My understanding of the idea of Republicanism is that representatives, who are more informed in matters of policy, should vote according to what they believe is best for their constituents rather than what the constituents want. Is this idea documented anywhere in the Constitution, federal law, or “So you’re a US Senator” pamphlets?
JFK’s ghostwritten book Profiles in Courage examines this exact issue. It looks at several examples of politicians who bucked their base of support to do the right thing, often at the expense of their careers.
The message of the book is that elected leaders continually have to make a judgment on whether to turn off their brain and just poll their constituents to figure out which way to vote, or to exercise their own judgment in spite of what may be popular. So no, there isn’t written guidance on how to be a good elected representative.
There’s also an aphorism, I think from LBJ but I can’t remember for sure: “The six year term in the Senate gives you two years to be a statesman, two years to be a senator, and two years to be a politician.”
There’s no definitive answer. Some people believe in the theory that an elected representative is supposed to simply do what the majority of the people in his district want. Other people believe in the theory that an elected representative is supposed to do what he believes is best for the people in his district, even in cases where the people themselves disagree.
The latter belief was probably best expressed by Edmund Burke: “Gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
The Constitution isn’t very long, and the portion (Article 1) dealing with Congress is even shorter. Go ahead and read it.
The Lost Amendment: First, Do No Harm.
Dan
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