The Inner Workings of Congress

“The Bosses of the Senate” Political cartoons have been used for centuries to display the various perspectives and views on major events or topics of discussion in the society. In various earlier eras of our history, political cartoons were aimed towards the general public to bring much-needed attention to various situations and proceedings. Cartoons could be viewed by anyone and everyone despite literacy, therefore they quickly gained popularity. “The Bosses of the Senate” was one of such political cartoons that depicted the direct relation between monopolies and the Senate during the Gilded Age to the general public. The Gilded Age was a time of modern industrialization, with national transportation, communication, and other innovative benefits

In the December 2015 NPR article, “ 8 Things Congress Actually Did Last Year,” author Alisa Chang explains the actions of the Republicans who were incharge of Congress and avoid self-made crisis, such as government shutdowns, and create more accomplishments. Surprisingly,Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner were able to keep their promise on avoiding shutdowns this year. Congress has been doing a good job so far.

The congressional behaviors of Representative Maxine Waters, a Democratic representative for the 43rd district of California, and that of Democratic Representative Darren Soto are both inspired by the goal of reelection. This common goal of reelection coined by David Mayhew is achieved differently by each representative depending on the demographics, political leaning, and incumbency of the district. When comparing the legislative behavior of Darren Soto, the representative of Florida’s newly drawn 9th congressional district, and that of Representative Maxine Waters from California’s 43rd Congressional district, this holding becomes evident. This paper will argue that while both Rep. Waters, and Rep. Soto are inspired by the common goal of

“ Congress: The Electoral Connection”, the article is written by David R. Mayhew. Mayhew represents his view about Congressmen activities. These politicians discuss certain issues going on within the country and to emphasize people to focus on their listed issues and get attention of public in order to take position in House.

In an era where strong partisan divisiveness continues to paralyze Congress, The Challenge of Congressional Representation offers a well-formulated, insightful study of the intricate relationship between Congress and their home constituencies. It invokes nostalgia for a time before the Tea Party insurgency and the dreadful Citizens United decision – a time when Congress members put “country before party”, by listening to the people they represent rather than their echo chamber and the unlimited fiscal influences of Political Action Committees. To be sure, author Richard F. Fenno presents this noble exploration as a follow up piece to his earlier study, Home Style, and maintains focus on the micro-analysis of Congress members and their relationships with their constituents (p. 1). Indeed, The Challenge of Congressional Representation seeks to fill the chasm of Congress ' personal narratives within their home constituencies through the innovative approach of personal observation and storytelling. However, the author’s transitions between first and third person can be dizzying at times. Nevertheless, the book is enjoyable and presents the reader with a captivating cast of characters and an inside glimpse of the painstaking process of casework while juggling family, hectic travel schedules, and legislative duties.

As advocates of the United States of America, congressmen/women choose between two styles of representation: the trustee model (reflects closer to the Senate), or the delegate model (reflects closer to the House of Representatives). The election of these models will depend on the agents’ list of priorities and placement of interests. The first mentioned model consists on a very trustful body of citizens in which full liberty and faith is set on the elected trustee representatives for them to work on the people’s behalf and take deeply into consideration

Throughout the course of American politics, superstar senators have risen from the frameworks of capitol buildings on federal, state, and local levels. Some were ruthlessly manipulative in their desire to achieve success, choosing to push their own agenda for the sake of a spot in history. Others served a more earnest cause, putting their country before their party. From the founding fathers to post World War II America, senators of the extremely partisan kind worked in Washington, these men certainly were not the last of the “cut throat” politicians, their actions setting a precedent for future men and women in their partisan agenda. However, noble men who worked endlessly for the prosperity, safety, and unity of America are often swept

Today, career politicians are constantly looking for what will aid them in getting reelected. They become more loyal to their campaign fund contributers than to the people whom they represent. This increases the likelihood of having corrupted politicians in office, as they use the government as a vehicle to further their own career (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 123, 129). George Will, a well-known political journalist, was quoted as saying “[The] worst feature of professionalism in politics is that it obliterates the proper distance between the representatives and the represented” (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 125). Even James Madison agreed that legislators were meant to represent the people, not hold office as a career. In The Federalist No. 57 (1788), he wrote, “From this change of men must proceed a change of opinions; and from a change of opinions, a change of measures.” The lack of new faces in Congress today symbolizes that the American legislative branch is straying from its intended purpose.

Government, all the way from Capitol Hill down to the small cities across the nation, is filled with the elected officials who represent the citizens of that city and state. When people think about who represents them, who comes to mind first? The Senator? The Representative? The mayor? Despite being categorized at different levels of the government, state and federal, each of these officials are tasked with representing their state and hometowns, and each of their jobs is just as important as the other. Their job, in short, is to represent the interests of the people who elected them into office. In this essay, I will identify the individuals who represent me and evaluate the extent to which I feel represented.

Few would contend that one individual couldn't have any moderately result in american legislative issues. In any case, there\'s power in numbers associated political establishments area unit plenty of in danger of react to a mixture as against a personal voice. an unconditional party is associate association whose folks provide basic problems and decide to impact government strategies influencing those problems. Unconditional parties area unit otherwise referred to as lobbies; lobbying is one among the courses during which intrigue gatherings kind form and convey the views of their perspectives of their constituents to the eye of decision makers. There are 23,000 entrances within the encyclopedia of Associations, and high rates of them qualify

creating a relationship with the staff of congress. This relationship provides a window for the group to testify at hearings. The interest group provides personal transportation for their group members to vote in crucial elections. Some of their members will vote on their group issues since lobbying brings them in direct contact with the political candidates. The groups’ members are more than willing to teach their legislators about technology which the legislators sometimes lack this information. The members look forward to informing the legislators about their groups’ concerns and issues. R. Allen Hayes, Democracy Paper writer, states,

Members of Congress are voted to office by their electorate as their representatives at the congress level of democracy. In their capacity, they may decide to exercise their powers by the will of the people or according to their personal judgment. When the members of Congress opt to be the people’s delegate, their actions in the House and other congressional engagements are a reflection of the will of their district. As such, the delegate representative does not have or exercise the autonomy to represent and decide for their district. Instead, a strenuous consultation process is required to keep the people in control of all relevant decisions.

Lobbying of government institution affects congress members simply because there is a steady flow of information being put upon them from different lobby groups for a certain topic. The utilization of likely overall power from the individuals on persuasion is an important part of the lobbying of government institutions. Grassroots of mobilization deals with the individual level raise attention to a specific topic in the community. This mobilization can affect the voting outcome from the congressmen running for that community. If the community doesn't get the wanted results from the congressman, they are not going to vote for him/her. The effect of public policies are clearly shown in the Lobbying of government institution and the Grassroots

The Organizational Structure of congress in the United Stated is demonstrated through the fact that we have a House and a Senate that are separated from each other. Congress is a very complex structure that possesses many committees that all handle a variety of topics. The United States Senate is composed of only 100 members that serve six year terms. Some refer to the senate as the “upper house”, and only 1/3 of the members of the United Senate are re-elected every two years. The House of Representatives is composed of 435 members that each serve two year terms. The HOR is known as the “lower house” and all 435 members are up for re-election every two years. The top two leadership roles in the Senate are The Vice President of the United States who presides over the Senate, and required to vote when there is a tie in Senate. Also in the case of a death of a president, the Vice president must step up and preside over the nation. The second most vital role in Senate is the President Pro-Tempore. The President Pro-Tempore is the highest ranked senator as elected by the Senate. The top two positions in the House are The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader. The Speaker of the House is arguably the most influential single legislator in both houses. The Speaker presides over proceedings on the House floor, designates which bills go to which committees, designates committee assignments for new members, appoints the party 's other leaders , and

In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In "If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?" author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about