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List of contents
1. Introduction; 2. Member Reputation and the Advocacy Window: An Integrated Theory of Representation; 3. Member Reputation; 4. The Choice to be a Disadvantaged Group Advocate in the House of Representatives; 5. The Choice to be a Disadvantaged Group Advocate in the United States Senate; 6. Reputation Building Tactics in the Senate and House of Representatives; 7. Conclusions.
About the author
Katrina F. McNally is an Assistant Professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Summary
McNally explores why members of Congress choose to build reputations as advocates of disadvantaged groups. She introduces the concept of the advocacy window to explain the discretion members have in building their reputations on behalf of the poor, Native Americans, minorities, seniors, immigrants, veterans, women, and the LGBTQ community.
Additional text
'The challenges faced by the disadvantaged are different from those of the more advantaged. To better understand these challenges and how they can be addressed, we need to know who are the disadvantaged, how they are systematically distinct from other groups in American society, and what drives disadvantaged group advocacy in Congress. Katrina McNally tackles these timely questions in Representing the Disadvantaged. This book is sure to make an important contribution to our understanding of representation and enduring challenges of achieving a more equitable democracy.' Stella M. Rouse, Professor in the Department of Government and Politics and Director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, University of Maryland
