R Party and
Constituency

Sunday,
March 08, 2009

9:42 PM

In 2000 partisan
votes were low, only 40-50% of all votes

Some leaders expect
members to vote exactly

Now mostly the
haggling is done in committee and a consensus bill is voted on

However much of what
Congress does is partisan

Lots
of pressure from the parties; usually low-key

Ideology

Some
times members vote against their party like Blue Dog Democrats - these are
sub-groups

The President

They
serve as the party leader

Also
can also give support to member's projects

Interest Groups

More
effective if highly technical and still in committee

Staffers

Do
the research and breif members

Most
influence on low-key issues

Other Members

On
most normal bills, cues from regular trusted members most important

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R Party and
Constituency

Sunday,
March 08, 2009

9:42 PM

In 2000 partisan
votes were low, only 40-50% of all votes

Some leaders expect
members to vote exactly

Now mostly the
haggling is done in committee and a consensus bill is voted on

However much of what
Congress does is partisan

Lots
of pressure from the parties; usually low-key

Ideology

Some
times members vote against their party like Blue Dog Democrats - these are
sub-groups

The President

They
serve as the party leader

Also
can also give support to member's projects

Interest Groups

More
effective if highly technical and still in committee

Staffers

Do
the research and breif members

Most
influence on low-key issues

Other Members

On
most normal bills, cues from regular trusted members most important