factors affecting voting behaviour within Congress 2.2

Question 1

what are the four factors which affect voting behaviour within congress

Answer 1

• public opinion/constituency
• party/party leaders
• caucuses
• interest groups/lobbyists

Question 2

how does ‘public opinion/constituency’ affect voting behaviour within congress

Answer 2

• must have the vote of public or out of office
• frequent elections exhibit responsibility
• more responsibility for the house than the senate ( elected every two years)
  HOWEVER: separation of powers and enumerated powers means still a lot of responsibility

Question 3

how does ‘party/party leaders’ affect voting behaviour within congress

Answer 3

• pressured to vote with majority party views
• partisanship runs deep in congress and parties in america

Question 4

how does ‘caucuses’ affect voting behaviour within congress

Answer 4

• factions within congress = congressional caucuses
• groups often vote together on issues
  E.G. Blue Dog democrats = MODERATE DEMOCRATS
  Congressional Steel Caucus = represent districts with steel manufacturers.

Question 5

how does ‘interest groups/lobbyists’ affect voting behaviour within congress

Answer 5

• influence voting through donations => policies for that group
• large, active memberships, members can mobilise to create the threat of removal
• NRA stopped Obama from trying to limit gun usage after Newtown shootings 2012

Question 6

when is an example which shows that public opinion affected the party lines of a congressperson

Answer 6

ten moderate Republicans opposed the Republican plan to repeal Obama’s ACA in March 2017.

Question 7

what is a congressional caucus

Answer 7

groups of legislators who share special interests and meet to pursue common legislative objectives, such as black caucus, women’s caucus, Hispanic caucus.