Interesting article from Sen. Olympia Snow
Why I am leaving the Senate.
Echos of Evan Bayh's article by the same name. With a Real Clear Politics Ave. Approval Rating of 11.3%, (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html), is our Congress simply too dysfunctional to do it's job?
Due Friday 7:30am.
41 comments:
Senator Snow makes a great point by stating that the Senate has turned into a body where its members are working harder at blocking the opposing party from being successful than at allocating their efforts to actually getting things done for America. 82.5% of Americans disapprove of Congress, and probably for the same reasons Snow outlines in “Why I am Leaving the Senate”. As she states, there seems to be no practical incentive for senators to work across party lines in terms of being concerned about being re-elected and representing the color of their state. Snow does not see the possibility of these legislators finding common ground to meet in the middle on and effectively form policy. However, the American people are partly to blame for this, because of the demands they establish by the extreme party polarization that is occurring across the country. Snow is very hopeful that the Senate can change its ways and become a legislative body that works in a unified way to build up a strong nation, but only through external actions.
I agree with Snow, that Congress has gotten to the point that it is so dysfunctional that the only way of repairing it comes from the outside in. After all, Congress is the coming together of the interests of the American people. Therefore, there is no way Congress can be unified and work together across the aisle if the American people are not willing to. That is why it is important for communities across America to focus on party cooperation, and using the party system as a vehicle for representing the interests of all Americans, versus a vehicle for clashing against those who disagree.
We’ve seen, especially in the past few years, that Congress is in a gridlock. It has been nearly impossible to pass effective legislation that everyone is pleased with, if Congress gets to pass any legislation at all. The government almost had to be shut down when the budget could not be decided on. Congress has a lot of issues because of a lack for the desire of cooperation, which is preventing it from getting anything useful done and doing what it is supposed to do. The attitudes towards government and the functioning of separate parties in America in general needs to change if we want Congress to be an effective body.
“The senate is to consist in its proceedings with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch”. If James Madison were to view the proceedings of today’s congress he would no doubted be ashamed and disappointed. Olympia Snow was completely correct when she said our Senate is dysfunctional. No one is going to agree on everything and right now the congressmen and women won’t accept that. As Ms. Snow mentioned that the body failed to pass a budget for more than 1,000 days and that congress is becoming more of a parliamentary system where members just vote on the side of their party and simply just try to block the other party’s vote. People have become too polarized; either on the left or the right whether they truly believe in the party’s opinions or not. This has made congress more like a battlefield with each side sneaking behind each other’s backs and using bribery as a source of getting votes. The founding fathers would be disgusted.
Just as the article says, the purpose of a supermajority was to encourage members to compromise and work in a bipartisan fashion. However, the states are divided into red and blue and there is no practical incentive for 75% of senators to work across party lines. Therefore, I also agree that polarized parties are ruining our government as seen in the past few years with the past few presidents where legislation has been extremely hard to pass because the opposing party in congress blocks its passage. The reason the founding fathers created a system with two houses and an executive is so there wouldn’t be one ruler presiding over the country. However, we now have two parties ruling over the country and canceling each other out. So ultimately it is like we have no real governing system which is why our country is in chaos. As Ronald Reagan stated, “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” This is why there is an 82.5% disapproval rating for congress and I am definitely part of that percent.
Congress of recent decades has definitely been described as a dysfunctional government group. Majority of bills that pass through Congress every year will take months or even years of debating to ratify into law. The members of Congress attempt to fight for the success of their own ambitions in addition to fearing the failure of their campaign. Both senators and representatives understand that voters from their regions want to see the tangible results of their work. Even during what little time members of Congress have during the week to work, they are bickering with each other over specific details in bills that they have probably not even read. The current Congressional system is not the most efficient method to govern a nation; especially a nation such as the United States of America. The first connotations of Congress are usually as such: impractical, stagnant efforts, and disconnected with the rest of America. Their main concerns are re-elections in their region. Will I serve another term or will I be voted out? Every week fundraising money and donations must come through their doors or else members of Congress will not have enough money to run a re-election campaign. It seems that in this country only those who are wealthy and influential enough can run for office. Unfortunately it seems that America is heading on a road towards plutocracy in these recent years. The astronomical finances required to run a campaign is difficult for an average American to understand when their money troubles stem from paying car insurance and next month’s rent. The current Congress has over done their range of focus which therefore has caused a lack of activity on the Hill.
Senator Snow’s letter explaining why she is leaving the Senate is eerily similar to the letter written by Evan Bayh which similarly describes the increase in partisan politics. While this is certainly an interesting subtopic it is not a cause for concern.
American Democracy goes through a series of shifts and changes as the country changes to echo what the people want. Now, if people truly believe that people should compromise more than the country will elect politicians who compromise. Snow talks about how Representatives and Senators have refused to compromise and pass a budget. Yet, a large percentage of those “refusing” to compromise are the same Republicans that were elected with promises not to compromise on the budget. In essence American Democracy is perfect, the elected leaders are listening to the constituents who said no compromise balanced budget. While little compromise is not common in American Democracy listening to your constituents is applauded. Further, while only 11.5% of people disapprove of the job of Congress most people actually approve of the job their Senator or Representative is doing according to a CNN poll. Again, members of Congress are getting mixed messages. While, the major polls say everyone hates them their own constituents say keep up the great work. Everybody would continue to do the same job if their constituents say you are doing something right.
Snow echoes the statement that only the people can control what their elected officials are doing by demanding that they act in a bipartisan manner or as she calls it the “political center.” Like the free market the U.S. Government is always composed in a way the people want. If citizens want representatives and senators to be bipartisan then they should vote that way. American Democracy is not out of sync with the people because the people are who actually control power.
Today in American politics, it really seems that Congress is too dysfunctional to be able to function. Obviously with a 11.3% approval rating, the nation is not accepting what Congress is trying to do. Presently, there are so many disagreements that occur because of differing political views. Members of the Legislative branch are not willing to make too many compromises if their agenda is not being advanced.
It seems that it is truly difficult for politicians to work with others and make these compromises for the betterment of America. There is a large separation of political parties that makes it much tougher for anything to get done.
According to Senator Olympia Snowe, the Senate has changed and it is not like it was supposed to be. She feels that there is a lot of trouble occurring because of the refusal of the two main political parties to work with each other. Senator Snowe seems to be extremely dissatisfied with what is going on in Congress, and is even leaving her position in the Senate to get away from all of the disagreements.
It is evident that there are issues with Congress in working with one another, yet it would be a difficult task to fix this. Everyone is going to have their own views, and no one is ever going to completely agree with everyone else, but there is a huge need for something to be done so Congress can function well again. It is a shame that there is little confidence in Congress by the American people, and it absolutely vital for something to be done so the citizens respect this body of government once again.
Nicole Stauffer Period 6
The legislative branch of the world’s most powerful nation has proved to be dysfunctional in recent years. “Congress is becoming more like a parliamentary system — where everyone simply votes with their party and those in charge employ every possible tactic to block the other side.” This intense partisanship is not an ideal that America was founded upon. Congress must work in a more functional bipartisan fashion in order to resolve issues that are building walls between party lines. “Compromise” is a word that no longer stands on Capitol Hill. Democrats and Republicans alike must come together to create and agree upon bills that will satisfy the American public and national urgent needs such as the budget deficit. In December, Congress witnessed, “Two separate proposals for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution”. I agree with Senator Snowe when she stated, “For change to occur, our leaders must understand that there is not only strength in compromise, (but also) courage in conciliation and honor in consensus-building.” Politicians must be willing to cross party lines in order to create a proposal that will benefit America. In the end, there is no “all Democrat” or “all Republican” plan. The parties must find common ground and shake hands for the sake of our country. Until then, political partisanship tension will prevail and democracy will seize to flourish.
Rachael Robitaille
As an optimist I would like to believe that there is not an issue which Congress cannot compromise and negotiate through. However, through the eye-opening articles of Evan Bayh and Olympia Snowe, I realize just how optimistic that idea is. As Snowe describes the inevitable stalling that occurs, prohibiting debate and ultimately law making, it is a wonder to me that virtually anything at all gets accomplished. Politicians are so focused on attacking the opposite party during the campaign process, that once they are appointed to office they neglect to realize that everyone around them is working on the same team. I absolutely agree with Snowe when she says that “For change to occur, our leaders must understand that there is not only strength in compromise, courage in conciliation and honor in consensus-building – but also a political reward for following these tenets.” That reward truly will be received when the inner mechanisms of the legislative branch can work interchangeably with each other, thus the country moving forward.
Bayh points out as well that there is much more to contribute to the dysfunction than just dissenting opinions and strident party lines. Gerrymandering of districts plays an enormous role, one that calls into question whether politicians care about the job, or if getting elected is their only objective. In addition, he sites campaign financing, filibusters, holds, and especially the lack of social interaction between senators of opposing parties. While his suggestion of camaraderie outside of Capitol Hill is plausible, I do not believe that would achieve a functioning Congress by itself. His idea of reforming the filibuster so that 35 senators sign a petition to continually debate on the issue in reality I find to be incredibly innovative, and would undoubtedly keep Congress working efficiently.
It seems to me the greatest shame in all of this is that Congress is losing dedicated politicians who care so immensely about the issues that they realize they would be doing no good arguing in the Senate. Until Congress can depart from the “parliamentary system” which it has become, party lines will continue to dominate Capitol Hill, with no hope of the bipartisanship which is so necessary for Congress to operate. I share Snowe’s view that while it will not happen overnight, the legislative process can find a way to correct itself and resume the hard work that they are so desperately trying to achieve to continue the great legacy of the United States that the Framers had in mind.
When James Madison wrote that “the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceedings with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch”, I doubt if he envisioned 2 radically polarized groups of Congressmen, driven by the shouts of the loudest 15% and the richest 1%. Congress has sunk to the baser of human instincts: greed, self preservation, anger, and pride.
The pork barrel spending that nearly all Congressmen engage in is the epitome of Tragedy of the Masses and the best example of what has happened to our political system. If one Senator successfully obtains for his state pork projects, then he has a better chance of re-election and more popularity. Thus any Senator that does follow suit will be at a disadvantage. And thus nearly all Senators follow suit, in a simple bid for survival.
That bid for survival has taken precedence over the true duties of Congress: passing legislation. Taking 1000 days to pass a budget simply is not acceptable in a legitimate country. The divide between the Democrats and Republicans is tearing the country apart! And unlike the British Parliament, there is no bevy of political parties or coalition to keep the disparate leading parties in check. There are simply the morals of our elected official, and those morals follow the pork barrel spending logic.
So with high re-election percentages and rock low approval ratings, with all the other elected official ignoring their morals, and with both parties unwilling to compromise, we arrive at a state of Brinksmanship with no incentive for improvement. That is not a government. That is a failure. The American political system has fallen to the base instincts of its elected officials, and short of a massive wave of recalls, referendums, and freshman Senators and Representatives, the system is going nowhere.
Kaitlyn Gaudio
Over the past several years, it seems as though Congress has lost sight of its purpose. The legislative body spends more of its time bickering and pointing fingers at each party. No matter what we do, there will always be someone out there who disagrees with you, which is why we have parties in the first place. However, bipartisanship is essential and it's another aspect congress has lost sight of. Right now, congress has a terrible approval rating, around 11%. If the nation barely approves of the people that are supposed to be representing them, something is wrong. As a country, we have faced numerous changes and have problems that need to be addressed. We only have so much say, from there it's up to our rep's and senators to make things happen. Again, if each side is unwilling to compromise, we make no progress. Snowe expresses her frustration and disappointment with their performance. In reading the article, I found no surprising information. It isn't really necessary to explore this topic in depth for the solution is simple-- Compromise and bipartisanship.
Congress is not functioning properly and republican senator Snowe displays this dysfunction quite clearly. Congress has become very polar and politicians do only vote according to their party lines. Not so much voting on what they believe in but for the support of their own party for re-election purposes. Usually the passing of bills is accelerated and facilitated when the majority party is the same party that the president is. For example when president Obama passed his Restoration and Reinvestment Act, he passed it within one month of taking the presidency due to the fact that the majority in the house and senate were democratic like him. Compared to recently, when Obama proposed the American Jobs Act in 2011, the house majority was Republican and so the bill was not passed into law. This shows how Snowe depicts many politicians voting along with their party to stagnate progress and immobilize the success of the other party and immobilize the efficiency and quality of congress. The need for a system that encourages both parties to work together is much needed. Unfortunately finding that system and common ground is a challenge due to how polarized congress has become and agreements between the two are hard to come by. Yet even though Snowe doesn’t believe that that is possible immediately or in the near future, I believe that if congress got itself in this mess then it can get itself out of it. Snowe states that when large national issues happen congress finds a way and functions properly. If congress acknowledges the problematic state which it is in when not facing a national crisis, then perhaps congress will that the steps to correct its system and be more efficient.
Maggie Senft
I hate to say it, but our Congress is simply too dysfunctional to do its job. Both Senators Olympia Snowe and Evan Bayh clearly show the negative thoughts of those in Congress, and the people of the United States who they are representing aren’t too positive either. The approval rating of Congress is an extremely low 11.3%, showing how few Americans are pleased with the jobs that the members of Congress are doing. As Snowe states in her article, “Why I am Leaving the Senate,” there is very little communication or compromise amongst the two parties. To have a more effective Congress, the two sides must cooperate to see a positive end result. I agree with Snowe’s beliefs that the red and blue divides must be brought to an end to create a helpful impact to the American people. The separation of political parties in our country has brought about negativity to our country that must be revoked. This movement will not, like Snowe said, happen quickly, but must be continually worked on. Until the moment when the parties compromise, Congress will remain ineffective and unproductive.
Today’s Congress is one of disunity, leaving the American people to deal with a dysfunctional government plagued by dispute. While our nation is in one of the toughest times in it’s history economically and the role of the government has expanded greatly since its foundation, the bickering between lawmakers has seized to calm down. Politicians from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans alike are able yet unwilling to compromise on laws and routes to take. Neither side is willing to give ground to the opposing group even if it means leaving the government and the country at a deadlock. This has translated into the job they are doing and reflected by the poor approval rating Congress receives. With approval ratings of 11.3%, it’s a mystery why we keep electing these officials.
I agree 100% with Senator Olympia Snow’s statement that our Senate is completely dysfunctional. She echo’s the voices of the voters of this country by stating that our Senate has become more passionate about blocking the attempts of the opposing party rather than working for the benefit of the country. This frightening reality has led to one of the most partisan and unproductive sessions of congress in history. Snow goes on to examine the amount of policies that had failed to be passed by the Senate this past year. The sheer fact that Snow was giving up her Senate seat because of the fact that she felt it was going down the wrong direction is a very good indication of the insanity going down in our nation’s capital.
Evan Bayh’s article echoes Snow’s sentiments is yet another great indication. The partisanship is causing the country to injure itself further.
Eric Price
With the current congress sitting at an 11.3% approval rating with the past months hovering around the same there is no question that congress is and has been dysfunctional. It seems that congress really hasn't been following what the founding fathers set it up to be. As the current congress failed to come up with a budget plan for more than 1000 days. There are too many one sided arguments that take place that legislation is getting harder and harder to pass. Snowe showed with her experience there really is a point where it becomes too much to handle. With no one really in the country approving of whats being done the country will break if nothing is changed. What needs to happen is a simple compromise. Congress will never get anything done with its partisan actions it is currently taking. Even if each party doesn't get exactly what they want the people they are representing will be satisfied. With compromise great things will be achieved.
Matt Mendonca Period 6
In the recent years of United States politics, Congress has spiraled down to its extremely low approval rating of a mere 11.3%. The American public could most likely blame and justify this disapproval based on the complete dysfunction state that Congress seems to find itself in. From these articles however, it is evident that not only the American public is dissatisfied with Congress, but also members of Congress themselves. Key examples of this acknowledgement of congressional failure are Senators Olympia Snow and Evan Bayh. In similar articles, both Senators state how members of Congress have too many varying views and appeals on matters brought into their hands. These differences in opinionated matters can be attributed to the large gap between the Republican and Democratic viewpoints on the political spectrum. Due to the differences in political beliefs, recently Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on anything that is dealt with in Congress and as a result, America cannot progress as a country because no matters can be solved. Snow states that the problem is so bad that it is part of the reason why she is leaving the Senate all together. She claims that each party in the Senate has been more caught up in selfishly blocking attempts of each other rather than working together to better the United States and find solutions to problems. The Senator then states “For change to occur, our leaders must understand that there is not only strength in compromise, (but also) courage in conciliation and honor in consensus-building.” This is a completely true statement. As long as members of Congress are selfishly sticking solely to their party and fail to compromise, Congress will stay in this funk of disapproval and failure. This is why it is urgent for someone to be able to step up and somehow persuade for agreement. All the American public can hope for is that someone will succeed in that task.
With the congressional approval rating at an unacceptably low 11.3%, I completely agree with Senator Snow that our congress is dysfunctional. The budget crisis mentioned in her article backs this statement up, as well as the fact that congressmen cannot separate their party differences and hit a middle ground to serve the people, which they should be thinking about in the first place. Our senators should be thinking about who they represent, not themselves. Also, this one part of Bayh's article stuck out to me. It clearly demonstrates another massive "dysfunction" in congress. "It shouldn't take a constitutional crisis or an attack on the nation to create an honest dialogue in the senate." Evan Bayh is completely correct in his statement. If the only two times that the entire senate convened in TWELVE YEARS (other than cerimonial occasions) were for the impeachement of a president anda terrorist attack on the nation, something is clearly wrong. Although those are both national crises and clearly require all the help possible, they should not be the only times all senators gather together. Our senators represent our nation and our people, they should feel responsible for making the best, most appropriate decisions for our people, not their party or themselves. If the approval rating for congress is at 11.3%, it is obvious that the people are unhappy with the performance of their representatives. Although I am not saying that all of congress is well below par, because I am sure that there are senators that do complete their job properly, some changes desperately need to be made in order for this nation to get back on the right track. The people need to seriously think about who they are electing and what they have accomplished and not just vote for who they hear about in the news the most or who is their current representative is, like my parents do and I'm sure many other uneducated americans do as well. Compromises need to me made, and by compromises I mean effective ones that have the people of the United States in mind.
I wholeheartedly agree with Evan Bayh’s statement: “it shouldn’t take a constitutional crisis or an attack on the nation to create honest dialogue in the Senate.” Olympia Snowe and Bayh are right, Congress is just to polarized and competitive to be an effective lawmaking body. Both Snowe and Bayh noted when they left the Senate that Congress wasn’t always like this, and in fact was designed to be a check on the government that was the least polarized. In fact, “the Senate’s requirement of a supermajority to pass significant legislation encourages its members to work in a bipartisan fashion” (Snowe’s words). Olympia Snowe is probably the only Republican not consistently voting along party lines, and this practice of extreme partisanship is what makes Congress inefficient and even dysfunctional. Bayh points out that it is difficult to work cooperatively along people that have spent millions of dollars bashing your campaign, or who refuse to even consider voting for a bill which their party does not agree with. With the practices of gerrymandering, corrupt campaign financing, and “unyielding ideology,” it is not hard to see why the Senate is so dysfunctional. Snowe and Bayh both point to ways in which we could move past these corrupt practices (promoting more honest spending and voting habits, meeting with members outside one’s party, even simply eating lunch as a Senate), and perhaps raise the 11% approval rating. And, I think that these ideas must be implemented right away if we want to actually accomplish anything for the country.
Miranda Scaramozza
Period 6
The current state of Congress is just as Snowe said, not what the founding fathers envisioned for our nation. Republicans and Democrats simply cannot agree on any piece of legislature as of the past 3 years. The country cannot continue to be run by a system where blocking the other parties legislation from passing is the main concern. Congress needs to realize that nothing will be solved if they continue to operate by simply voting the way your party tells you to. Congress's job is to make sure all voices and opinions are heard when making decisions that will effect the entire country. Voting simply as you are expected to vote as either a republican or a democrat does not help to compromise on what both parties want. Politicians have lost sight of the fact that, "while our constitutional democracy is premised on majority rule, it is also grounded in a commitment to minority rights," completely disregarding what the minority is arguing for will not solve any problems and will not help to govern the nation effectively. The dysfunction in Congress will only continue to hurt the United States as a whole in the long term.
I agree that Congress is simply too dysfunctional to do it’s job and that they recently have been accomplishing nothing. I think this is a result of an inability and also a lack of interest in both parties to collaborate and make decisions for sake of bettering our nation. It almost seems that Congress is forgetting whom they are supposed to represent: the American citizens. Our interests are not being met and our voices are not being heard because Congress is not making any effort to take them into account, and it is because of this that we have presented them with an extremely low approval rating of 11.3%. In the article, “Why I’m leaving the Senate, ” Senator Olympia Snowe says, “Simply put, the Senate is not living up to what the Founding Fathers envisioned,” and I definitely believe that this is true.
I definitely agree with Snowe, our Congress is practically irrelevant at this point. I spent part of the summer at a conference on Civil Discourse in Our Government, and, stated very bluntly, it was basically all about how nothing is getting done these days because members of Congress can not seem to get over themselves long enough to think about what the American public actually needs. All this blame game and my way or the highway stuff is crippling us as a nation. Snowe states, “The result is that there is no practical incentive for 75 percent of the senators to work across party lines.”. This is unfortunately so true. Congressmen and women are so ferociously stuck to their own sides that finding a compromise is like finding a needle in a haystack (sorry for all the clichés). Returning to civil discourse and ignoring ad hominem politics is the only way our country can properly move forward again. Our public forums have become arenas in which political gladiators attack each other rather than ideas, and innovative ideas get lost in the noise, and this is becoming a major issue. If government service and politics are to have meaning, our leaders and representatives need to solve real problems and place issues above the need for reelection. Like Snowe said, if we push for a change in the ways of our representatives, I think that we can meet “tremendous success”.
There is no denying that Congress is riddled with structural and procedural problems. Olympia Snowe is right when she says it “is not living up to its billing.” However, what would happen if all our senators and representatives just gave up like Snowe and Evan Bayh? Where would this country be if all our legislators suddenly gave up their faith in the American political system? Snowe can be applauded for sticking to her morals and deciding that leaving the Senate is the choice for her, but she should be held responsible for simply giving up. Snowe does not believe that “the Senate can correct itself from within…there must be a benefit to working across the aisle.” While I think it is nice that Snow believes the American people have enough power to change an institution that has lasted for more than 200 years, I do not think it is realistic. If Americans have not gathered enough power to change Congress already, I fear that we never will. It is because of this fear that I put my trust in those whom I elect seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. Unlike many people, I do not believe that all politicians are corrupt and have hidden agendas. While there may be intense party loyalty in Congress, the institution has still been able to pass important legislation. Events like 9/11 have shown us that Congress can work cooperatively when we need it most. Snowe has good evidence for leaving the Senate and I think it is admirable that she is sticking to her morals. However, I feel Olympia Snowe just wrote this article as a justification for giving up. She has been in the Senate for 17 years, and maybe she is just tired. Whatever the case, if all our politicians were like Snowe then we wouldn’t really have any form of government.
The foundation upon which this country was built have clearly been forgotten. Unfortunately, the basis for the American government has also been forgotten. Olympia Snowe has made an incredible observation, and that is that Congress is simply no longer doing its job. Although it gives me no pleasure to say this, but I agree with her. Our congress is divided, and we are constantly reminded of this division. The media never fails to point out the factions within Congress, blaming Republicans or Democrats. Congress has become centered around dirty party politics rather than the well being of the American people. Snowe said in her article, "As Ronald Brownstein recently observed in National Journal, Congress is becoming more like a parliamentary system — where everyone simply votes with their party and those in charge employ every possible tactic to block the other side." And she is absolutely correct. Our representatives are representing no other interests but their own, and perhaps taking into consideration their fellow party members' thoughts. While I am a huge fan of team work, I believe that Congress as a whole should work as a team, not on separate sides of the aisle. According to the article, "During the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison wrote in his Notes of Debates that “the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceedings with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch.”" I sincerely commend Snowe for remembering what many others have forgotten, and that is the true purpose of the Senate. However, it seems that our Government class has more "coolness" and "wisdom" when it comes to this sticky situation. Congressmen and women desperately need to reevaluate their priorities and refocus on the true goal of the Senate. If Congress desires an improvement in its approval rating, then it should seriously consider working in a united fashion rather than an institution with large holes and divisions.
Jesse Eddy
The United States Congress is too dysfunctional to preform there duty. Both the senate and the House of Representatives are not getting what needs to be done because of very stubborn disagreements from both the republicans and the democrats. Just like the congresswomen said there is no longer room for moderates in the House and the Senate. Now most members are either republican or democrat and will not compromise like they need to. Both sides believe they are right but neither have the power to pass what they believe is right therefore leaving the U.S. stuck in one spot there is no progress in passing anything that will help the United States. In order for this country to function there needs to be ability to compromise and both sides acknowledge that idea but will not sacrifice there views in order to achieve it. Moderation is the only possible way to get things done unless the country was strictly republican or strictly democrat.
There is no doubt that Congress today is too dysfunctional, shown by the congressional approval rating at the extremely low 11.3%. As Snowe said, it is a great challenge today to create a system that gives our congressmen and congresswomen reasons to find common ground. Today, our Senate is not functioning as a whole to getting the job done, but rather working against the opposing party. For changes to happen, like Snowe said, our leaders must understand the strength in compromise. Evan Bayh’s view is similar to Snowe’s. It certainly “should’t take a constitutional crisis or an attack on the nation to create honest dialogue in the Senate”. Congress today is definitely not living up to what the Founder Father’s have envisioned. For the past few years, it has been impossible to pass effective legislation. Congress’ failure to pass a budget for more than 1000 days is an example. The Senate’s requirement of a supermajority to pass legislation encourages its members to work in a bipartisan fashion, but like Brownstein said, Congress is becoming more like a parliamentary system.
The Congress has been slowly declining to the point where it can be agreed on that it is too dysfunctional to perform its job. Our government and the society we live in is simply chaotic as a whole. James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and the proclaimed “Father of the Constitution” desired a Senate that would have all voices heard; even with a majority vote, minority rights would be considered as well. Two centuries later, our Senate unfortunately does not resemble an ideal system. It is quite embarrassing that the Senate cannot keep a solid budget for more than 1,000 days and that our country’s debt is still suffering greatly. It is even more shocking to know that this past December, our Senate put in votes for two completely different proposals for an amendment on balancing budget. How is our country supposed to rely on the Senate when they fail to grasp onto and handle these major issues? There are too many voices and not enough compromise to reach smart solutions for our country’s well-being.
Evan Bayh stated, “Any improvement must begin by changing the personal chemistry among senators. More interaction in a non-adversarial atmosphere would help.” It seems that the “parliamentary-like” system in our current Congress is falling flat. Everybody is working, but they are not working together and interacting, as Bayh complains. Bayh also mentions the controversial issue of the filibuster in the Senate. He believes that filibuster votes should be reduced from 60 to 55, and that the overall filibuster debates should be separated rather than continuously happening one after another in some cases. It leads to “legislation delay,” which I can definitely agree with. The idea of a filibuster going on for hours, but then followed by another to finalize arguments or talk about something more specific, is just crazy. Bayh brings upon some great points as to why the Congress is disorganized and changing for the worse.
Pat Winiarski
Period 6
There is no excuse for why the congressional approval rating is at an unacceptable 11.3%. I agree with Snowe that our congress is completely dysfunctional, congress needs to work together for the mutual benefit of the country. Everyone in congress should be held responsible because there is no reason there should be a reason for over 1000 days a budget bill can not be passed. I feel that this nation has forgotten what our founding fathers had build the foundation on. For an example "During the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison wrote in his Notes of Debates that “the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceedings with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch.” And with this being said it is obvious that our congress is not living up to those standards. The problem is evident, both parties are not looking past each others differences to find common ground so we can achieve results for the common good. This is most certainly a flaw within our system and with super majority it is almost impossible to have anything passed since both sides do not want to work in a bipartisan fashion. Therefore unless there is serious reform within the future we will be stuck in this situation for a long time.
I wholeheartedly believe that Congress is actually doing its job. The purpose of Congress is to represent the people, and that is what it is doing. Everybody attacks Congress for being unwilling to compromise, unwilling to work together, and unwilling to see the other sides views. However, when these people attack Congress, they always say that it is the other side's fault. "The Democrats won't compromise" "The Republicans only bicker and don't try to solve problems". Even look at some of the previous comments, one person stated "Olympia Snowe is probably the only Republican not consistently voting along party lines, and this practice of extreme partisanship is what makes Congress inefficient and even dysfunctional." This is partisanship at its finest, and that is why Congress is becoming so dysfunctional, because it represents the people. When the population decides that it wants to compromise, Congress will follow suit. Congress represents the people of the United States, and when the people decide to work together, Congress will work together.
Mike Thomas
P5
Throughout the past few years, our congress has grown to become more and more unwilling to compromise. Without compromise, the citizens of America are suffering in seeing no progress being made to move forward. In today’s situation, it seems as though congressmen and women are no truly serving for the right reasons. They appear to be in it for personal status and self-preservation rather than making a difference in the management of the United States. With a staggering 11% approval rating, it surprises me that people are shocked to see this low of a percentage. We may ask ourselves, “How are they continuing to lead our country?” And the answer is simple; we keep voting the same people in just about every time. It’s no wonder our country is making no progress. Simply put, its insanity and there seems to be no end in sight with gerrymandering continuing to place congress personal.
George Washington once said that the country would fall apart if it were divided. We need to unite both democrats and republicans to come up with agreements and pass budgets in a legitimate timely manner. Image working for a company and keep telling your boss that you’ll eventually get to the task assigned when everyone is pleased. No, in the real world you would have to learn to work as a team with everyone you encounter in order to create progress. Congress needs to understand that compromise is necessary action that must be taken seriously in order to make America a success both present and future.
Lexi Koukos
Americas congress seems too dysfunctional to do its job now a days.
Congress’ main job is pass bills in order to make them into laws. It takes congress months upon months, even years to pass these bills which makes it a very long and grueling process. These congressmen fight for what they want, along with what will help their party out the most. There are many disagreements that are make it difficult due to the different political views. Representatives and others from the parts of the country in which these congressmen are from, are looking for results which are not being produced quickly enough. Many are not willing to make compromises with one another and they spend valuable time fighting over the little things within a bill, that most probably don’t even really care about. It is pretty obvious that with a 11.3% approval rating, the nation does not approve of what Congress is trying to do. It seems as though it is very hard for these politicians to compromise and make things work for the greater good of America. It is evident that this current way of doing congressional business is not the most efficient way to govern a nation. It seems as though even congressmen and women are upset with the way things are going in congress yet most will not speak up due to the fact that their main concerns are getting re-elected. This is a difficult task to fix because everyone has their own views and no one is ever going to agree with one another, but with out this congress won’t be able to function properly. If the American people have little confidence in congress from an outside prospective, imagine the little confidence the actual congressmen have in themselves. As a result, the current Congress has too much on their plate, which is a leading factor in the slow down of productivity on capital hill.
Emily Smith
Period 6
In my opinion, Congress is an extremely dysfunctional venue of government. BUT I do not believe that it Congress’s fault that it is so dysfunctional; I am not opposed to the people in Congress or their decisions, I realize that they are doing the best that they can. I believe that Congress is dysfunctional not because of what they are doing, but instead the environment they are doing it in. Our nation is divided into two polar opposite parties with contradicting political ideologies, which, in turn, has created an increasingly polarized Congress. This situation, with two polar opposite ideologies up against each other, is similar to joining a positive number and a negative number; if you combine a positive one, and a negative one, you will end up with zero. This is exactly what we are doing in Congress; each opposing side, Democrat and Republican, have relatively the same amount of power, and are being combined together to produce absolutely nothing.
For instance, as Olympia Snowe refers to in her article, when trying to solve the debt crisis, one of the most tantalizing issues in our nation, 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans were put together in one committee, with completely opposite opinions on the subject, in order to come up with a solution. It was inevitable that this committee would fail, solely because of how the political ideologies were mixed, with equal power and opposite ideas; it was destined to fail from the start. This is similar to the Congress as a whole; the more polarized it becomes, the less they will be able to accomplish, simply because it will be inherently impossible to come to any compromise whatsoever.
Overall, in order to be successful, our Congress, and even nation, should focus more on improving our country as a whole, rather than with two opposing sides.
Tiffany Wang
per. 6
Our Congress is too busy bickering against each other to do its job. “The Founding Fathers intended the Senate to serve as an institutional check that ensures all voices are heard and considered, because while our constitutional democracy is premised on majority rule, it is also grounded in a commitment to minority rights.” However, our Congress cannot agree and compromise between the two parties. As Ronald Brownstein stated in the National Journal, Congress is becoming more like a parliamentary system, which was not what the founding fathers intended. Congress members are voting for their own parties, and neither party seems to want to compromise. These elected representatives do not benefit us if they can not achieve results for the common good. I support Snowe’s statement, that Congress just isn’t working out the way it is intended to by our founding fathers. Politicians need to realize that they were elected to office to do represent the people in the decision making process, and they are failing to do so by continuing to debate with no beneficial end result.
In Schlesinger’s publishing in 1973, he argued that the position of presidency has involved into a position of supremacy as opposed to one of primacy. It is no doubt that since the establishment of the Executive branch the powers of the President has increased significantly. The office is no longer simply a role of symbolism but rather one of power. In Schlesinger’s argument, he declared Nixon of being the ultimate supremacist through his expansion of presidential power.
Despite Schlesinger’s assertion that President’s have reached the edges of Imperialism and his well-developed arguments, I disagree with his argument that Presidents have overstepped their Constitutional boundaries. The powers of the President were originally established with only the environment of America in the late 18th century and early 19th century in mind. America had just broken from English rule and the impacts of a Monarchy had left colonist fearful of the powerful government. Furthermore, the concepts of health care, internet, etc. was not fathomable. Over the past 200 years, these things have come into existence, completely changing the parameters of the presidential power.
If we are to strictly interpret the Constitutional powers of the President, then we might as well as take a step backwards. Times changes drastically and naturally so must the role of the President. In order for a President to do what is good, he or she must rule accordingly to the environment they are in right now. Therefore, Presidents have not impeded on their Constitutional rights but rather adapted to the society they are a part of.
Bella Guo
Some members of Congress are trying to do their job. However, their fellow Congress members are holding the whole Congress back, therefore making the legislative branch too dysfunctional to get anything done. All it takes for Congress to be hindered for an undefined amount of time is a small group of people. When the Constitution was being laid out, it was intended so that even the minority's voice can be heard. While those intentions worked for that day and age, the recent changes in the number of people needed to stop a filibuster show that if the Constitution had been written today, the government would most likely have been set up differently.
In addition, the two party system was completely unprecedented. This rift of Republicans vs. Democrats has given people a default decision that may not be what is best for the country upon closer inspection. The formation of parties does help keep the other party in check, but there should be a point as to how much power party leaders can have. For example, party leaders should not be allowed to threaten to take away funding if he/she didn't vote a certain way. It's because of traditions like these that Congress has an approval rating of 11.3%.
While a lot of people agree that Congress is dysfunctional, people disagree on how to best solve the problem, bringing us back to the original problem. The ability to compromise is slowly being lost, which is very troublesome, because it means that the government will start deviating more and more from what the Framers originally envisioned. In order for Congress to get its job done, it needs to learn to work together again, and think of themselves as Americans first and Democrats/Republicans second.
Jeffrey Lee p8
I do not think that congress with an approval rating of 11.3% are doing their job and are dysfunctional. Congress has been dysfunctional; they have not come up with a budget plan for more than 3 years. Many arguments do not have room for discussion and this makes much of the legislation hard to pass. The previous senator Snowe shows with her knowledge of being a member of congress that she truly believes that our current congress is inefficient and disjointed. Both parts of Congress, the senate and the House of Representatives, are not getting what needs to be done because of disagreements from both the republicans and the democrats which lead to stalemates, thus making very hard to pass legislation. Congress is supposed to represent the people of America not the individual parties. Congress will work if the senators and house representatives work together to pass legislation.
Olympia Snow was completely correct when she said our Senate is dysfunctional. Obviously no one is going to agree on everything however, the Senate has turned into a body where its members are working harder at blocking the opposing party from being successful than at allocating their efforts to actually getting things done for America. Snow does not see the possibility of these legislators finding common ground to meet in the middle on and effectively form policy. Which can be seen when the body failed to pass a budget for more than 1,000 days and that congress is becoming more of a parliamentary system where members just vote on the side of their party and simply just try to block the other party’s vote. People have become too polarized; either on the left or the right whether they truly believe in the party’s opinions or not. And there seems to be no practical incentive for senators to work across party lines in terms of being concerned about being re-elected and representing their state. What would the founding fathers say if they knew each side is sneaking behind each other’s backs and are using bribery?
I agree that polarized parties are ruining our government as seen in the past few years with the past few presidents where legislation has been extremely hard to pass because the opposing party in congress blocks its passage. The founding fathers created a system with two houses and an executive is so there wouldn’t be one ruler presiding over the country. However, we now have two parties ruling over the country and canceling each other out so much that Congress has gotten to the point that it is so dysfunctional that the only way of repairing it comes from the outside in. After all, Congress should be the coming together of the interests of the American people. Yet, 82.5% of Americans disapprove of Congress.
Megan McGrath
When the bi-cameral congress system was designed by the founding fathers, they hadn't expected a two party system in government. Washington himself had been opposed to the two party system. Senate has always been considered to be the upper house, the more civilized and respectful house that is indeed supposed to give everyone equal say. However with the polarization of the houses there is very little of what the the Senate was intended for. Bi-partisan support for a bill comes so rarely with the party that holds the majority essentially passing all the bills, and the party holding the minority doing everything they can to block the bills. It's a brutal system where nothing is ever accomplished by government as the government can't seem to agree with it's self on what to pass. Furthermore, it is evident that in the past parties have attempted to undo all that the past party in power had done, the pros of the bi party system in the US is that people are able to see all sides of the issue, however e parties have become so powerful that it is nearly impossible for independents to get elected without being directly afflicted with a party. The number of independents in the nation are rising and so should the number of independents in congress, but that is not the case, unfortunately. With no bi partisan support for a bill in congress, the legislative branch has hit a stalemate. This was not what the founding fathers had intended when the American Government was created.
Courtney McQuade
I do think Congress has become dysfunctional. There is such a thing called compromise, which is often useful in politics, but cannot be achieved by a Congress that is as polar as the one we have now. Congress is obviously not accurately representing our country’s views if only 11.3% of our citizens approve of its job. I think it is time for the politicians in Congress to get over themselves, stop working through a selfish viewpoint, and start working together for the sake of our country. These people were not hired to represent themselves, so they should not be allowed to get away with doing just that! I believe that the people supposedly representing us in Congress have proved a disgrace, not only as our representative body, but as adults as well. Adults should be able to settle a problem and come to an agreement and not hold their stubbornness for 1,000 days to spite the people they are supposed to be working to help, the citizens of America. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that we the people have become less than a mere thought in the minds of the members of Congress at work. Although I would hardly call it work. These people are not working together to reach goals for America, they are working against each other to keep the opposing side from reaching their individual goals. I think something definitely needs to be done about the job Congress has been doing. We do need representatives from both ends of the spectrum, but we also need functioning adults who can pull together and let go of certain things in order to compromise for the greater good.
One would like to believe that there are not issues that a body in charge of our country cannot solve rationally and effectively. Unfortunately, if Evan Bahye and Olympia Snowe are correct, that may be the case. Congress was intended to be the unit that resolved all conflicts, not create them. It was designed as the part of government that would carry our country forward with legislation and cooperation. But as the two senators above have reported, that goal is no longer in Congress' sights. Increased partisanship and sectionalism has dragged representatives to the two political poles, tending to vote with their party and put more effort into disrupting the other members than to true progress. They have ceased to be statesman and have become career politicians, and our national progress is reflecting this, now more than ever with precarious economic situations highlighting the pace and bitterness with which Congress operates.
It would seem, however, that the American people are noticing. Congress' approval rating is pitifully low, and cries demanding upsets to incumbency and term limits demonstrate that some outspoken citizens have had enough. While these may be extreme measures, they seem to be of the type Senator Snowe is looking for on the outside. She does not outline any specific points, but claims change to the system must be externally motivated, and thus dropped out from any changes she could make on the inside. Perhaps with people such as Bayhe and Snowe raising awareness and citizens taking an increased interest in our legislators' operations, there is a chance that Congress will get its act together and help keep America the great country she has been.
Kayleigh Torok
I think Congress has become dysfunctional. According to Evan Bahye, Congress is creating more conflicts than solving them. Congress is supposed to create legislation that helps the United States of America. Instead, the whole process seems more like a game. The democrats and republicans want to help their party more than they want to help their country. Because of the upcoming election, the Republicans want to make the economy look bad so that President Obama will not win. They want to make sure that the overall perception of America is that it is not on the right track so come election time, voters will vote republican. A good example of how dysfunctional congress is Senator Olympia Snowe. She has decided to retire because of the lack of bipartisanship.
Congress has a lower approval rating than President Obama showing the lack of bipartisanship between the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. Many of Congressmen have to pass legislation that is favored in their district in order to get reelected. Overall, it will take a lot of work to get the Legislative Branch back on track and to start passing legislation that will stimulate the economy and put America on the right track.
Alfred Kroqi
I believe Congress has become dysfunctional but not because they are incompetent to do their job. These are some of the smartest people in the country, if they were not suited for the job, the would not have been able to have been elected into office. The problem however lies with their greed. Every congressman or woman has their agenda which they tirelessly try to get passed. Many congresspeople bargain to have their bills passed just so they can say they passed them. At the end of the day, the bill's first true intention is forgotten and so twisted that it does not serve the purpose it was first thought of at all. I think the congressional approach to passing legislation must be revisited. The things this country needs a very clear cut but the laws being passed are not working because the people passing them are forgetting their first intentions. The low approval rating of 11.3% is just plain embarrassing. If the country does not approve of the people in congress why are the same people getting reelected? This is the problem with the voters of the country. If you only agree with 11.3% of the things happening in Washington, then you need to have a house cleaning. Dump every politician currently serving you and appoint someone else to the position. They sure couldn't do any worse.
Taylor Frazier Period 8
I do believe that congress has progressively become more dysfunctional. The low approval rate, just over 11%, proves that the nation lacks confidence in congress and that they are not properly doing their job to their countries level of satisfaction. They are unable to get things done because a small group of individuals can cause congress’s progress to be stopped for an unlimited period of time. This ideal that all voices should be heard is an ideal that is not longer working due to the large number of people in congress and the large variety of opinions.
I also believe that the two party system was completely unnecessary. It has polarized the government and makes it that much more difficult for decisions to be made. The lack of compromise between Republicans and Democrats is not at all considered beneficial for our country. It makes it difficult to pass any legislation because of the opposing party’s views. This two house system causes a stalemate within the government where one party proposes legislature and the other denies, and vise versa, so that nothing gets done and congress becomes progressively more dysfunctional.
Post a Comment