Why Do Americans Love Their Congressmen so Much More than Their Congress?

Abstract

This paper provides some evidence for answering the puzzle posed by Richard Fenno (1975, p. 286): we love our congressmen so much more than our Congress. The data come from two national public opinion surveys dealing with attitudes and perceptions of Congress, conducted in 1968 and 1977. They show that Congress isjudged, increasingly in unfavorable terms, on the basis of its performance on domestic policy, legislative-executive relations, and the style and pace of the legislative process. Congressmen, on the other hand, are judged-usually favorably-primarily on the basis of their service to constituents and their personal characteristics.

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