The Constitution states, "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States..." (Art. I, Sec. 2). Contrast this with the original constitutional language for the other house of Congress, "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years..." (Art. I, Sec. 3). The phrase "chosen by the Legislature" was changed to "elected by the people" by the 17th Amendment, but not until 1912. In other words, from the beginning the House of Representatives was intended to be exactly what its name suggests –representative of the people. (Note that in 2010 the Tea Party, and some Republican politicians, called for repeal of the 17th Amendment, eliminating the popular vote for Senators. While most Republican politicians have backed away from that view, many Tea Party chapters continue to demand its repeal.)    Textbook models suggest how members of the House of Representatives may fulfill their constitutional duty to "represent" – the delegate model, the trustee model, the oversight model, and the service model. A weakness of these models is that they ignore the pervasive influence of interest groups, partisanship, and political money (campaign contributions) on the behavior of congressional reps. To what extent do these factors interfere with effective representation?  Before writing your initial post, review the  assigned resources .  To easily access the resources from the Ashford University Library, please see the table located in the Course Materials section. After researching your representative by using the assigned resources, identify one important issue directly related to your rep's committee or subcommittee work in Congress. Summarize your representative's position on this focus issue as described on his or her website or illustrated by legislation sponsored by your rep.  Be concrete and specific.  Avoid vague generalities like "my representative is for jobs" or "my Congressman is for national security." With respect to this focus issue, evaluate your representative's performance as a representative of the people in your legislative district. Justify your assessment from two perspectives: How well does your rep’s position on that issue reflect your district's likely preferences or broad interests on the issue? Support your inferences about the district with fact-based evidence – not just your opinion about the district or your rep’s position on the focus issue. Demonstrate how your rep does or does not reflect his or her constituency on this issue. Consider your rep’s committee memberships and seniority. Discuss fact-based evidence about how interest groups, political party loyalty, or campaign money may influence your representative. Can these influences weaken his or her effectiveness as a true "representative" of the district? Consider whether the district is considered a “safe” seat or a competitiv.

1. The Constitution states, "The House of Representatives shall be
composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People
of the several States..." (Art. I, Sec. 2). Contrast this with the
original constitutional language for the other house of Congress,
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for
six Years..." (Art. I, Sec. 3). The phrase "chosen by the
Legislature" was changed to "elected by the people" by the 17th
Amendment, but not until 1912. In other words, from the
beginning the House of Representatives was intended to be
exactly what its name suggests –representative of the people.
(Note that in 2010 the Tea Party, and some Republican
politicians, called for repeal of the 17th Amendment,
eliminating the popular vote for Senators. While most
Republican politicians have backed away from that view, many
Tea Party chapters continue to demand its repeal.)
Textbook models suggest how members of the House of
Representatives may fulfill their constitutional duty to
"represent" – the delegate model, the trustee model, the
oversight model, and the service model. A weakness of these
models is that they ignore the pervasive influence of interest
groups, partisanship, and political money (campaign
contributions) on the behavior of congressional reps. To what
extent do these factors interfere with effective representation?
Before writing your initial post, review the
assigned resources
.
To easily access the resources from the Ashford University
Library, please see the table located in the Course Materials
section.
After researching your representative by using the assigned
resources, identify one important issue directly related to your
rep's committee or subcommittee work in Congress. Summarize
your representative's position on this focus issue as described

2. on his or her website or illustrated by legislation sponsored by
your rep. Be concrete and specific. Avoid vague generalities
like "my representative is for jobs" or "my Congressman is for
national security."
With respect to this focus issue, evaluate your representative's
performance as a representative of the people in your legislative
district. Justify your assessment from two perspectives:
How well does your rep’s position on that issue reflect your
district's likely preferences or broad interests on the issue?
Support your inferences about the district with fact-based
evidence – not just your opinion about the district or your rep’s
position on the focus issue. Demonstrate how your rep does or
does not reflect his or her constituency on this issue. Consider
your rep’s committee memberships and seniority.
Discuss fact-based evidence about how interest groups, political
party loyalty, or campaign money may influence your
representative. Can these influences weaken his or her
effectiveness as a true "representative" of the district? Consider
whether the district is considered a “safe” seat or a competitive
district. Put on your critical thinking cap to respond to this
aspect of the question.
Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own
words. Your initial must be at least 200-250 words.