Originally posted by DVPGSR I agree that no nation can truly be represented by its leader.
The only ultimate democracies are (1)Anarchy and (2)Monarchy, where fate or God chooses a leader in some ultimately democratic lottery system.
Those Congressmen and Senators were elected by their people to represent them. So in voting they were doing the will of their people.
Just a minor clarification that in both of the major democratic systems (pluralistic electoral republicanism as in the United States, and parliamentary democratic monarchy in the case of the Commonwealth),
the only real show of the people's will is in the election of the representative.
After the election, no representative can "go to the country" over every issue he has to vote on.
He is, therefore, exercising
his conscience and not necessarily the will of the people, because he will seldom really know what is the will of the people.