Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE AMERICAN CONGRESS READER
- PART I THE AMERICAN CONGRESS: MODERN TRENDS
- PART II REPRESENTATION AND LAWMAKING IN CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
- PART III CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLICY ALIGNMENTS
- PART IV MEMBERS, GOALS, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES
- 11 Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics
- 12 Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition
- 13 Issue Politics in Congress – Excerpts
- PART V PARTIES AND LEADERS
- PART VI THE STANDING COMMITTEES
- PART VII THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATIVE GAME
- PART VIII THE FLOOR AND VOTING
- PART IX CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
- PART X CONGRESS AND THE COURTS
- PART XI CONGRESS, LOBBYISTS, AND INTEREST GROUPS
- PART XII CONGRESS AND BUDGET POLITICS
- PART XIII FURTHER READINGS ON CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS
- References
12 - Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition
The Case of Members of the United States House of Representatives
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE AMERICAN CONGRESS READER
- PART I THE AMERICAN CONGRESS: MODERN TRENDS
- PART II REPRESENTATION AND LAWMAKING IN CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
- PART III CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLICY ALIGNMENTS
- PART IV MEMBERS, GOALS, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES
- 11 Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics
- 12 Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition
- 13 Issue Politics in Congress – Excerpts
- PART V PARTIES AND LEADERS
- PART VI THE STANDING COMMITTEES
- PART VII THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATIVE GAME
- PART VIII THE FLOOR AND VOTING
- PART IX CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
- PART X CONGRESS AND THE COURTS
- PART XI CONGRESS, LOBBYISTS, AND INTEREST GROUPS
- PART XII CONGRESS AND BUDGET POLITICS
- PART XIII FURTHER READINGS ON CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS
- References
Summary
Rohde offers a theory of progressive ambition, the decision of political actors to seek higher elected office. He posits that actors employ a decision calculus in which they jointly consider the probability of winning office, the utility of office, and the costs of running. Actors will seek higher office when these factors are favorable for doing so. Rohde tests a series of hypotheses related to the decision calculus by examining the decisions of House members whether or not to run for Senate seats or governorships.
“Ambition lies at the heart of politics. Politics thrive on the hope of preferment and the drive for office.” Since Joseph Schlesinger wrote those introductory lines to his superb study of career patterns in the United States, a substantial amount of research has been conducted on ambition and office-seeking behavior. Most of this research has, however, been primarily empirical in nature, and has not attempted to provide a more explicit theoretical framework for ambition analysis. In addition, most of this research has followed Schlesinger's example in selecting for analysis persons who actually achieved or tried for an office, and examining their career patterns and character-istics.
The present study departs from both of these trends. The theoretical focus is progressive ambition; the focus of the empirical analysis is on members of the U.S. House of Representatives between 1954 and 1974 and their decisions on whether or not to seek either a U.S. Senate seat or the governorship of their state.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The American Congress Reader , pp. 152 - 161Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008