If you believe in representative democracy, as I do, this has been a dispiriting time. At a crucial moment for our nation’s economy, many Americans look at Congress and see posturing, not a serious effort to create jobs or to get our fiscal house in order. They’ve responded with terrible approval ratings; the latest, from NBC and The Wall Street Journal, showed some three-quarters of Americans disapproving of the job Congress is doing.
These dismal numbers have become so commonplace that most people in Washington react with a shrug. But our form of representative democracy places Congress at its center, as the voice of the American people and the guardian of the democratic process; when it is met with such dissatisfaction, the response should not be indifference, but a determination to improve its standing. We may have the best form of government we know, but we must always strive to make it better.
The basic features of our system have served this nation admirably over more than two centuries, but they can be abused. Democracy stokes passions, naturally creating robust debate and sharp-elbowed political competition. But it also leads to excesses we should address.
For instance, our system is driven by a healthy competition between the parties. But members of Congress are too willing to focus on scoring political points, at the expense of searching for a remedy for our challenges. You see this in their slim legislative record at a time of enormous challenge, and in the countless positions in the administration that have gone unfilled; the opposition has blocked nominees and simply declared that at least for some positions it will not support anyone President Obama nominates.
Similarly, both the Founders and earlier generations of Congress developed procedures to ensure that runaway majorities could not trample on the rights and wishes of the minority. But it has become terribly easy, especially in the Senate, for a handful of legislators — or even just one recalcitrant lawmaker — to gum up the works on behalf of some pet cause.
Congress has taken up plenty of space on the news pages so far this year, but it can point to very little of significance that it has actually accomplished. Both sides in Congress seem all too ready to take endless votes on bills that have no chance of being enacted, but have been placed on the calendar for the sole purpose of requiring the opposition party to cast a difficult vote. This sort of game-playing is hardly new, but it comes at a cost: legislators have limited time and energy, and when both are taken up with trivialities and political shenanigans, it means that important work does not get done.
To his credit, the Speaker of the House has tried to limit inconsequential legislation — resolutions honoring this or that constituent — but politically tinged maneuvering still goes on. A common complaint in the congressional cloakrooms is to ask in frustration, “Why are we working on this trivial matter when we’re surrounded by so many serious challenges?”
In a representative democracy, of course, part of the point is for legislators to represent particular interests, especially the needs of their constituents. That is how the great diversity of this nation is given voice on Capitol Hill. But this can go too far. Too many members have adopted habits that might help their re-election chances, but do little to solve problems.
They pander to powerful people or groups; take their marching orders from the poll of the day, not their own intellectual compass; listen to their biggest contributors, not to the broad cross-section of their districts; and engage too often in short-term thinking, looking to the instant gratification of the next election or even the next poll, rather than the country’s needs a decade out.
All these excesses of democracy contribute to Americans’ lack of faith in Congress and undermine our system of representative government. The ideal for members is to conduct themselves as politicians and legislators so as to reflect credit on the institution they serve, and earn the respect — if not always the approval — of their countrymen. The record at the moment suggests they are falling short.
Lee Hamilton is Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Can we make representative democracy better?
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
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FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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FLASHPOINT: Milestone year for Rose-Hulman
The Rose-Hulman campus traditionally quiets down this time of year, yet for me I sense a renewed energy from the phenomenal year just closing.
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FLASHPOINT: ISU’s reasoning flawed in flight school planning
ISU and the taxpayers of Indiana and Vigo County are being led down a path of deception once again.
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FLASHPOINT: Incessant attacks on Christianity by the ACLU
It is obviously apparent that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is continuing its onslaught against religious freedom in the United States.
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FLASHPOINT: Americans deserve more value for their tax dollars
While traveling the 8th District and listening to fellow Hoosiers during my first term in Congress, I have reached the conclusion that many constituents do not believe they are getting value for the tax dollars that come out of their paychecks and are sent to Washington, D.C.
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