The American Congress Reader The American Congress Reader provides a supplement to the popular and newly updated American Congress undergraduate textbook. Designed by the authors of the textbook, the Reader compiles the best relevant scholarship on party and committee systems, leadership, voting, and floor activity to broaden and illuminate the key features of the text. Steven S. Smith is Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has authored or coauthored seven books and many articles on congressional politics, including Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and Senate, Party Influence in Congress, and Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the U.S. Senate, and has coauthored several articles and a book on Russian parliamentary politics. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and George Washington University. Jason M. Roberts is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include American politics, the U.S. Congress, elections, and Supreme Court nominations. He has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and Congress and the Presidency. Ryan J. Vander Wielen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Temple University. He was previously a Fellow in the Political Institutions and Public Choice program at Michigan State University and at the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has recently been published in Political Analysis and Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. The American Congress Reader Edited by Steven S. Smith Washington University in St. Louis Jason M. Roberts University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Ryan J. Vander Wielen Temple University CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521720199 © Cambridge University Press 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2009 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The American Congress reader / edited by Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts, Ryan J. Vander Wielen. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-521-72019-9 (pbk.) 1. United States. Congress. 2. United States. Congress – Evaluation. 3. United States – Politics and government – 21st century – Public opinion. 4. Public opinion – United States. I. Smith, Steven S., 1953– II. Roberts, Jason M. III. Vander Wielen, Ryan J. IV. Title. JK1041.A617 2009 328.73–dc22 2008039660 ISBN 978-0-521-72019-9 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel timetables, and other factual information given in this work are correct at the time of first printing, but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee the accuracy of such information thereafter. Contents   PART I. THE AMERICAN CONGRESS: MODERN TRENDS   1 What Is Wrong with the American Political System? John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse   2 A Reassessment of Who's to Blame: A Positive Case for the Public Evaluation of Congress David W. Brady and Sean M. Theriault   3 Between the Campaigns: Public Approval and Disapproval of Government James A. Stimson   PART II. REPRESENTATION AND LAWMAKING IN CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT   4 U.S. Constitution, Articles I, II, III, and Amendments   5 The Federalist, Nos. 10 and 51 James Madison   6 U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration Richard F. Fenno, Jr.   7 Collective vs. Dyadic Representation in Congress Robert Weissberg   PART III. CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLICY ALIGNMENTS   8 Elbridge Gerry's Salamander: The Electoral Consequences of the Reapportionment Revolution – Excerpts Gary W. Cox and Jonathan N. Katz   9 Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946– 1986 Gary C. Jacobson   10 Congress: The Electoral Connection David R. Mayhew   PART IV. MEMBERS, GOALS, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES   11 Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics Frances E. Lee   12 Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition: The Case of Members of the United States House of Representatives David W. Rohde   13 Issue Politics in Congress – Excerpts Tracy Sulkin   PART V. PARTIES AND LEADERS   14 Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House from Cannon to Rayburn Joseph Cooper and David W. Brady   15 Setting the Agenda Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins   16 Party Influence in Congress Steven S. Smith   PART VI. THE STANDING COMMITTEES   17 Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House Mark S. Hurwitz, Roger J. Moiles, and David W. Rohde   18 Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees Forrest Maltzman and Steven S. Smith   19 Nonlegislative Hearings and Policy Change in Congress Jeffrey C. Talbert, Bryan D. Jones, and Frank R. Baumgartner   PART VII. THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATIVE GAME   20 Sample of a Special Rule   21 Sample of a Unanimous Consent Agreement   22 On the Effects of Legislative Rules Gary W. Cox   23 The Partisan Basis of Procedural Choice: Allocating Parliamentary Rights in the House, 1789–1990 Sarah A. Binder   24 The Evolution of Agenda-Setting Institutions in Congress: Path Dependency in House and Senate Institutional Development Jason M. Roberts and Steven S. Smith