Insights on R. Douglas Arnold’s The Logic of Congressional Action

I picked up Arnold’s book a few years back mainly because it was on the dollar rack at Bookman’s but also because at the time I was an undergrad with the luxury of full night rest and two less jobs than I have now and thought it’d be an interesting read. Those were the days… now like most of my classmates I consider myself lucky to get the chance to scroll through twitter to catch up on the latest.

However, a few days back I dusted off the book from its shelf as I looked through my personal library looking for a guide to politically rationalize switching to a chained Consumer Price Index for all inflation indexed elements of the federal budget and voilà, there it was. After years of collecting expensive policy and analysis books the only book I owned that attempted to explain how legislatures rationalized decision making was a $1 used book that wasn’t even mentioned in any of my course work. But I started reading and this book (although outdated and long winded) it gave few set of useful insights into the logic of congressional action I wish I would have known starting off. It would have avoided a lot of frustration and perhaps grounded my idealistic solutions. But alas, here they are I hope they are useful or at the very least amusing.

The logic to congressional action or any legislative body action can be summed up as being made up of three essential actors - citizens, legislators, and coalition leaders- each of whom make four separate decisions. Framing your issue in the fashion that allows each actor to decide in favor of your interest is the point of the game. Although the model is much more complex now due to the rapid pace of social media and the ability to quickly and cheaply spread information, all three actors have become even more careful and diligent in their efforts to control power. Let me know your thoughts on the points points below.

1.       Citizens establish policy preferences by evaluating both policy proposals and policy effects

2.       Citizens choose among congressional candidates by evaluating both the candidates’ policy positions and their connections with policy effects

3.       Legislatures choose among policy proposals by estimating citizens’ potential policy preferences and by estimating the likelihood that citizens might incorporate these policy preferences into their choices among candidates in subsequent congressional elections

4.       Coalition leaders adopt strategies for enacting their policy proposals by anticipating legislatures’ electoral calculations, which in turn requires that they estimate both citizens’ potential policy preferences and the likelihood that citizens might incorporate these policy preferences into their choices among congressional candidates.