Activity 2H Flashcards
Constituents
members of congress listen attentively to the activists and voters in their districts: town hall meetings and local functions keep members in the news back home and prevents them from appearing “out of touch.”
Logrolling
Logrolling is when 2 or more legislators agree to trade votes; they’ll vote for a bill they don’t care much about so another legislator will vote for the bill they do care about
Usually, these bills are based on funding projects in their home district like dams, bridges, highways, housing projects.
Congressmembers are influenced to vote for a bill that doesn’t concern the people they represent so that another bill that does concern them gets voted for.
Party Line Voting
Political Parties look at which Congressmember supports them the most and assign positions based on that. Congressmembers are going to want to vote for bills that support their party, so that they will get a powerful position.
Position of power usually reflects the support and votes
each member has given or promises to give to support his or her party.
Interest Groups & Lobbyists
Interest Groups
- can give reliable sources of information
- can provide funding
–> Congressmembers are influenced to vote according to what their interest groups desire so that they will keep getting funds & information
Media
The media consists of the news, television, and internet, etc.
The media influences Congressmembers to vote according to their voters because the media can be quick to expose or criticize any other actions.
President
The president says who gets funds for the next election
Congress members can be influenced with presidential offers of huge financial rewards/powerful positions
If the president is in same political party → a Congress Member will wanna vote with the pres
If the pres is in opposite political party → Congress Member will wanna oppose him
Their own political and philosophical convictions
Congress Members may sometimes be influenced to vote for or against certain bills based on their beliefs/opinions.
If they do not use their own reason & judgment → delegate model
If they are using their own judgment on behalf of the constituents→ trustee model
If members do both depending on the situation → politico model
Proximity to election
Getting closer to election, Congressmembers might be influenced to vote for bills more related to the opinions of their voters so that they’ll get voted for
Delegate Model
Elected officials view themselves only as a mirror of their constituents. To the extent that it is possible, their behavior will reflect the wishes of the people in the district, even if it goes against the conscience of the elected official
Trustee Model
This is when an elected official will ultimately rely on their own judgement when making decisions. Politicians believe that their constituents have elected them because they trust their judgment to make the right decision to advance the interests of the nation.
Politico Model
This is a combination of trustee & delegate model.
Generally, the elected official will follow the trustee model until their constituents push them towards the delegate model on certain issue.
Partisan
This is voting on party lines.
