Recall from Chapter 1 the distinct styles the Massachusetts' and Arkansas' Senate delegations articulated. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry portrayed their work as policy focused – emphasizing their work on immigration reform, advocating for an increase in the minimum wage, and criticizing the Bush administration. In contrast, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor allocated substantially more attention to claiming credit for money spent in Arkansas. Their offices were much more likely to issue a statement about a new grant award than engage in salient policy disputes.

In this chapter I show that the contrast in the delegations' styles captures the most important variation in how senators engage constituents outside Congress. Senators' presentational styles lie along a pork-policy spectrum. At one end of the spectrum are senators who articulate presentational styles like those of John Kerry and Ted Kennedy – focusing almost exclusively on nationally salient policy disputes. At the other end of the spectrum are senators who articulate presentational styles like those of Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, emphasizing relatively small grants spent in the state. Between the ends of the spectrum are senators who mix between the two styles – balancing the amount of policy-focused position taking and credit claiming that they articulate to constituents.