Eye on Congress: An Introduction

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YTP was reading the other day about two American sociological and cultural trends that had dramatic consequences for today’s political situation. The first was a shift from respect for people in positions of authority to near automatic criticism of them. The second was a shift from Congressional scrutiny to Executive branch scrutiny. Both of these changes have dominated the way Americans view and hear about politics since 1969. In fact, it is almost the only lens which we are given to see the political world: criticism of the Executive. Don’t believe me? Try finding out the details of an upcoming vote (that is not the financial bailout) in the House on CNN. In fact, do a Google News search for Congress and one for President Bush and look at the reporting frequency. On average, there is one story on Congress for every six posted on President Bush. There are 540 total members of Congress.

I’ve mulled these two shifts over for some time, and decided that part of the reason that we, as a society, have remained focused on scrutinizing and analyzing the Presidency is because it is easier to do so. Congress deals in archaic procedures, especially in the Senate, and through a myriad of deals and committee hearings that make it hard to follow much less understand all that is going on. They also do very little to alleviate the clouds of mystery which surround their actions. The Presidency is a much more accessible lightning rod for people’s frustrations and opinions. The MSM, never one to shy away from the easy story, takes the executive route for that reason as well, among others. While scrutiny of the Presidency is not a bad thing, it should not replace scrutiny of our other elected leaders.

And what a world there is to scrutinize: Congress holds the purse strings to our society. Congress can create amendments to our Constitution. They can change our tax rates, our rights, our freedoms. Congress passes the laws that rule our lives. Regardless of your political beliefs, and regardless of the political composition of others in your voting district, your Congressman and Senators have an obligation to represent you that is even stronger than the obligation of the Presidency. Congress, not the President, is directly elected. They are the very thing which makes us a republic.

Because of this, Congress deserves more respect, both from the American people, and from the people who hold office in it. The people elected to Congress need to respect the institution and the office enough to not behave like thugs and scoundrels once elected to it. And the voting populace needs to spend more time monitoring and demanding accountability from their leaders. In other words, I think we need to elevate the respect we have for people in positions of such serious authority, and demand they respect those positions too.

I walk through this thought process as an introduction to a new feature of YTP: Eye on Congress. I’ll post regularly about votes of interests, and other sites that may be of use to you. I promise not to make this blog all about Congressional issues – there will still be lots of science, history, photography, and bad puns. But I feel strongly that now is the time to put the spotlight back on the legislative branch. So here at YTP, I’m turning it on. Stay tuned.