ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the contours of this odd disparity in attitudes and explain it in terms of the collective dilemma that was briefly defined in the introduction. One of the long-standing puzzles concerning the U. S. Congress is why Americans seem to love their own representatives while at the same time detesting the institution of Congress. Political scientists have long noted a peculiar characteristic of public attitudes toward Congress, and it is this feature that makes the collective dilemma framework a useful strategy for studying the institution: even though the public may hate Congress, most people are quite fond of their own legislator. In Congress, institutional maintenance requires such things as serving in leadership positions, performing committee work, organizing the legislative process, and ensuring that the institution completes the tasks necessary to keep it functioning and legitimate. Congress does legislate in the national interest, and has created general benefits at the expense of localized and concentrated interests.
