Time: Thu Jun 12 16:08:58 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id MAA21406; Thu, 12 Jun 1997 12:54:23 -0700 (MST) Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 15:45:03 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: How Congress has changed (fwd) <snip> > >The below article is published by the Lincoln Heritage Institute, Inc. a >conservative not-for-profit corp. If there are any questions, please >contact us, or go to our home page at http://members.aol.com/lhiadmof. > > >CONGRESS, THE END OF AN ERA > >BY C. Grady Drago > > Retired Congressman Robert Walker of Pennsylvania, in an article written >for the Lincoln Heritage Institute's ADDRESS, says that the end to the >camaraderie amongst the members of the House of Representatives, as well as >the downfall of the Democratic majority is due, in large part, to reforms >by the Democratic majority that were "...designed to lock in permanent >majorities." > The House of Representatives has always been, and was designed to be, a >body of hotly contested viewpoints. The hotter the debate the better. It >not only brought out the best and worse in people, but brought facts, >beliefs, and desires into the spotlight of public scrutiny and made for >good compromise and better law. Such debate was the acid cure of ideas. >Unfortunately, the camaraderie and openness that was the U.S. Congress, >seems to be going the way of the dinosaur and with it what many feel were >the most effective days of our national legislature. > As Congressman Walker points out, the Democratic leadership of the 1970's >"...created a system of independent power brokers by increasing the members >of subcommittees and subcommittee chairmen...complete with increased >liberal staffs who helped to create and control the legislative agenda... >However, some of the changes undertaken by the Democratic majorities in the >1970s began to sow the seeds of their own defeat nearly twenty years later. > The introduction of electronic voting and C-Span coverage of Congressional >sessions brought about dramatic results. > Electronic voting significantly altered the culture of the House of >Representatives. Before the introduction of voting cards, each Congressman >had to come to the chamber and wait for his or her name to be called. That >usually meant spending thirty to forty-five minutes hanging around the >House floor. Bipartisan state delegations hung out together. Members got >to know each other. The House had more of a club-like atmosphere. > Voting cards meant that Representatives could come to the chamber, vote >quickly, and leave immediately. The only place Members really got to know >each other was in committees, the result being that committees became far >more insular places. C-span coverage of the House proceedings gave large >numbers of people in the general public a better look at how Congress works >and a more intimate knowledge of its rules and procedures. > The election of Ronald Reagan and the band of activist conservatives to >the House in the early 1980s gave Republicans an opportunity to exploit the >changing nature of the Congress. > Despite the election of Bill Clinton to the Presidency, the Democrats on >Capitol Hill were increasingly on the defensive. Management issues became >outright scandals in places like the House Bank and the House Post Office. >Democrats tried to reorganize and reform, but the power structures they had >created twenty years earlier were resistant to change. Instead they were >forced to further restrict debate and deliberations causing more controversy. > Republicans won control of the Congress in 1994 using a positive program >called the Contract with America. Fundamental to the Contract's success >was its emphasis on congressional reforms. We called for reduced numbers >of committees and subcommittees, smaller congressional committee staffs, >more open debate, and an end to proxy voting and other reforms that largely >reversed the changes that occurred as I arrived in Congress. Of course, >both electronic voting and C-Span remained -- a confirmation that they are >the reality of the modern information age. > When I was sworn into the 95th Congress in 1977, Democrats and liberals >were in ascendancy... Now the assumption is the Republicans will control >the Congress into the foreseeable future. That's real change." > The Institute prefers the conservative ideology of the present leadership >but is sad at the passing of a period of camaraderie and comity that >market this exclusive body. > >**** > > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >To unsubscribe from this mailing list, DISREGARD ANY INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE and >go to the Web page at http://www.maillist.net/rightnow.html. New >subscriptions can also be entered at this page. If you cannot access the >World Wide Web, send an e-mail message to RightNow-Request@MailList.Net and >on the SUBJECT LINE put the single word: unsubscribe > > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S. : Counselor at Law, federal witness email: [address in tool bar] : Eudora Pro 3.0.2 on Intel 586 CPU web site: http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this ========================================================================
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