Legislative Branch

Mann and Ornstein argue that the Legislative Branch is the most important branch of Congress. Each branch is given specific powers and responsibilities, many of which overlap. However, “it is clear, when push comes to shove, that Congress can trump the other two branches” (14). Congress struggles to keep its head above the water when communicating with the other branches. Article One of the Constitution was about the Legislative branch, and was twice as long as Article Two, about the Executive branch, and four times as long as Article Three, on the judiciary. The Framers of the Constitution did this to make it “clear that Congress was to be first among equals of the three branches” (14). Congress was seen as an independent and powerful party

The Senate evolved to “spread the wealth to accommodate the interests- and whims- of every member” (10). The House evolved in a similar fashion, growing to suffer from political polarization. At the very beginning of Democrat Bill Clinton’s first term as president, he wanted to enforce a new economic plan, which included increasing taxes for the wealthy and disciplining spending. As the vote proceeded in the House of Representatives to put Clinton’s plan into play, Democrats were short of victory, with not a single Republican supporting the plan and forty Democrats opposing. Democratic leaders managed to convince Pat Williams of Montana and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania to change their votes, allowing for the economic plan to pass with a vote of 218 to

Williams and Margolies-Mezvinsky are both members of the Democratic Party, and were two of the forty Democrats in the House of Representatives who did support the plan. After the Democratic leaders “finally managed to convince” the pair to switch their votes, the budget plan made it through (92). President Clinton went as far as personally calling Margolies-Mezvinsky on the telephone to ask for her vote and “convinced her to get on board” (Sarlin). Williams similarly received a telephone call asking for his vote, and “after his talk with the President, Mr. Williams decided to wait to the last minute to vote, just in case his aye was needed” (Krauss). Although the two originally believed that the plan should not be used, they struggled to hold onto their ideas as they were relentlessly pressured by members of their own political party to side with them. In 1993, Williams and Margolies-Mezvinsky are two along the continuing timeline of politicians who have exhibited this