The article is written by Richard Fenno in 1978, summarizing the dilemma of congressmen in the contemporary time. The author was specifically discussing about members of the House, who always seek for reelection during his legislative career, as stated in the initial part of the paper. Fenno went on to propose the conflict in incumbent congressmen 's career: more attention for the Washington career leads to less attention for the congressmen 's home state. The Washington career required commitment to build up support within the House. However, focusing on Washington rendered the congressman homeless, or losing his home 's supportive forces. Thus, there were two solutions. Firstly, the congressman can change the expectations of his
In The Broken Branch, Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein offer a first hand and well-explained account of what is wrong in the United States Congress today, when and where the government started to let things slip, and how Congress can work to get back on track. Mann and Ornstein begin their book by discussing some of the history, events, and reasoning behind practices of today’s Congress. Not until chapter three in the book do they really get into the root cause of the problems facing Congress in today’s day in age. In chapter three, Mann and Ornestein detail that they began their political careers in Washington D.C. in 1969, at the peak of the dissatisfaction that citizens were feeling over the Vietnam War (47). The duo conveys that the
Once their term was complete, they returned to the lives and career in their state of origin (Vance, 1994, 429). Not convinced, refer to Roger Sherman (founding father), “The representatives ought to return home and mix with the people. By remaining at the seat of the government, they will acquire the habits of the place, which might differ from those of the constituents...” (Vance, 1994, 429). Fast forward to Congress of the 21st century, there average term for most congressmen is well over 30 years.
Under Mayhew’s criterion for a successful political career, it is easy to argue that Representative Long has fulfilled the criterion and has led a successful career. Constituents directly influence many of the political actions members of Congress make because they are the ones who possess the power of the vote, not the representative himself. As observed his television advertisement was a tool utilized by Long to reach a larger audience and for voters to be able to associate a face with the name, “Billy Long.” By enacting and sponsoring certain pieces of legislation, Representative Long was successful in claiming credit and taking a strong position to rally support around his campaign and platform. All of these moves attributed to the multiple reelections of Representative Long.
These are just a few words to describe the incredible Congressmen John Lewis. It was truly an honor meeting you. I would like to thank you for believing in what's right and standing up for change! Thank you again, for your count less years of service to our community and nation.
EXPLANATION OF THE KEY TERM The key term that I have chosen is “federalism.” In Lee Hamilton’s How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, he initially begins discussing federalism in the section named “Why Federalism Works.” To begin, Hamilton begins to reminisce on his experience in Congress and gives a brief and rather broad explanation to it, but he he goes on to use an example that is more relatable to the average person: 7th grade Civics class.
The United States senators are James Inhofe and James Lankford; the United States representative is Tom Cole. In this essay, I will discuss my preferences on these three people and my point of view of why I would vote for them. James “Jim” Inhofe (Senior Senator) James got his education in his home town, at the University of Tulsa.
In the aftermath of the first real wave of retiring legislators, supporters and opponents have debated on the benefits and detriments of term limits and neither side could come to a conclusion. In Maine where term limit restrictions resulted in a legislature comprised of 40% first term members resulted in the state’s budget being passed in march, the earliest in the state’s history. Supporters saw this as an example that members were working harder and were being more effective, while detractors saw the early budget as inexperienced legislators were passing proposals with inadequate understanding and scrutiny. Supporters emphasize the annual turnover increase in both chambers since the adoption of Proposition 140, as well as the significant increase in the number of members retiring voluntarily before they were 'termed-out '. Supporters are also quick to point out the increase in minority and women legislators increased as had been predicted.
Representative John Tanner, offers sentiments on impending consequences caused by the Supreme Court and Congress lack of initiative in resolving this issue, “When Members come here from these partisan districts that have been gerrymandered . . . they have little incentive to really work across party line in order to reach solutions. If one comes here wanting to work across the aisle, one has to
In effect, the individual member leans towards individualistic policies that are beneficial to maintaining office. In Mayhew’s argument he presents the “marginal congressman”, making the point that individuals should ignore national trends and, “…treat them as acts of God over which they can exercise no control.” (p. 129). As he states further, “It makes much more sense to devote resources to things over which they think they can have some control.”
The Texas legislature is not this way. It is not full-time rather part-time and the pay is minimal at only $7,200 per year, therefore Texas congressman must have other careers besides being in the legislature. Also the Texas constitution requires the Texas legislature to meet for 140 day sessions every 2
1. If given the power, I would support and convert the US system into a direct democracy which means the winner of the presidential popular vote would win the presidency. On page 182 in the book, it states that a direct democracy enables all actors with a voice (the ability to vote) to make decisions on the matter at hand. Furthermore, a direct democracy provides voice to those affected by the issue.
The popularity of the members of Congress and Congress overall has been declining as the years pass and time changes. The dissatisfaction and disapproval of the public is so high because according to David Mayhew who wrote Congress the Electoral Connection members of Congress are single-minded people who are only focused on reelection, involve in “smart” behavior such as position taking, credit-claiming and advertisement. Also, according to Mayhew parties are weak, however, that is all not true people tend to vote more so for their party than the person in general. Arnold the writer of Logic of Congressional Outcome, states that Congress has many things to take into account such as citizen preference, robe-challenger, has to take into account
A lot of people believe that getting a congressman they do not like voted out is a myth. This is because in the past as well as now, the majority of some districts do not pay enough attention to know that someone does not deserve their position. Although, this is a means of civic
However, because of the large electoral advantages wielded by incumbents, the low rate of a turnover, is the greatest threat from special interests and the unique power that federal legislators has to hold. Term limits counterbalance incumbent advantages. These Congressional term limits are necessary to inequalities with inevitably hinder challengers and aid incumbents. For instance, each House Member receives nearly a million dollars per year to pay for franked(free) mail, staff salaries and office and travel expenses. While campaigning, incumbents continue to receive salaries up to $130,000 a year, which typically lowers the income of challengers(who often must resign from their jobs while running for office).
The flaws with the current establishment are rooted more deeply than how we elect people in the current democracy. The author argues we’d be better off if we scrapped congressional elections altogether and instead filled the House of Representatives with 435 Americans selected lottery-style from the population. While low voter turnout does contribute to the issues, the answer is not to abolish it. The power of choice is one of the most undervalued traits of a democracy that many have put their lives on the line and even died for. My answer to the prompt question is that The Lottocracy is not a viable alternative to the U.S.’s current system of electoral representative democracy.