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Personal versus Collective Responsibility in Congress Part 1: Local District Forces

Personal versus Collective Responsibility in Congress Part 1: Local District Forces. Danielle Joesten POL 1: Intro to American Politics. Spectrum of Congress. Local District Focus. National and Party Focus. Congress Today. Personal Responsibility Particularistic policies: Pork

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Personal versus Collective Responsibility in Congress Part 1: Local District Forces

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  1. Personal versus Collective Responsibility in CongressPart 1: Local District Forces Danielle Joesten POL 1: Intro to American Politics

  2. Spectrum of Congress Local District Focus National and Party Focus Congress Today • Personal Responsibility • Particularistic policies: Pork • Focus on Members’ individual reputations • Madisonian • Pluralism • Tends to give power to the President • Mayhew (1974) • Collective Responsibility • Party Theory • Members of Congress (MCs) are disciplined party members • MCs represent their party and party goals first • Cox and McCubbins (2005)

  3. “All Politics is Local” Politicians’ success is directly tied to: - their influence and success related to local issues - pleasing constituents Tip O’Neill Speaker of the House of Representatives (1977 – 1987)

  4. Local District Focus • Reelection is a MC’sprimary goal. MCs perform 3 activities to help them get reelected (Mayhew 1974): 1. Position Taking 2. Advertising 3. Credit Claiming

  5. Position Taking • Public statement of position related to government ends or means • Government ends: “End the war immediately” • Government means: “The way to end the war is…” • Examples: Roll call votes, sponsoring legislation, etc.

  6. Advertising • Publicize MC’s name among constituents • Create a favorable image • Message has little or no issue content • Emphasize personal qualities such as experience, knowledge, responsiveness, etc. • Brand name • Examples: newsletters, visits to the district, newspaper op-eds, etc.

  7. Credit Claiming • Claim responsibility for accomplishing something or producing an outcome that is pleasing to the MC’sdistrict • Can only claim credit for something plausible • Targeting the district: Pork and particularistic policy • Examples: Subsidies for farmers in rural districts, funding for transportation, naming the post office after a local leader, etc.

  8. Norm of Universalism • MCs do not need to fight with each other • MCs have a common goal: reelection • MCs have a common enemy: challengers • MCs cooperate with each other so that they each get reelected • “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” • Examples: logrolling, reciprocity, and pork • Opposite of Madison

  9. Senator Byrd Senator Byrd was a U.S. Senator of West Virginia from 1959-2010. He was chair of the appropriations committee. Senator Byrd Speech Clip

  10. Question 1 Q: Mayhew emphasizes three factors or activities that help members of Congress get reelected. According to Mayhew, the activity Senator Byrd is engaged in during this speech is called: A: Credit Claiming

  11. Question 2 Q: Senator Byrd secured funding for the facility at a university in his state. This type of particularistic policy is commonly referred to as: A: Pork

  12. Question 3 Q: This type of activity relates to the norm of universalism. Describe the norm of universalism and how this type of activity is related. A: Norm of universalism: Members do not need to fight because they have a common goal of reelection. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” Credit claiming and distributing benefits serves the interests of as many districts (and MCs) as possible

  13. Question 4 Q: Is the norm of universalism in conflict with Madison’s Republic? Explain why or why not. A: Yes. Madison assumed that because members are from different districts and therefore represent different interests, they would be in conflict with each other. But the norm of universalism states that they will not be in conflict.

  14. Spectrum of Congress Local District Focus National and Party Focus Congress Today • Personal Responsibility • Particularistic policies: Pork • Focus on MC’s individual reputations • Madisonian • Pluralism • Tends to give power to the President • Mayhew (1974) • Collective Responsibility • Party Theory • MCs are disciplined party members • MCs represent party and party goals first • Cox and McCubbins (2005) Next time: National Party Focus

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