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Zusatztext "Burden has written an important book. He argues that the policy preferences of members of Congress are not necessarily determined by the preferences of their constituents and a member's desire to be reelected! but also by their personal beliefs and experiences." ---S.Q. Kelly! Choice Informationen zum Autor Barry C. Burden is professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the coauthor of Why Americans Split Their Tickets and the editor of Uncertainty in American Politics . Klappentext Despite heightened partisanship in the U.S. Congress and constituencies split along ideological lines, congressional representatives frequently buck their parties and seldom do precisely what voters ask. In Personal Roots of Representation, Barry Burden challenges standard explanations of legislative preferences to emphasize the important role that personal influences play in representatives' voting behavior. This timely book is the first to examine the extent to which the very same values, experiences, and interests that shape congressional members as individuals and guide their own life choices similarly shape their policymaking decisions. Burden takes a close look at legislative decision making in the areas of tobacco regulation, vouchers and school choice, and religion and bioethics. He finds that personal factors become more significant when legislators are acting proactively rather than reactively, grappling with specific policy issues, and defending rather than challenging the status quo. Marshaling both qualitative and quantitative evidence, Burden reveals that the personal roots of representatives' actions can be as influential as the usual suspects of partisanship and constituency--and that personal factors quite often have the greatest impact when the policymaking stakes are at their highest. Personal Roots of Representation is a provocative book that raises pressing new questions about legislative discretion and the accountability of our elected officials. Zusammenfassung Despite heightened partisanship in the US Congress and constituencies split along ideological lines, congressional representatives buck their parties and seldom do precisely what voters ask. This book challenges standard explanations of legislative preferences to emphasize the role that personal influences play in representatives' voting behavior. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Figures and Tables vii Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: Personal Roots of Representation 1 Chapter Two: A Theory of Legislative Preferences 14 Chapter Three: Smoking and Tobacco Regulation 54 Chapter Four: Vouchers and School Choice 88 Chapter Five: Religion and Morality 112 Chapter Six: Conclusion 137 References 151 Index 161 ...
