent the interests of their district, protecting the cultural, economic or social interests of these areas. Eg. Diane Black representing parts of Nashville, famed for its country music, made the request of the Brady Amendments of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2018, tightening copyright laws
constituency representation
why is it important?
the primaries mean the public decides who represents their party during an election
Eg. Eric Cantor lost the Republican primary in Virginia in 2014 because he wasn’t seen as conservative enough by some of his district
- he was not vocal enough about his opposition to obama
constituency representation
local vs national importance
for some constituents, what is happening locally is often more important than what is happening nationally.
Eg. February 2021, Texas faced a very harsh winter, Seantor Ted Cruz left the state for a holiday in Mexico, leading to extensive bad press.
party representation
what is it?
most members of congress are elected on a party basis
- their decision to join whicever party is the party which aligns with their political beliefs
- these beliefs, in part, will probably be similiar to their constiteunts
- some level of party loyalty can be expected from a congress member due to their personal beliefs and in order to represent their constiteunts
party representation
developments in recent years
partisanship and party-line voting
- growing importance of the party as a factor when voting
party representation
lack of representation of…
third parties in congress are incredibly underrepresented
- there are currently only 2 independent members of congress, Eg. Angus King (Senator-Maine) and Eg. Bernie Sanders (Senator-Vermont)
- due to the breadth of parties ideologies, it can be difficult for third party members to carve out an appealing distinctive identity within the politicial spectrump
functional representation
congress has become more …….. in recent years?
- diverse
- reflecting the african american population
- the 117th congress had 27.1% women voting (compared with 50.8% of the population) and 11.2% African Americans voting, (compared with 12.4% of the population)
- the numbers are increasing, and african americnas are much more represented inthe present day than in previous years
functional representation
majority minority districts
- congressional districts have been drawn sometimes to form ‘majority-minority’ districts, meaning minority groups form the majority of the population, making it more likely a minority group member would be elected to represent them
- Eg. in cooper v. harris 2017 this was challenged as racist. Justice Kagan wrote in this ruling that ‘the sorting of voters on the grounds of their race remains suspect, even if race is meant to function as a proxy for other (including political) characteristics
- Eg. North Carolina’s 12th district was drawn from 25 years ago, creating a majority-minority district of African Americans. However, in2016 and 2018 a federal court ruled that such districts were unlawful and it was redrawn
representation
DESCRIPTIVE REPRESENTATION
- elected members should represent both those with the same political beliefs as them, but also those with the same characteristics
- these include age, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.
representation
FUNCTIONAL REPRESENTATION
- a belief that those elected should represent economic or social groups within the wider community
- perhaps through the influence of lobbyists or presure groups which represent the views of under-represented groups in the legislature.
Congressional cacuses
what is a congressional caucus?
- group of individauls who share a common policy goal
- they can represent citizens who share this goal
- !!!!! DIFFERENT FROM NORMAL CAUCUSES AND NOTTT TO DO WITH VOTING
Congressional cacuses
Examples of CONGRESSIONAL caucuses
- the womens caucus: works towards achieving legislation that advances the right of women. This suggests this issue is more important to these individuals than their party ideology.
- they publish a weekly report of what they have achieved. Eg. the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
- steel caucus: fighting for the steel industry; Trump introduced a 25% tarriff on foreign steel imports and the chair of the caucus issued a statement saying ‘i am pleased that the president has heard my call, and the call of our steelworkers’ Eg. In 2018, they achieved 300 new steel jobs in granite city :D
- black caucus: represents African American Caucus
Congressional cacuses
members dont necessarily…
- vote together
- but, when the issue at hand affects their caucus, they can be very powerful
- Eg. when the successor to speaker John Boehner was being chosen, representative Rangel equipped ‘the power of the congressional black cacus is truly unspeakable.’
Lobbyists
lobbying in congress + importance
- lobbyists work behind the scenes to gain support for their client’s interest in congress
- Eg. 2020, the National Association of Realtors spent the most money on lobbying congress, spending over $84m
- it can be difficult to find examples of where direct influence is seen
- Eg. Since 2008, Lobbyists have spent a minimum of $3b annually, reaching $3.73b in 2021
