AP Government Review: Lobster Farm

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) is seeking to use a featured item on the menu at Thursday night’s state dinner to try to gain leverage in a dispute with the Biden administration over regulations affecting the lobster industry in his state. Butter-poached lobster will be served at the dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron, and Golden took notice when a reporter noted this week on Twitter that 200 live lobsters were being shipped from his state to the White House. “If the Biden White House can prioritize purchasing 200 Maine lobsters for a fancy dinner, @POTUS should also take the time to meet with the Maine lobstermen his administration is currently regulating out of business,” Golden tweeted Wednesday night. Golden has been a vocal opponent of Biden administration rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. The rules include limits on lobster traps and lines, which regulators say will help reduce the number of whales that get trapped in fishing gear. But the lobster industry argues the rules threaten its business and are excessive.

How is Jared Golden acting in a delegate role in this scenario?

How does the delegate role reinforce the idea of popular sovereignty?

How does Golden’s statement go against the political ideology of the Democratic Party?

How might lobster industry interest groups influence Representative Golden’s voting and ideology?

How is the bureaucracy exercising its discretionary and rule-making authority here?

Is this an example of an issue network or an Iron Triangle?

How could President Biden use his informal or formal powers to respond to Representative Golden?

How could Congress check the bureaucracy in this situation? What structural barriers may exist for them to respond?

How could the media make this issue more prominent to the American public?

What Constitutional Clause could give the Congress the power to pass such a bill into law?

How might a person who has a Libertarian political ideology view the Lobster regulations?

Would you view this current event as an example of elitist, participatory, or pluralist democracy? Why?