Roles+of+Congresspeople

When American citizens run for a seat in Congress, whether it be for the Senate, or the House of Representatives, they often do not know the caliber of work they will experience if elected. In most cases, the individual is taken aback by the sheer workload and schedule given to them. However, a tight schedule is not the only fixture of Congress a member must adapt to. Members must adapt to a certain role, which are varied in that they will provide different tasks and opportunities for the member. Here you will find the various roles and appointments congress people fall under.

First, before a member of congress chooses what sort of active role they will perform in order to participate in congressional activities, they must decide what voting role they will take. As said by Edmund Burke, there are three roles congresspeople can don when voting.
 * __Trustee, Delegate, Politico__**

First is the role of **Trustee**. Trustees take into consideration the views of their constituents, and use their own judgement to decide how to vote. They do not always vote along with the views of the constituent, because they may have more expertise on a certain issue.

Next is a **Delegate**, which always vote with the constituent. They act as a beacon from their constituents to congress, as their personal preferences and opinions do not come into consideration when voting.

Last is the role of a **Politico**. A politico is a mixture of the two aforementioned voting roles, they occasionally will vote with their constituents, and occasionally vote on their own best judgement. Politico's change which role they will take on different votes, such as if they do not have experience on a subject, they may listen to public opinion.

__**Main Types of Members**__ Aside from voting, a member of congress also often takes a role that gives him his duties and tasks. The following examples are several roles said congressmen can take.

Legislative Insider These members concentrate on many policy making activities. The types of activities that legislative Insiders would associate themselves with would be introduce legislation, negotiate bargains and compromises, mobilizing winning **coalitions**, and they also work with various outside groups to help put their ideas through the usually difficult legislative process. Some members also sometimes become policy experts.

Party Insider These member as very active in promoting their parties political goals and agenda in Congress. Members of this role, especially ones who are elected into top leadership positions, preform an array of activities such as campaign fundraising, developing media strategies to promote their parties candidate and/or gather support from the electorate for the next upcoming election.

Ombudsmen Role These members will serve constituents, and focus on their interests. For example, they often respond to citizens that contact them through letters, telephone, emails, and even personal visits. These members are more similar to delegates than trustees; they favor constituents and their opinion.

Statesmen Role These members, in contrast to the members of the ombudsmen role, serve to benefit the entire country. They prefer to see the bigger picture rather than focusing on the details. These members are more like trustees, taking others' opinions into account but ultimately does things for what they believe to better serve the country as a whole.

Outsider Role These members are not satisfied with inner workings of Congress, and instead wish to impact the Congress as a whole rather than impact normal processes. They tend to be more independent.

As can be seen by the various examples, congress people have very different roles, and different roles determine different ways in which they vote.


 * __Vocab__**
 * Constituent**-Generally the voters of a specific group or individual
 * Trustee**-A congress person who takes into consideration the views of the constituent, and then votes on their own judgement
 * Delegate**-A congress person who always votes along with his constituents
 * Politico**-A congress person who switches between trustee and delegate depending on a vote
 * Coalitions**​-a pact or treaty among individuals or groups in which they cooperate in a joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining together for a common cause.

1.Which voting role sides with the constituents instead of personal opinion? a.delegate b.trustee c.politico d.policy expert
 * __Quiz__**

2. Which of the five roles concentrates on the political goal and agenda of their party? a. Outsider role b.Party Insider c.Legislative Insider d. None of the above

3. Between which two roles of congress members are they near opposites? a. Legislative insider & Party insider b. Party insider & Ombudsmen c. Ombudsmen & Statesmen d. Statesmen & Outsider

__**Open Ended Questions:**__ 1.In your opinion, which voting role is the most effective? 2.In your opinion are any of the main types of congress people more important then the others?