Nearly 50% of voters say politicians should vote in line with constituents instead of personal views

Just the News ^ | February 12, 2021 | Daniel Payne

[CheshireTheCat]

Nearly half of all U.S. voters think members of Congress should vote as their constituents would want them to vote, rather than based on their own personal preferences, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

Asked if U.S. representatives should "vote for [policies] they prefer or should they vote to reflect the views of their constituents," 45% said politicians should opt for the views of those who elected them. Just 33% said they should "vote for the policy they prefer."...

[CheshireTheCat]

In a rational world, a world in which all high school students had to take a year of civics, the question of how politicians should vote would form the basis of an entire unit of instruction.

[Dalberg-Acton]

That number should be 100%.

[cdcdawg]

They probably should hold largely the same views as a majority of their constituents. Sadly, politicians are such weasley liars that’s it’s difficult to tell what they stand for.

[The MAGA-Deplorian]

Not even half? Do these moron think politicians are just supposed to freestyle. No wonder government doesnt work.

[mikelets456]

No, we’re a constitutional representative republic. If it ain’t constitutional it doesn’t matter what the constituents want or what the Rep believes. They took that oath and is treason to go against it...

[snoringbear]

“ They probably should hold largely the same views as a majority of their constituents. Sadly, politicians are such weasley liars that’s it’s difficult to tell what they stand for.”
***************

Yeh, Chaney and Romney come to mind. If legislators find they are no longer aligned with their constituents then they have an obligation to resign. Never happens though...😏

[GMMC0987]

Of course, they run on positions that voters want them to take. After their elected all bets are off.

[outofsalt]

The House is supposed to vote their constituents views.
The Senate is supposed to moderate the passions of the moment.

[econjack]

Good Lord! Why is this even a news story? Do people not understand what a Republic is?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

In most districts, it’s even harder to tell what the constituents stand for. You’ve typically got people on every side of an issue, even in deep blue places like California, New York, and Illinois. Even in those places, the urban centers are deep blue but the rural areas are deep red.

In the end elected representatives vote for what they think their constituents want shaded by their own beliefs. But people voted for those beliefs their candidate held.

Frankly, this is a stupid poll.

[rbg81]

I don’t entirely agree with this. Otherwise, just let the people vote directly on every issue, sans reps. However, those who consistently vote against the interests of their constituents, or vote outrageously against on some occasions, should be voted out or recalled.

[cdcdawg]

There’s a lot of truth in what you said, but I find this to be a bit idealistic:
“In the end elected representatives vote for what they think their constituents want shaded by their own beliefs.” Take away lobbyists and log-rolling and actual blackmail, and that is closer to the truth.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Let's remember this important quote:

"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." -- Edmund Burke

But the problem today is that politicians are not independent thinkers exercising their own judgment, but the exact kind of narcissistic sociopaths who find service under our system of government so insanely attractive - and who completely ignore any considerations of good government.

[norwaypinesavage]

"Nearly half of all U.S. voters think members of Congress should vote as their constituents would want them to vote, rather than based on their own personal preferences"

This means that "nearly half of all U. S. voters" don't understand how Representative Republics work. Members of Congress, or of anything else, for that matter, almost always vote for what they believe is in their own best interest.

If voters want their representatives to vote for what they believe in, they need to vote for representatives who believe the same way. This means they need to spend much more time educating themselves on the issues, and on what their own representatives DO, not what they say at election time.

[browniexyz]

Is this the Babylon Bee reporting?

What the heck?

[McGavin999]

The word Representative should be the first clue.

[VTenigma]

Nearly 50%? That’s pathetic.

[mewzilla]

If they did that we’d still have slavery.

[McGavin999]

Let me add: Representatives should represent their constituents, and Senators should vote the interests of their states. None of them were appointed royalty.

[SaxxonWoods]

Today’s politicians have no idea how to do their jobs. They think they should act as royalists handing down edicts from on high, rather than representatives of the people’s will.