American Polity by Serow

Readings for Feb 23

 

#23 by David Mayhew; Congress: The Electoral Connection (p155)

  • Mayhew is a Congressional scholar
  • Claims Congress is one-dimensional – “single-minded seekers of reelection”
  • To be reelected:
    1. Advertising – to get their names out; involves little or no issue content
      • “To be perceived at all is to be perceived favorably” – on avg, the voters only know half their reps
      • incumbents are better known
      • Standard routines (frequent visits to constituency, nonpolitical speeches, letters of care and congratulations, etc.) and non-standard (radio programming, going to weddings unannounced, etc.)
      • The average Congressman spends $70,000 of gov money sending mail
      • The House can blanket mail all their constituents; the Senate cannot
      • Introduce oneself to new voters, remind old ones
    2. Credit Claiming – acting so as to generate a belief in a relevant political actor that one is personally responsible for causing the government to do something that the actor considers desirable
      • Emphasis on individual accomplishment (rather than party/governmental)
      • Generate a belief that one caused the government to do something desirable
      • “Casework” does not always require legislation (give essay material, soldiers emerg leave, etc)
    3. Position Taking – public enunciation of a judgmental statement on issues of interest to voters
      • Many ways to register positions (roll call votes, floor addresses, speeches, newsletters, articles, etc)
      • Usually prepares two letters to send out to constituents – one for the pros, one for antis (not directly contradictory)
      • Ex: Present their position one way veteran’s (speak of old wars but need to prevent future wars) but different to a group upset by war

 

#24 by Richard Fenno; Home Style (p158)

  • Fenno wrote this book as a study of Congress in their home districts
  • Presentation of Self – put themselves in the presence of their voters (be a “good person”)
    • Seek to control the response generated in others through (verbally and nonverbally)
      • Says nonverbal is what the listener uses to check the speaker’s truthfulness, etc
        • Listeners assume what the speaker says is good for them
      • Accomplish this by gaining trust; not won overnight; one described it as being cumulative (presentation of self enhances trust; enhancing trust takes time)
  • Two Kinds of Voting Justification
    1. Delegate – vote based on Constituent’s wants
    2. Trustee –exercise one’s best judgment on issues; makes decisions independent of constituents
    3. Combination of delegate (on issues import to constituency) and trustee (on less important issues) is best
  • Legislators do not completely explain their positions so that they can have “voting leeway”
  • Cannot understand Washington activities of Congressman w/o also understanding his perception of various constituencies and the home style he uses to cultivate their support

 

#28 by Paul Starobin; Pork: A Time-Honored Tradition Lives On (p183)

  • Pork – project secured by a rep solely for his own district’s benefit
    • Term from American history – slaves were rewarded with a pork barrel for good work; competed among each other to get their piece of the pork
    • Originally associated with public-works projects (roads, bridges, dams, etc)
    • Now (post-industrial era) there are different kinds of pork
      • Green Pork – sewer projects, solar energy labs, etc (for the environmentally-concerned)
      • Academic Pork – construction of research facilities at universities
      • Defense Pork – defense contracts and location of military installations
  • Congress is under pressure to cut, and pork is a prime target
  • However, some say pork helps Congress move forward by giving individual members stakes in major bills
  • $ for pork has not increased as much as demand for pork has

 

#29 by John Ellwood and Eric Patashnik; In Praise of Pork (p185)

  • Pork is generally seen as bad
    • A Washington Post Editor Kelly said $97 billion in pork projects could be cut with no affect on the nation
    • Generally agreed pork alone is not nearly enough to fix the deficit
  • Ellwood / Patashnick (EP) believe it is a perquisite for real, significant budget cuts
    • Say pork makes unattractive but necessary bills appealing
    • May get votes for a bill to raise taxes and cut programs by giving pork money in it
    • Loss of pork would cost the leaders of deficit reduction one of their most effective coalition building tools
    • Some pork is important, and they do not always cause a net loss; also, often important for community pride
  • Ideal Pork Project has 3 things
    1. Targeted at a specific geographical constituency
    2. Benefits given out so that the congressman is believed to be responsible
    3. Costs are widely diffused and obscured from taxpayers
  • Part of being a smart politician

 

#31 by David Price; The Congressional Experience (p203)

  • House Representative who describes his daily schedule
    • Asserts it is busier than any other career
  • Distaste for Congress-bashing
    • Distancing oneself from mistakes/unwanted laws of Congress has become more prevalent since the 70s; politically profitable to run for Congress by running against Congress
    • Prevalent because of a decline in faith in the government – never ending cycle because cynical campaigns do not resolve issues; therefore, problems get worse, and the electorate becomes more disillusioned with Congress
    • Comes from a need to show that one is better than all the others
  • Congressman should inspire confidence and enthusiasm in Congress, so hot-button attack politics are seen as the sham they are