DIALOGUL Is Our Fragmented System of Government Adequate to Today's Needs? tence is far greater now than in most periods of our and viification.This denigration is laughed off with histor.for two reasons. the remark that although people may despise Con- First,the advance of technology has enmeshed the gress.they obviously love their own representatives United States in an intricately interdependent world (as shown by the recent victories s of 96 percent of economy and an equally intertwined set of global congressional incumbents who ran for reelection). political and security relationships that require the But the joke ignores the menace of an overblown goverment to act promptly and decisively in concert presidency whose incumbent is mare and more en- with other govemments to protect and advance the couraged to feel that he embodies the American peo country's interests.When the president,the Senate, ple.The danger is intensified by the and the House pursue independent and contradictory CHARLES M.HARDIN nance of foreign and military affairs.Since World War JAMES L.SUNDQUIST policies,as they often do,the United States canno II we have repeatedly witnessed what James Madison cope effectively with the forces and events that weigh warned the constitutional convention against:"In time The risk of guvermmental impolence is far grenter now in upon it all around the globe. The separation of powers behoeen President and of actual war,great discretionary powers are constant. Second,the difficulty of concerting the powers of Congress threalens cunstirtiol goverment itseif. ly given to the Executive...Constant apprehension government has been greatly increased by a disturbing of War [also tends]to render the head too large for the recent political development:the tendency of the body.A standing military force,with an overgrown voters to entrust the executive and legislative branches Is our system of govement adequate?Maybe.Is it Executive will not long be a safe companion to to opposing political parties.In six of the last nine threatening?More likely.We may well continue to liberty ..If demurrers object that we have been presidential elections,beginning in 1956,the people enjoy our easygoing,widespread affluence for years, blessed with a conscientious military leadership (and The fragmented system of government designed for the United States two centuries ago brings both good have chosen a Republican president but have returned even decades. But danger signs persistently appear, we often have),one may recall that Madison made his news and bad news for us today. Democratic majorities to the House of Representatives brought on and aggravated by our fragmented system remarks with General George Washington in the chair. and,in four of those elections,to the Senate also.In Thus,the separaion of powers been presidentand The good news is that the dispersion of powers among the executive,legislative,and judicial branches these circum tances,the conflict between parties that is Fragmentation is the product of our famous separa and,within the legislature,between the Senate and normal and healthy in a democracy becomes a debili tion of powers between the president and the Con- mented and despised Congress does not constitute the House-has accomplished the Framers'purpose:it tating struggle within the govemment itself,between a gress,which are empowered separately and sometimes reliable check on a rampant president/commander in has forestalled tyranny.No individual or political president and a Congress that simply must get together in ways that overlap,and which are chosen separately chief,supported (or maybe surrounded)by an aggres- sive and ubiquitous military with the habit of operating clique has ever been able to gain enough control over if they are to accomplish anything constructive. for terms of different lengths,In elections whose the separated institutions to endanger the country with To deplore a governmental system that foaters dis- timing is rigidly bound to the calendar.The result is an under a thick cloak of secrecy and with a disturbing ether of the haunted the the unity where unity is needed,that inhibits the forma unremitting struggle between president and Congress cult of covert action.How to control the executive? constitutional convention-an absolute ruler dis ion and execution of consistent and decisive policies, for controL.The president tries to govern by budgeting Madison and George Mason's reliance on "a good guised as a democratically elected president,or a is of course far easier than to devise acceptable reme managing.coordinating and playing rival foroes militia" essentially based in and controlled by the rampant congressional majority trampling on the dies.Perhaps President Bush can find the road to against each other.Congress tries to govem by divid states is now absurd.If there is a cure,it would seem to rights of the minonity. bipartisan harmony that eluded his Republican prede- ing governmental activities into pollcies with their own require a fundamental rethinking of our constitutional But the bad news is that a system that makes it cessors Eisenhower,Nixon.Ford,and Reagan,but agencies and programs that are parceled out among principles.A different kind of separation of powers difficult far evil or misgulded leaders to asse mble the history and political realism tell us that that is hardly committees and subcommittees.The result is may hold promise:a separation between the gover- powers of government for wicked or imprudent pur- likely.Constitutional reform Is not an undertaking for emergence and flourishing of"iron triangles,"consist ment and the opposition.with both sides having posesalso,inevitbly,hinders the most public-sprited the fainthearted,but it is high time to think seriously ing of strategically positioned legislators,bureaucratic identifiable leadership,both sides having a legislative of leaders when they must assemble those powers to about this possible avenue to governmental unity. heads of programs,and organized interests.These iron component,and both sides supported by a popular achleve proper and even noble ends. triangles often elude much control by either the presi As we enter the third century of our national life,the dent ar Congress as a whole.Such independence question is which represents the greater danger:the cannot be complete,but it does not have to be:it only menace of a government that is too powerful and thus needs to be strong enough to make effective control of too capable of tyranny,or the threat that a government a program very costly politically. confronted with enormous challenges at home and The result is that Congress becomes "a body with- out a head"(Roland Young),devoted to"taking care of Charles M Hgrdin is Professor Emeritas at the Uniuersity of abrod will prove too weak to discharge its respansi- lamtes L Soudquist is Senloy Fellow Emerihrs at The Brookings Californin,Davis.He is the anthor of Constitutional Reform in bilities?I am among those who find the latter to be the the home folks first"(ames MacGregor Burns).As Ametic. greater danger.And the risk of governmental impo Effective Government. such,Congress is subject to nearly continuous derision 85 84
Faui ha INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS Cpayae2aeaeenO also a matter of individual freedom.As Alfred H.Kelly wrote,"A system of constitutional government worthy of the name embodies...a 'system of ordered liberty,'in which the people are guaranteed certain fundamental rights and immunities against the exercise of arbitrary power by the state. The concept of individual rights holds that each person should be free to pursue a life of his or her own choosing,as long as this freedom does not unduly restrict that of other people.This idea came to America from England.The early settlers enjoyed"the rights of Englishmen,"which included trial by jury and some freedom of expression.These rights had developed over centuries and gained strength when John Locke declared (in To Treatises of Government, 1690)that the purpose of the state is to protect the natural rights of individuals.The Declaration of Independence (1776)proclaimed that "all men...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,"but when the Constitution was written in 1787,no list of protected rights was included.The Bill of Rights(1791)provided such a list and has been the constitutional focus of individual rights in the United States. 87
368 PART FIVE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES The governing system of the United States,partly by design and partly by accident,embodies elements of both these concepts of. representation.The presidency is a truly national office that inctines its incumbent to take a national view of issues,while Congress is both a national institution and a body that is subject to powerful constituency influence.U.S.senators and representatives are elected from states and from districts within states,so that they are subject to CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE: strong local pressures.Chapters 17 and 18 show how the organization and policymaking of Congress reflect both national and local GETTING ELECTED, influences.In contrast,Chapters 20 and 21 reveal how the president's role,leadership,and power are affected by the office's national STAYING ELECTED political base.Collectively,these four chapters indicate how local and national factors come together in relations between the executive and legislative branches. Popular influence on both Congress and the president begins with the electoral process.It is through their ability to elect their representatives that citizens first acquire a hold over them.As we an open seat. Gary C.jacobson discussed in Chapter 10,elections are a blunt instrument of self-government:they enable the public to choose officeholders,not policies.Thus,to understand the contribution of elections to the American system of government,it is necessary to look not only at voters but also at candidates.Who runs and who wins?What effect do elections have on the relationship between representatives and the people they serve?Chapter 16 focuses on congressional elections, with particular attention to the considerable advantages of incumbency.Chapter 19 examines presidential selection,emphasizing 政肥 Tundreds of pork-barrelprojects were embedded in the60billionannual the lengthy,intricate,and highly political process that,every four Lappropriations bill that Congress passed in late 1987.Through the years,gives Americans their president. ★女★ of Senator Ted Stevens,Alaska fishermen got $2.6 million in federal funds todevelop fishery products."The University of Massachusetts at Amherst received $60,000 for its Belgian Endive Research Center,thanks to the efforts of Congressman Silvio Conte,the ranking minority member on the House Appropriations Committee.Senator James McClure produced a $6.4 million federal grant for development of a ski resort in his state of Idaho. Congress has a long tradition of pork-barrel legislation-laws designed primarily to help members of Congress get reelected by authorizing federal projects that benefit their constituents.The pork barrel has many critics outside Congress and a few inside,but it persists year after year."Ihave spent my career trying to get Congressmen to spend the publie's money as if it was their own, and I have failed,"said Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin,who retired in 1989 after thirty years in Congress.? It would be a mistake to conclude that members of Congress are obsessed by pork-barrel legislation.But it would be only a slight exaggeration to say that most members of Congress are preoccupied with any and all factors,including pork-barrel projects,that will help them to stay in office.Getting reelected is the .January 18,1988,24. 369
CHAPTER 16*CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE:GETTING ELECTED,STAYING ELECTED 371 370 PART FIVE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES first priority of members of Congress because that is what makes the attainment Congress as a Career:The Impact of of their other political goals possible.In Lawrence Dodd's phrase,members of Party Competition and Incumbency Congress strive for electoral mastery-a strong base of popular support that. will free them from constant worry over reelectianWithout such a base, In the nation's first century,service in the Congress was not a career for most of incumbents have little choice but to do those things that will win them votes.In its members.Before 1900 at least a third and sometimes as many as half of the 1984,for example,Jesse Helms promised North Carolina's voters that if he were seats in Congress changed hands at each election.Most members left voluntan- reelected he would remain as head of the Senate Agriculture Committee,even ly.Because travel was slow and arduous,serving in the nation's capital required though he would have preferred the chairmanship of the more prestigious them to spend months away from their families.Many were glad to leave Foreign Relations Committee.Helms was locked in a close (but ultimately Washington,which,because it was built on a swamp,was chillingly damp in the successful)election fight with the state's former governor,James Hunt,and he winter and mosquito-ridden in the summer.And because the national govern- believed that he needed to hold on to his Agriculture chairmanship in order to ment was not the center of power and politics that it is today,many politicians win the support of the many farmers-especially tobacco growers-in his preferred to serve in state capitals. 09 state. The modem Congress is very different.Congress is a career for most of its members.They are professional politicians,and a seat in the U.S.Senate or 牧加w Fortunately for members of Congress,a seat in the House or Senate is itself a Conehave treen oppornitin o public exponsc,mer House is as far as most of them can expect to go in politics.The pay (about Congress have frequent opportunities to publicize thesves,to claim credit 590,000 a year)is reasonably good,and the prestige of their office is substantial for Congress's achievernents,and to pertorm services for their constituents. particularly if they serve in the Senate.A lengthy career in Congress is what Incumbency aise has its liabilities,particularly for 0.S.senators,whose greater most of ns members aspire to attain Today the biggest obstacle to having a lengthy career in Congress is winning a ◆AY2∠THE LSSI0F vistbility and more desirable office make them more attractive targets for potential opponents.On balance,however,incumbency is a substantial advan- seat in the first place.Incumbents,particularly members of the House,have a "Safe Seats" As a result of the advantages tage. good chance of being returned to office again and again(see Table 16-1).5 In of office and weakened A central argument of this chapter is that voters in many congresslonal races recent House elections,about 90 percent of incumbents,on average,have are not presented with a real choice:the advantages of incumbency and party decided to seek reelection,and fewer than 10 percent of them have lost.An now be more competition so strongly favor one candidate that the outcome is hardly in doubt. all-time record was established in 1986 when only 2 percent of House confident than ever before Another central argument is that congressional elections produce senators and incumbents seeking reelection were defeated;that record was tied in 1988. about their chances for representatives who are highly responsive to their own constituencies but less Senate seats are less secure.Since 1970 the success rate of incumbent senators reelection.To what extent is this situabon a damser to Yesponsive to the needs of Congress as a national policymaking body.The main has ranged from a low of 55 percent(1980)to a high of 93 percent (1982). crocy?What might be points presented in this chapter are the following: Nevertheless,Senate incumbents who seek another term have,statistically speaking.a better than 2-to-1 chance of victory. done to cha nge it?Does it Congressional offce provides incumbents with substantial resources (free publicity,staf,and Members of Congress can promote themselves by claiming credit for Congress's achievements,performing services for r1976你627-628：hme9 constituents,and gamnering publicity. "Robert S.E The p Is T 1936-1976,Awericax Politics L.Payne,' The mature and outcome of congressional races depend on mary infsences,but particularly on 0 cober1980465-482:5al whether the incumbent is nening wiether the state or district is electorally competittve,and whether challenger enters the race.House campaigns tend to be less competitive than Senate campaigns. strongly fapor one candidale thet poters hawe no real alteratioe but to confirm that candidate CONSTITUTIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR SERVING IN CONGRESS asie choice, Although they serve in a national institution,they are also representative of state and Representattves:"No person shall be a Representative who Senslors "No person shall be a Senator who shall not shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years,and have attained to the age of thirty years,and been nine local interests,and for many of them,these interests take precedence over national been seven years a citizen of the United States,and who years a citizen of the United States,and who shall not, shall not,when elected,be an inhabitant of that State in when elected,be an inhabitant of the State for which he which he shall be chosen"(Article I,section 2). shall be chosen"(Article I,section 3). Lawrence C.Dodd,"A Theary of Congressional Cycles,"in Gerald Wright,Leroy Rieselbach,and Larenoe C.Dodd,Congrrss sud Policy Cheage (New Yotk:Agathon,1985) David R.Mayhew,Cangres&The Electoral Couection (New Haven.Conn.:Yale University Press 19740.16
372 PART FIVE★瓦.ECTED REPRESENTATIVES CHAPTER 16*CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE:GETTING ELECTED,STAYING ELECTED 373 The high reelection rates of congressional incumbents can be explained primarily by two factors;the existence of "safe"seats and the resources bestowed by congresslonal office. WEAK PARTY COMPETITION AND "SAFE"CONGRESSIONAL SEATS Some states and districts are so heavily Republican or Democratic that the candidate of the majority party nearly always wins Perhaps a lifth of all Senate seats and a larger proportion of House seats are safely in the hands of one party or the other.Democratic nominees in Louisiana,for example,have won every Con U.S.Senate election since the Reconstruction era of the 1870s.Republicans thought they could break the Democrats'hold on Louisiana when the popular House of Representatives,are usually reelected.Clmude Pepper Russell Long,first elected to the Senate in 1948,retired in 1986.President of Florida had been returned to Ronald Reagan made two personal appearances on behalf of the Republican the House every two years from candidate,W.Henson Moore,in the election's closing days,but Moore still lost 1962to1988,Hehd served in the US.Senate.Pepper to the Democrat John B.Breaux.Republicans concede.that Breaux,who was ded in May of 1989 at the age of forty-two years old when he was elected,may well hold the Louisiana seat until eighty-eight.(Gamma Ciaison) his death or retirement. In one-sided states and districts,primary elections are the main threat to TABLE 16-1 House and Senate Incumbents Reelected and Not Seeking incumbents,However,voters rarely abandon a member of Congress in a Reelection,1954-1988 primary election unless the incumbent is embroiled in scandal or is widely perceived to have lost touch with local interests,Although one-fourth of HOUSE INCUMBENTS SENATE INCUMHENTS congressional incumbents face primary challenges in an average election year, few of them lose.? Percenl Percen!Rerlected Percent Percent Reelected Not Secking of Those Seeking Not Seeking House elections have become less competitive in recent decades.3 Although of These Seeklug nearly half of all House races in the 1950s were decided by a victory margin of less than 60 percent,only a fourth of House races have been that close in more 1954 6% 93% 18% 75% recent elections (see Table 16-2).One reason is that House incumbents have 19 95 increasingly been protected by gerrymandering-the deliberate redrawing of 18e8 % 保 an election district's boundaries to give a particular party o candidate an 15 advantage.Every ten years,after each population census,states must rearrange 196 6 2 的 their House electoral districts in order to make them as nearly equal in 964 8 87 population as possible.This procedure is called redistricting and it is a I966 5 83 9 品 potentially explosive issue;if either party believes if is being grossly mistreated, 1968 5 it will fight a redistricting proposal with every political weapon available, 1970 including court action.As a consequence,Republicans and Democrats in state legislatures tend to draw district boundaries so as to protect House incumbents 9 94 8 合 1974 of both parties.They achieve this goal by creating heavily Republlean distncts 88 85 around Republican incumbents and heavily Democratic districts around Demo- 1976 24 6 cratic incumbents. 1978 1 94 Harvey L Schantz"Contested and Uncontested Primares for the U.S.House,"LegisSdic 9 159 y5(November 1980548:Arthur D.McNitt and Jim Ser 1984 96 12 a 321-340. Dvid R.Mayhew,"Congressional Elections:The Case of the Vanishin 1986 98 18 75 295-317:see also Joseph Cooper and William West,"The Congress Lawrence C.Dodd and Bruce I.Oppenheim 1988 98 21 85 Cougress 6 D.C.:Congressional Quarterly Press,1981).99 and Tumover in the House of Representatives,1952- -1976 March1981y119-131