Membership and Representation Chapter 11: Wilson AP Government and Politics Homework Assignment: Read Wilson, Chapter 11 ( ) and take notes Read Woll, “Congressional Government” ( ) and take notes

As we get started, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page…  Reason for/purpose of bicameral legislature?  Membership of each house?  Term length?  Representational information?  Can a legislature that represents constituents within single- member districts really work for the “national interest?” How do the differences in terms of membership, time for debate and representational interests affect the structure of debate and the topics/focus of those debates?  What factors contribute to make the Senate more of a “deliberative” body, whereas the House is considered more of a passionate, populist forum?

 “Represent”: to act in place of or on behalf of someone else  “Constituency”: the group on whose behalf the legislator acts

 Race and Gender  Most members are white, male, lawyers ▪ This is changing, slowly, especially in the House.  Does Congress look like America? Should it?  Consider the idea of “descriptive representation.” What does this mean to you? ▪ Does this idea hold any water, in your opinion?  Does the preponderance of a particular demographic group compromise the quality of representation provided by the US Congress?

 Incumbents  Why have Senate races historically been more competitive than House races?  What factors would limit the incumbency advantage of Senators?  Since Senators have a six-year term to prepare for re- elections, shouldn’t Senators expect greater electoral success?  Should the number of terms served by members of Congress be limited, as they are for the President?

 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.

 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 ideological organizations may also be important ▪ In what situations might this view be most likely? ▪ From which group in Congress do members often take cues on how to vote on bills? Why?  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?

 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 their practicing a different theory?  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?