A Little Light Reading for the Flight to Denver

By Rep. Robbie Wills

For the three-hour layover in Cincinnati, I've brought along Alan Rosenthal's Heavy Lifting: The Job of the American Legislature. I'm only 100 pages in, but I'd already recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand what it is we do as legislators (and why we do it). Rosenthal is one of the nation's leading experts on state legislatures and has been involved in advising and consulting legislatures in several states, including Arkansas.

The author's thesis so far centers around the public's seemingly low opinion of the legislature as an institution and how most legislatures are convenient targets for criticism from all quarters, even though most constituents generally like their own representatives. Also, how individual legislators balance representing their constituents' views (the Delegate theory of representation) with voting their own personal convictions (the Trustee theory of representation), all the while working in the sometimes frustrating environment of a legislative session. As reading material, it's probably a little dry for most, but what can I say? I left the ipod at home...