174k views
1 vote
representative john paine, republican, will vote with his democratic friend, lupito caradura, for the immigration reform bill (that he does not like). in exchange, lupito will vote, with his friend paine, for the pro-life bill (that he does not like). most likely, this is what we call

User Felix Guo
by
7.9k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The practice of legislators voting for unrelated laws to gain mutual support for their own agendas is called logrolling, which often leads to pork barrel spending and can prioritize political expediency over national interest.

Step-by-step explanation:

Best characterized as logrolling:

The scenario described is best characterized as logrolling, a common practice in legislative bodies like the U.S. Congress. Logrolling refers to the situation where legislators agree to vote for a package of otherwise unrelated laws that they individually favor in order to gain mutual support for their respective legislative priorities. It often leads to situations where bills that benefit a specific group of legislators' constituents are passed, even when there is no clear majority favoring each component of the bill on its own.

This process can lead to increased pork barrel spending, as legislators may add projects that benefit their own districts to secure the necessary votes for a bill's passage. While logrolling can be an effective tool for legislators to get laws passed that they personally support, it can also result in legislation that is more about political expediency than sound policy decisions, often disregarding the broader national interest.

User Punit Soni
by
7.6k points