Chapter 12Major Areas (1) Tradeoffs faced by members- Trustee vs. Delegate Representation Trustee: When a member of congress listens to his constituents’ wants and needs but uses his own judgment to determine what is best forhis constituents and the country as a whole.- Consideration on what is better for you, makes judgment- Constituents: voters, people you represent, they (pple with constituents) vote for us.  Delegate: The representative makes governing decisions based on will of the constituents- Make the vote that you want with no judgment (almost every member of congress wants to do this) Edmund Burke: Said trustee was better so he lost the election Party vs. Individual- They are members of a party but run as individuals- Their views don’t always match the party’s, but need the support (funding, etc)- Sometimes they vote with their district just to win a seat over the other party (2) Representation and Elections- Sociological Representation: Reps have the same racial gender, ethnic, religious or educational background as their educational backgrounds as their constituents (may look like them) It’s good to look like them/be like them b/c you trust them more since they know your needs Demographic Representation: Congress should mirror voters (Like congress should be 50% women, but it’s not) - It doesn’t really exist, it’s just an idea- Achieving it is not ideal b/c you’re dealing with race, religion, etc.- Agency Representation: When representatives are held accountable to their constituents if they fail to properly represent their views If we can vote them out of office, they will do well- The Electoral College David Mayhew 1974: wrote “Congress, the electoral connection”- Understand how congress acts- Electoral connection: their main objective is reelection, their most important goal- Congress represents us and makes laws so they have policy preferences Congress does 3 things to get reelected1- Advertising: Cultivating a brand name, creating a favorable image of themselves- Credit claiming: generated belief that you are and can be personallyresponsible for creating and causing government actionGoal: to let people view you as, something can be doneEx: Casework, something an office does for them, proofSmall gov., individual- Position taking: announcing a judgmental statement on anything likely to be of interest to voters, be aware of constituentsFlip-flopper: Keep changing views Homestyle: act like their constituents, how you act at home and relate to members- Constituents People who you represent, we are their constituents Geographic- 1st largest, the area which you represent- Ex: districts of GA, like you represent the 10th district- Don’t focus on this too much because it contains everyone, even people who can’t vote; they focus on those who can Reelection: everyone who is eligible to vote (or those who do) Primary: people who are likely to vote for you Personal: people who you know, the most passionate about you Goal: to take people from reelection to primary, and maximize primary constituency- Incumbency Incumbent: person already in office Most important advantage, 98% or above chance of reelection Almost everyone in house retains seat, senate about 90% Advantages- Name recognition: know them, more likely to vote for them- Fundraising: Already successfully ran a campaign and fundraised; more likely to donate to a winner; and they are already there so they can affect congress- Casework: particularized benefits, credit claiming, seen as someone who accomplishes things- Franking: send home mail to members of the district for free, “this iseverything I have done”- Self-Selection: they choose to run for reelection, if they think they are going to lose they step down and don’t run- Gerrymandering: Drawing districts to favor a certain group or political partyFavored People : done to favor incumbent, creates safe seat2Partisan : The way districts were drawn and people were represented to favor 1 partyRacial : Majority/Minority- Would work out well for republicans b/c they lose the minority but win everything elseDistricts drawn by state legislature, changes who gets elected- GA: republican state legislature, they can redraw them whenever they wantEasier to unseat a person in senate, governors run for a senate seat b/c it is more attractive- Legislative Seats 435 house districts, scattered among 50 states, each state gets 1 seat The rest of the seats are divided among the population Apportionment: the dividing up of legislative seats, the drawing of district lines, affects # Census: survey to see how many people there are, every 10 yrs (apportionment based on censes) Baker v Carr 1962- One person = one vote- Used to be that all states had the same amount of votes- Now apportionment is based on population within state (3) Organization- 2 chambers, 535 members that must all work together to agree on something (like a bill)- Party: Is important Leadership selection : based on party, only people in party vote for leader Committee Makeup : party determines who is on a committee Communication : Party leaders work out a deal- Leadership House- Speaker of the House: Most powerful, they schedule floor debates, most visible, ours is John Banner- Minority Leader: Leader of minority party, most powerful of minority party )there is also a majority leader)- Whips: ensure that party members are staying in line and are voting correctly Ex: make republicans vote for this or that Senate- Vice President (Joe Biden): President of the senate, casts vote in a tie- President Pro Tempore: the presiding offer3Takes over in VP’s absenceMost senior member in the majority party (old)- Majority Leader: Harry Read, most powerful chosen by the majority leader (look down)- Minority Leader: most important of minority leader, Nancy Polosi, controls their party in senate- Whips: same thing….look up- Other notesSpeaker of the house is the most powerfulMajority party picks the speaker of the houseVP  Speaker of the House  Pres Pro Temp (line of succession)- Committees Most legislation happens in committees Focus on whether they do law making and are temporary or