In The Logic of Congressional Action, Arnold states that the underlying principle in his theory is that members' primary goal is to be re-elected and not to do what is right for the people. This is easy to believe in our current atmosphere of political scandal and government mistrust. However, it almost seems too easy to believe. I would agree that reelection is a huge component of politicians decision making process, but it does not seem to sufficiently explain things such as why legislators would draft legislation in the first place.
Amy Kochanowsky
(oops...continued from above) It is interesting the both the Arnold and Lakoff books start off with puzzles in political action, but I think Arnold takes a much more rational and clearer view in explaining how the perceived contradictions in behavior can actually be explained by his theory. The theory is simple enough to understand, and I can think of many voters who fit his retrospective (the general voter) and proscriptive (more informed voters who make decisions based on their understanding of policies) models.
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