Congress Pushing the Limits

As chapter 11 discusses Congress, it is important to look at the evolution of congressional power. The framers had set Congress in a way to avoid majority tyranny and provide a equal spread of representation. It was designed for safety and effectiveness, creating an organized way to allow decisions to be made. However, when we look at Congress, it seems to have evolved to be ineffective and unstable. There has been a drastically increased divide where both parties seem to be in constant disagreement leaving no room for compromise. This is alarming to many because it looks to be a sign of instability. The New York Times article, “Sharper State Divide in Congress Seen as ‘New Civil War’” discusses how the states are beginning to be represented by a single party creating a physical separation throughout the country. This led to former Virginian congressman Thomas M. Davis III saying “It becomes basically that you are in a new civil war. You are going to get more like the tax bill, which, whether you like it or not, is really sectional in how it looks.” This divide could be seen as the beginning of a dangerous path where Congress continues to stray apart, hindering our countries ability to change.

I believe that this is partially what the framers had in mind and this separation will not prove to contain more fatal future situations. The framers would definitely be angry with a lot that has changed in the country, but when it comes to the situation we have landed in Congress now, they prepared. Congress’s job is to represent the people, whether by the Congress’s better judgement or by listening to the wants the people themselves. So as the people divide, Congress will too. As seen by the graph in class, the American public is more split than ever, and our Congress today just highlights that. Furthermore, the framers have it in place to hinder the domination of one of the parties. The Great Compromise created a political environment that gave states their rightful amount of power that would balance Congress. We are seeing each state become more geared to one party, but this still does not allow a domination. Finally, it does not look as though the division will get worse. Congress is beginning to push its limits on division. It does hinder the ability of Congress to pass laws efficiently, but the framers hoped for this. There is becoming an increasingly smaller chance for one party to actually enact their agenda.

As the divide increases, we will see more seemingly flagitious activity arise, like gerrymandering or the expedited process of passing the tax bill. Through this, the framers prepared. There may be loopholes, but the strength in the foundation of Congressional power and ability hinders divisional action to get out of hand to the point it threatens our country. Congress may not being doing its best job, but it certainly is still working.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/15/us/politics/hulse-congress-tax-cut-campaigns.html

5 Responses to "Congress Pushing the Limits"

Chloe Blond says:

April 9, 2018 at 4:05 pm

Hi Calum,

Thank you for your blog post. You raise many interesting points and bring a perspective that I had yet to consider. From what I understand, it seems as if your argument is rooted in the idea that partisanship will not, at the end of the day, stop Democracy from working. I agree with you that the Framers had hoped that the way the Congress and government were set up would hinder Congress from passing laws with ease. I also agree with you that because the Congress and government are to represent the people, that as the people divide, the Congress should also, in theory, divide. However, I am not sure that partisanship does not pose any threat to Democracy. Your blog post encouraged me to do some research and I found an article that suggests partisanship does, at a certain point, pose a threat to destroy American democracy.

Partisanship is, in some aspects, necessary for democracy. First, without competing parties, voters cannot make a choice. A choice and a vote is essential in achieving political equality. Secondly, competition gives parties incentives to respond to voters and reflect voter’s desires in their policies. However, as the article states, “when partisanship overwhelms everything, it becomes increasing difficult for democracy to function.” Doom-loop partisanship is when divisions between parties becomes a contest between “us” and “them.” When this happens, there is no longer any bargaining between the parties and compromise becomes impossible. Rather than contesting based on competing economic interest groups and allocating government dollars, parties fight on the basis of team loyalties. The article argues that “American politics [have] been transitioning from interest group politics to doom loop politics for decades, and we are not deep into a crisis.”

While I am not sure I fully agree with the article that I read, I do believe that there is truth in the statement that at a certain point, partisanship threatens Democracy. What that point is, I still have to decide for myself.

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/9/5/16227700/hyperpartisanship-identity-american-democracy-problems-solutions-doom-loop
Abigail Belcher says:

April 10, 2018 at 8:23 am

Calum,
I found your post to be interesting, because, like Chloe, I also had not considered the perspective that Congress should be just as divided on issues as the people are. I guess I never considered this because I always thought of the members of Congress as sort of being above the rest of the citizens, at least meaning they would be more capable to make level-headed and educated decisions since the majority of them are highly educated individuals. However, after reading what Chloe had to say, I do wonder especially about the feeling of “us” vs “them” that her article talked about. This definitely represents a feeling of competition, and while Democracy thrives on differences, the last thing that I think we as an American people should want is a Congress that is so divided and focused on their party winning that they’ll do anything the can to achieve it, even if that means doing something that isn’t in the best interest of the American citizens in order to make a point to the opposing party.
Madeleine Stone says:

April 10, 2018 at 9:18 am

Hi Calum,

Thank you for your post. I think your statement that Congress has evolved to be ineffective and unstable is quite bold. However, the evidence you provide clearly supports it, I do not think it is fair to say that overall Congress is unstable. Maybe in some aspects, such as the stricter party divide we are seeing across the country and in Congress, but in other aspects I feel as if Congress has been quite successful. The New York Times article you cited is interesting because it makes me think back to Chapter 10: The News Media. I feel as if the article headline was clearly exaggerated by comparing the divide to be as deeply rooted as the Civil War.

The division of parties in Congress was created, like you said, in order to hinder tyranny of one faction to pass all the legislation. This fact makes it that much harder to pass legislation quickly, but does not mean that Congress is ineffective. Congress legalized gay marriage in 2015, and although it took almost 10 years to pass, I still feel that the members of Congress represented the people in an effective way here. It took long due to the disagreement and different beliefs of parties, but as the public became increasingly passionate about the issue Congress recognized this and did not give up working to pass this legislation. I believe the tax bill was passed much faster because this wasn’t a social issue- it was an economic issue. As we saw, social change occurs with generational replacement and that doesn’t happen over night. Changes in the economy and the market happen every second. I still believe Congress is effective and stable with their ability to represent the people and pass legislation.
David Shaw says:

April 10, 2018 at 1:57 pm

Hi Calum,

You have an interesting post, and I think it is worthwhile to trace the origins of the Congressional system and why it has appeared increasingly faulty and ineffective over the years. My main criticism is that the writing could use a bit more touching up. Your language is confusing at certain points and it can be difficult to actually understand what ideas you are attempting to convey. Also, you sometimes say things like Congress will continue to increasingly divide, but this has been prepared for, then fail to actually describe what that preparation was. Ultimately, a strong article that could admittedly use a bit of touching up to truly hammer the point home.
James Hulbert says:

April 10, 2018 at 4:00 pm

Calum,

Thank you for your post. It is obviously very relevant to what we were talking about in class with relation to polarization. American congress used to not be as effected by polarization, but as it has become more and more common year after year, metrics (Party Unity Scores and Nominate Scores) have been developed to measure it. In 2014, President Obama said “This has become the least productive Congress in modern history” speaking of the 113th American congress. However, as you said, as the people divide, congress will too. Isn’t that what we want? We cannot participate in a true representative democracy if congress does not mirror the wants of the nation’s citizens. According to Politico, American citizens are more divided on politics than ever. This is why congress is so divided. I do not know if the framers had this in mind because there have been a lot of variables that have led to this polarization, but congress is in a better state than you are giving it credit for.

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