The Constitution of California expects legislators, which includes both State’s senate and House of Representatives, to influence agency decision making, to build political support for increases or decreases in agency funding to lay the political foundation for new programs and policies, and to capture media attention and enhance the power of the California State Congress members. However, not all legislators are able to fulfill their duties and comply with the state’s expectations. Indeed, their efficacy to serve California varies on the length of their experience, familiarity to government system, and commitment to public service. Evaluating their performances for the past ten years, legislators can be distinguished by their competence and efficiency. In this paper, I argue that to be an outstanding legislator, it is necessary for politicians to satisfy both constituents’ and partisan’s interests, and to have strong ability to facilitate bargaining and compromise within the state congress.
Members of the California State Legislature spend most of their time politically cultivating their districts and the state as they do legislating. To increase efficiency, most legislators direct their attention towards their home constituents. In the book titled Politics In America, Thomas Dye and Bartholomew Sparrow call this legislative tactic as “home style,” which is defined as legislator’s activities that primarily focuses at the constituents’ problems and interests. I believe that creating relationship with district constituents is the most essential factor to become a competent legislator. For instance, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has improved San Francisco for 25 years and consistently satisfying the needs of her constituents. In C...
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...terests. Indeed, leadership positions and seniority are strong predictors of legislative activity and bill success.
In conclusion, some politicians fail to become effective member of the legislature due to the variance of experiences, position, partisanship, and relationship with its constituents. It may take time to accumulate experiences especially now that California has declared to be a termed-limit state. However, this should not be a hindrance to future lawmakers. As long as they have strong conviction to public service and build strong connections with their respective constituents, I believe that this will lead them to become a successful legislature. There is not exact formula to become an effective leader, but there is an easier way to increase the efficiency, which is to become passionate in political education and the method of learning by-doing.
Richard F. Fenno believes that congressmen struggle to find a balance between a Washington career and a constituency career. Fenno obtained various experiences from several members of congress who he accompanied as they traveled about their districts. Through this journey he gained knowledge about the various home styles of the members of congress. Homestyle should always be consistent because an inconsistent home style will not produce a good image to constituents. According to Fenno, a home style has three components: allocation of personal resources and those of his office, presentation of self to others, and explanation of Washington activities.
What motivates members of Congress to act the way they do? Mayhew would argue in Congress: The Electoral Connection that members of Congress are ‘’single-minded re-election seekers’’ and that re-election is their one and only goal. Whilst the assumption that all members of Congress are ‘‘single-minded re-election seekers’’ does go some distance in analysing the motives behind members of Congress, the reading fails to take into account the other key goals of members of Congress. Other goals include good policy and future career positions. It is important to remember that the achievement of both re-election and other goals are not exclusive, members of Congress often are motivated by more than one goal.
Chief Legislator is supposed to be the highest position in the United States. Otherwise known as the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama currently holds that position; however, there is a lot of conflict between Obama and congress which is putting a damper on future plans to help improve the country. The government is setup so there is equality within the system, Congress and the President go hand and hand even though sometimes it might not work out the way it was planned. Sometimes the outcome can all depend on the views of the President and Congress. Like for instance now, Obama is a democrat and Congress is mainly Republicans so they have trouble meeting eye to eye.
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 there congressmen. Although congress is often criticized, its fine tuned functioning is essential in checking the power of congress without hindering the making of legislation.
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
In light of the recent Senate scandal, the public’s attention has been directed to the government’s credibility and its members’ discipline again. Mike Duffy’s 90,000 dollars scandal has put the Canadian government’s party discipline into the spotlight. While it is well-known amongst general public, there are other similar incentives and disincentives shared between the Members of the Parliament (MPs) and senators in keeping them disciplined, as well as some different ones that set them apart. In this essay, I am going to analyze the main levers of party discipline in the House of Commons and the Senate for their effectiveness. By comparing the similarities and differences, I will explain for the motivations behind the Senate, even if they have seemingly fewer incentives than the MPs, such as free of worrying about being re-elected.
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
University of Texas at Austin. Texas Politics, The legislative Branch. Austin, 2nd Edition-Revision 94 2009, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services.
Mr. Smith's values make him unique and give him the ability to be noticed within the legislature. The manner in which the United States legislature is currently set up allows someone similar to Mr. Smith to thrive in society...
Political gridlock and dysfunction is a central aspect of studying Congress because it determines a huge part about how they function and their general effectiveness. When it comes to the political landscape in the United States, law-making and legislation ultimately comes down to what the Senate and the House of Representatives vote on and how they vote. Gridlock has been studied for years because of how it has changed the political landscape essentially from the beginning. The Jacksonian Era in the mid 1800’s shifted the way that political parties operated and from then on a two party system has been a critical part of American politics. The winner-take-all format of elections in the United States, along with the increasing importance of
Politics is the heart of America. To enact change in a major area of the nation, the politics must be discussed to no end and one must know how to speak the words of the...
The single-member district election system is the most common and best-known electoral system currently in use in America. It is used to elect the U.S. House Representatives, as well as many state and local legislatures. Under single member district systems, an area is divided into a number of geographically defined voting districts, each represented by a single elected official. Voters can only vote for their district’s representative, with the individual receiving the most votes winning election. This method of electing representatives is better than any alternative solution in various ways. Four compelling reasons to support the single-member district election system include the fact that single-member districts give each voter a single, easily identifiable district member; the way single-member district voting helps protect against overreaching party influence; that single-member districts ensure geographic representation; and finally, that single-member districts are the best way to maximize representatives’ accountability.
“California is accustomed to watching movie stars and entertainers plunge into politics – Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, the late Sonny Bono” (Sanchez). Californians love to watch celebrities take up roles in politics. In fact, they are so sick and tired of politicians making the same promises over and over again that they prefer to have people who don’t specify their goals right out. So in this situation, Arnold is the celebrity, presenting himself as the hero, who promises to relieve California of its debts. ‘He’s something different. He’s not a politician (Sanchez),’ stated Lori Lateer of Pasadena, 49, a vice president of a manufacturing firm. Isn’t that what everyone wants to hear? He’s got the style, he’s got public appeal, and he most definitely has the money to go along with them.
Impact On Legislator Perception” by Hedlund was informative and edifying. The researcher set out to assess the effectiveness of this theory and of management science approach in reviewing the influence of a legislature’s leadership on individual members. There findings were interesting and intriguing, the findings indicated that the path-goal theory could be appropriately applied to the legislative setting with encouraging results. (1) The concept of the leader consideration, leader initiating structure and role ambiguity. (2) The leader must be specific as it relates to progress indicators; with understanding to modify when needed.
Light, Paul C., and Christine L. Nemacheck. "Chapter 7 Congress." Government by the People, Brief 2012 Election Edition, Books a La Carte New Mypoliscilab With Etext Access Card Package. By David B. Magleby. 2012 Election Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson College Div, 2013. N. pag. Print.