American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

260 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS

others. A third model of representation is the politico, who is more likely to act as a

delegate on issues that are especially important to the constituency (such as immi-

gration reform) but is more likely to be a trustee on issues that constituents don’t feel

strongly about or on very complex issues (such as some foreign policies). Therefore,

the crucial component of representation is the nature of the constituency and how

the member of Congress attempts to balance and represent constituents’ confl icting

needs and desires.

THE ROLE OF THE CONSTITUENCY

Our characterization of the representative–constituency relationship raises

numerous questions. For example: How much do voters monitor their represen-

tatives’ behavior? Can representation work if voters are not paying attention?

Although most constituents do not follow congressional politics, representational

links remain strong through indirect mechanisms. Members of Congress behave

as if voters were paying attention, even when constituents are inattentive. Incum-

bents know that at election time the challengers may raise issues that become

important after the public thinks about them, so they try to deter challengers by

anticipating what the constituents would want if they were fully informed.^3 For

example, the public didn’t know much about the “fi scal cliff ” that the nation could

fall from in January 2013, until it became a big issue in the 2012 elections. Savvy

incumbents would have tried to preempt their vulnerability on that issue before

politico A member of Congress
who acts as a delegate on issues
that constituents care about (such
as immigration reform) and as a
trustee on more complex or less
salient issues (some foreign policy
or regulatory matters).

1933 1943 1953 1963 1973 1983 1993

Number of members

2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

House

Senate

Source: Jennifer E. Manning and Colleen J. Shogan, “Women in the United States Congress: 1917–2009,” Con-

gressional Research Service Report RL30261, December 23, 2009, http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.

cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PLS%3D%22%40%20%20%0A (accessed 1/4/10). Source for 2009–13: Roll Call, www

.rollcall.com (accessed 11/9/12).

WOMEN IN CONGRESS, 1933–2013

While Congress still does not have gender parity, there have been substantial gains

in recent years (with the exception of 2011, when the number of women in the House

dropped for the fi rst time in thirty years). What diff erence does it make for policy to

have more women in Congress?

FIGURE » 9.1A