Lecture Notes 10 08 2020 PDF

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Sociological representation in Congress assumes that your representative will have the same ethnic or racial background as the voters in the district (members of the House of Representatives represent districts. Senators represent states. New York has 27 congressional districts) For instance, in south Florida Miami where there is a Cuban community, Sociological representation says that that district should have someone from the same background as the voters representing them. But we do NOT have sociological representation in Congress (either House or Senate) because then Congress would be more diverse, and it is not very diverse. So we have Agency Representation in Congress, which means anyone that the voters elect will represent the interests of the district. A student asks an excellent question: “How often do the House members or Senators actually vote according to the way their “constituents” (the people in the district or the state) want them to vote? The answer: ALWAYS! Why? They want to get re-elected! That is the name of the game. This is what James Q. Wilson calls “Representational” voting. He has three models of “How Representatives Vote” 1. Representational—the way the voters want them to vote on legislation (such as gun control, the environment, etc) 2. Attitudinal – they vote according to their beliefs 3. Organizational—they vote the way other members of their party in Congress vote It is Representational—the first rule is: get re-elected Remember, we have a bi-cameral legislature (two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 435 House members, or Representatives. The Senate has 100 Senators, 2 from each state) Powers of Congress include: power to coin money, raise an army *Power of impeachment—House of Representatives *power of advice and consent (for the Senate for Federal judges, Supreme Court judges, Treaties, Cabinet heads, etc) *The Congress can override a presidential veto, needs a 2/3 vote by BOTH houses of Congress *Congress has the power to declare war *Congress has power of OVERSIGHT—to monitor actions of the Executive branch (i.e., the President—like the investigation into Russia and the US presidential election) The Vice Pres is president of the Senate, but only votes when there is a tie in the Senate (like for a Supreme Court justice nomination. During impeachment the chief justice did not want Mike Pence to break the tie, although he would break a tie in a vote) There are 435 members of the House of Representatives, based on population (the states with more people get more representatives) and 100 US Senators (two from each state) that makes 535—but there are 538 votes in the Electoral College because Washington dc has three votes in the Electoral College but is represented by a non-voting member in the House of Representatives.

A State’s representation in the electoral college is Number of House Members + number of US Senators (always two)= votes in the electoral college. New York has 27 House members plus two US Senators and 29 votes in the Electoral College. Members of Congress have two jobs—Legislation and Representation. While Legislation (writing laws) is supposed to be the main job of Congress, Representation has become the main job of Congress because members of Congress want to get re-elected. To be a good Legislator you have to be in Washington dc, but to be a good Representative you have to be in your district (could be anywhere in the US) How do members of Congress reconcile the two? They don’t. They usually go with Representation, even though that takes them away from their main job of Legislation. IN order to get re-elected, members of Congress engage in DIRECT PATRONAGE--- “Pork Barrel legislation” “Recommendation to military academy” and “Private bills” DIRECT PATRONAGE—activities that members of Congress engage in to get re-elected (Representation) We have a very high “incumbent” re-election rate in Congress (the same people keep getting re-elected) and a stagnant Congress. This is because there are no term limits for Congress (or the Supreme Court) The president has a term limit to two terms. 22nd amendment—PRESIDENTIAL TERM LIMITS. When the Constitution was written, there were no term limits for the president, but after FDR the Constitution was amended so now nobody can be elected president more than two times (with a term of four years) 17th amendment—direct vote of US Senators 25th amendment—presidential death or disability EXAMPLES OF DIRECT PATRONAGE: --- Pork Barrel. This is where members of Congress ask for specific projects for their districts. For instance, in the 3rd congressional district in NY, Congressman Suozzi asked for funding for a Fire dept. This gets very expensive if every member of the House ad Senate requests funding for their states or districts and it is looked down upon as a waste of federal money --- Recommendation to a military academy. For students who apply to a military academy (West Point, or the Air Force Academy, etc.) they need a recommendation from a Senator or their Representative. This is another benefit that members of Congress can provide to their constituents to help them (the representatives) get re-elected --- Private Bill. Usually proposed by someone’s Senator or House member for a particular person in their state or district, usually about Veteran or social security benefits. Again, an example of Representation or Direct Patronage. Activities that politicians engage in to help them get re-elected. Members of the House of Representatives are organized around community and neighborhood interests, rather than National interests. In every congressional district there are usually one or two issues that the voters in that district care about. I.e., in Nassau County the voters care about: Education, Taxes. The voters in Nassau County do not vote based on cattle ranching or citrus farming, like the voters in Texas or Florida. So there are different interests in different

districts and the House member in a district must represent those interests of the voters in that district. Senators are organized more nationally around diverse interests—they must represent urban and rural, farming and industry, etc. They represent a lot more interests than House members. In the 19th c. Congress was the important branch of government—that’s where all the politicians wanted to go to make important laws. But since the 20th c. the president is the main player in American politics. How did this shift occur? That is next time....