Do People Want Members of Congress to Compromise?
What do people want from their elected representatives? Our traditional expectation is that people want their legislators to cast votes aligned with the ideological preferences of the district. But if people demand ideological policy representation above all else, it allows legislators little leeway to consider compromise outcomes in Congress. This chapter argues that people expect more from their representatives than congruent votes, and value legislators who are willing to strike compromises. Experimental evidence demonstrates that people offer higher evaluations of legislators who are willing to strike compromises than those who pledge to stick to their convictions. People do not punish in-party representatives for pledging to compromise, while they reward out-party legislators who are willing to seek compromises.