America’s Elected Officials, Pt. III

Constituent Views: Strict Directives or Suggested Guidelines?

Lecture by Larry Sabato
16 min

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• Quicktime – 48 MB
  
• Windows Media Video – 40 MB
• Audio mp3 – 10 MB

Summary:
Members of congress face pressure from many different sources – including their constituents, political party, the president, interest groups, and their own ideological views – on how to vote on the issues placed before them. In deciding how to vote, members must determine if they will act as a delegate – basing their decisions on what their supporters want now – or as a trustee – making what they feel to be the best decisions for the future of their constituents, party, and country.

Click here to answer essay questions about the podcast.

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Larry Sabato is the founder and direction of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, a professor of politics, and a nationally renowned elections scholar.

 

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Is Voting for Young People? Part II

American Idle: Young People and the Media

Lecture by Martin Wattenberg
24 min

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• Quicktime – 32 MB
  
• Windows Media Video – 71 MB
• Audio mp3 – 25 MB

Summary:
Older generations of voters grew up in an era where television was dominated by the networks and reading the newspaper was part of a daily ritual. Despite the now abundant diversity and accessibility of news, young people today are far less likely to follow politics – in any medium – than previous generations.

Click here to answer essay questions about the podcast.

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Martin Wattenberg is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California at Irvine, where he conducts research on elections and political parties in the United States and other advanced industrialized democracies.

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