Carter Wilson
POL 411
Media Paper
Representation
"All politics is
LOCAL" this quote by former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill describes
representation with only four words. However, it will be more than four words
to fully describe the concept of representation that will be shared with the
masses. The congressman's power ultimately comes from the backing of his
constituents. But what is embedded in this representation? What drives congressmen
to act in the manner of which he or she does? This article will illustrate what
representation is ( including the different styles), why the public should know
the types of representation, and how we as Americans should view certain acts
from our congressman with a political eye...a political eye that most of the
time, is dysfunctional at best.
To begin, let us look at
the heart of a congressman's main backing...the constituents. There are many
different views a congressmen can receive from his or her constituents. Let's
look at some congressmen active in congress now and see who they were before
they were elected and how this goes into a political career. I will select two
members from the House of Representatives, and two members from the senate.
First, we will look at Indiana 5th District Representative Dan Burton. In his
early career, Mr. Burton graduated from Indiana University, afterwards he
continued his studies at Cincinnati Christian University. To his constituents,
Dan Burton is seen early in his career as being in the Army, being a stock
broker, and opening his own brokerage firm. He later went into the political
arena. Another Representative from the 20th District of California is Jim
Costa. Mr. Costa's earlier career before being a congressman was being a
special assistant to John Krebs and Richard Lehman. Mr. Costa went into his
political career by serving in the California State Assembly and California
State Senate. Bringing senators into the discussion, Marco Rubio, the Senator
from Florida got his Law Degree from the University of Miami School of Law.
Prior to becoming a United States Senator, Mr. Rubio served in the Florida
State House, while there, he was elected Speaker of the Florida State House.
And lastly, Jim Webb, the Senator from the state of Virginia. Mr. Webb went to
the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Upon graduation, he was commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and served in Vietnam.
After serving, Mr. Webb obtained his Law Degree, however he went onto bigger
things by becoming the Assistant Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the
Navy. With these four congressmen, we can see that the positions they had held
before make a great contribution to them becoming elected. Most were
professional politicians prior to serving in The United States Congress. The
embedded clip depicts Representative Pete Sessions and
his ideas of the congressional elections for 2012. Here we can see just how
congressmen are depicted and how they are sometimes thrown at the American
public with to show the "better" congressman whether it be Republican
or Democrat.
The positions and
"lime-light" congressman have been in prior to the election, as stated
above, allows for them to "show" their constituents that they are the
best candidate for the position. This ties into the way congressmen present
themselves to the public and their constituents. We see many examples of a
congressman going out and speaking with the general public. Mainly this public
consists of his constituents. A congressman must be seen. If not, they run the
risk of not being re-elected if re-election is their goal. We will discuss this
concept later in the article.
In order to fully
understand how a congressman represents his or her district, we must look at
two different styles in which the congressman can represent. These two are
labeled Hill Style, or how the members present themselves in Washington, and
Home style, how the members present themselves back in their districts.
Starting out, Home Style representation needs to be known as a key element of
the representation thought process. Home style representation occurs when a
congressman goes out to his or her constituents and is seen as being actively
involved in his or her districts political needs.
Home style enables the
congressman to share what he or she has done for the community in the political
realm of Washington, bragging rights more or less. The constituents see the congressman
either as a person who is truly helping their community, i.e. through credit
claiming, or is a stagnant shell that needs to be replaced. These views are
critical for re-election time in that congressman's district. This form of
representation refers to the congressman as being a member "from the
district". If the congressman seeks re-election, they will highlight the
good they have done for the district. "From the District"
representation stems to the backbone of a congressman's re-election campaign.
The embedded clip from C-SPAN depicts Representative Debbie Wesserman from the
state of Florida as she speaks to her constituents in a town hall meeting. This
clip explains just how congressmen go about a home style representation towards
their constituents.
The other type of
congress would be the members "in congress" representation. Here we
see those congressmen who are either not looking for re-election, or are higher
in seniority and their congressional background speaks for itself. Of course the
congressman will still have interests in his or her constituents and their
needs, however this style of congressman knows that he is doing a good job due
to multiple re-elections and NATIONAL prestige. This prestige could be gained
through many routes including positions in congress itself, i.e. chairman of a
super-committee, or a great amount of public face-time on national television.
These congressmen are acting in the type of representation known as hill style
representation. The embedded clip from C-SPAN now shows how Representative
Jason Chaffetz from Utah discusses a more national topic on the Iranian
Sanctions as he discusses from key intelligence gatherers in a congressional
conference. This clip depicts a congressman who is in a hill style manner of
representation.
The two styles, home
style and hill style, depend primarily on the congressman his or herself and
how they see their jobs. Is it more important for that congressman to
constantly speak in front of his or her constituents back home, or is it more
important for the congressman to be seen nationally, or should they be
somewhere between the two. These three stances are classified into National;
National-District; and District member orientation.
Finally, we come to the
constituents themselves. The background of a certain district reflects greatly
on the type of representation it will receive. In simpler terms, you would not
find a northern speaking well-to-do lawyer who drives a BMW representing a
small district in southern Georgia whose main employer is the area's lumber
manufacturer. This is an example of a person who would best be suited to
represent a more urban area with people who mostly look, speak, and act in the
same manner the congressman does. This descriptive type of representation is
present in districts. From the constituent’s standpoint, there must be a
connection with the congressman in order to hand over their vote to him or her.
What happens when a
motivated congressman does want to run for election in a certain district, but
does not look, speak, or act in the manner that is the same as the
congressman's potential constituents? This lies in the substantive type of
representation. A congressman can make it seem as if he or she is from the
district by the way in which they represent the district. Representing in this
way is done through political "suaveness" and the ability to make the
constituents feel as if you are who they need to represent them.
In conclusion,
congressman have to know their constituents and also know what is important in
the national aspect of congress, be it the Senate or the House of
Representatives. Through home style and hill style representation, congressman
work for the nation, as well as their own districts. These congressman can view
themselves as a "from the district congressman" or "from the
congress congressman". They know the advantages of both and some lean
towards the national level, some lean towards the district level, and some are
the "tweeners" who are considered a "national-district"
congressman. There are advantages to all three, ultimately been chosen by the
congressman and his or her viewpoints.
