Please contact me at lee.hannah@psu.edu for original files.

1. DAY 11 – ISSUE
UPTAKE &
LEGISLATIVE
PORTFOLIO
July 12, 2013

2. In the News
 Immigration Reform
 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=501494
21n
 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3036789/#52448498
 Senate Vote Breakdown
 http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/
1/168

3. In the News
 Farm Bill
 Fallout in June -
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50149421n
 June Vote
 http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/house/1/286
 http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/how-the-farm-bill-failed-93209.html
 July 11 Vote
 http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/house/1/353
 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/us/politics/house-bill-would-split-
farm-and-food-stamp-programs.html?ref=politics
 Pennsylvania News
 Gay Marriage Rulings Put Governor Corbett in a bind
 http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/gay-marriage-tom-corbett-
pennsylvania-94032.html
 Patriot News
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/07/same-
sex_marriage_gay_marriage_1.html

4. Discussion
 If we are trying to determine whether a
legislator is responsive to their constituents or
not, what evidence might we use to build a
case?

5. Legislators as Representatives
 Mayhew (1974) identifies three general
categories of activities that legislators use to
express their interests and promote reelection
 Advertising
 Credit-claiming
 Position-taking
 Which aspect is Sulkin investigating?

6. “In short, elections can promote
responsiveness not just by serving as a
mechanism through which constituents can
replace poorly performing legislators, but also
by providing an incentive for all legislators to
adapt their behavior in office to avoid a
challenge.” Sulkin (2005, p.25)

7. Legislative Portfolio Resources
 Posted on Angel in the “Assignments” Folder and
in the “Links/Research” Folder.
 Start thinking about the three House members
you want to study.
 A great starting point is GovTrack.us which allows you
to see the shapes of the districts, the ideology scores
of the legislators, and links you to OpenSecrets
(Campaign Finance) and VoteSmart (Interest Group
Ratings, recent statements, etc.)
 There are a number of other excellent resources
in the Word file that should give you a good head
start.

8. Reading for Monday
 Read all of Chapter 5 in DOL
 DO NOT READ Fenno (1977) article