Logrolling in the United States

Logrolling

Introduction to Logrolling

Logrolling, in U.S. political history, the practice of vote trading by legislators. To ensure passage of a bill favorable to one’s constituency, a legislator will offer to vote for a bill favored by another legislator; in return, the second legislator is expected to vote for some measure supported by the first. Each seeks to benefit his or her own constituency rather than the electorate as a whole. The name for this practice is derived from an 18th-century American frontier custom: Families would join together to fell trees, trim them into logs, and roll the logs to the location of a newcomer’s cabin. Today the term has a derogatory connotation. See also Lobbying.” (1)

Logrolling (in Politics)

Related to political science, the following is a definition of Logrolling in the U.S. practice of politics: Informal agreement between legislators to vote for each others’ priorities. Logrolling occurs frequently when lawmakers, unencumbered by pressure from party leaders, push through a bill that benefits their constituencies, but is financed by all taxpayers. Popular logrolling projects include, dams, bridges, highways, housing projects and hospitals.

The term originates from the early days of neighbors helping each other clear land to build homes. From Answers.com: “Politicians have long recognized that logrolling is mutually beneficial in legislative halls too. The word was applied to the political practice of reciprocal backscratching as early as 1809.”

According to Julian E. Zelizer, author of “Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security From World War II to the War on Terrorism”, former president Johnson was an expert in the politics of logrolling: “… direct persuasion could go only so far. Johnson was also a big believer in using logrolls to obtain a vote.”

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Logrolling in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Logrolling