This
past week, Rodney Frelinghuysen’s behavior served as an unusually stark example
of how a representative can navigate the two congresses as almost entirely
separate domains. Some recent visits to the district, his weekly online
newsletter, and social media accounts indicate as much; there is little
meaningful overlap between what went on in Washington and what Mr.
Frelinghuysen communicated to his constituency.
In
his weekly newsletter and on Twitter, Frelinghuysen made reference to
Obamacare, a bill he co-sponsored regarding flood insurance premiums from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the passing of a Veteran who was a
resident of his district, and the anniversary of President Kennedy’s
assassination. Absent were references to most of the matters that occupied
Congress this week. The House did hold a hearing from an expert on web security
regarding the healthcare.gov, and, as mentioned above Mr. Frelinghuysen did
discuss this hearing in his newsletter.
But other noteworthy news emanated
from Capitol Hill this week. The House dealt with some critical legislation
regarding oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing, and passed the DATA act, which
govtrack.us called “a landmark government spending transparency bill.” This
legislation calls on the federal government to limit and curb spending on
government activities such as meetings and travel to 70% of the level it was at
in 2010.[1]
(MeetingsNet)
Congress also passed a wave of
legislation over the course of three days that, according to one source, amounts
to a series of legislative favors for the oil and gas industries.[2]
The bill seeks to speed the approval of pipeline construction in the wake of
heavy pressure from environmental special interest groups. As this developed on
the house floor, an independent study from the Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington group revealed that oil and gas industry contributions
grew by 231% from 2004-2012 in districts and states with fracking activity.[3]
Obviously, the Republican majority, Mr. Frelinghuysen included, pushed this
through the House to the chagrin of the Senate and Presidency.
Yet Mr. Frelinghuysen’s newsletter
focused heavily on the negative aspects of Obamacare. One section of it was
titled, “This Week Passed: Just 741 New Jersey Enrollees!” and another was
titled, “Healthcare.gov Security: A Major Concern.” This seems to be in tandem
with the strategy of House Republicans to denounce the Affordable Care Act and
damage the reputation of President Obama.
Also noteworthy is the reference to
a veteran’s passing in his district. This sort of media ploy is a salient theme
of Mr. Frelinghuysen’s campaigning. I have noticed heavily moralistic rhetoric
in regard to Veteran’s causes time and time again over the course of this blog
project. Supporting veterans is obviously very important and critical to his
reputation and his job security.
All in all, Mr. Frelinghuysen’s PR
strategy leaves the informed consumer with something to be desired. He focuses
heavily on denouncing Democrats and President Obama and champions his own
electoral cause at the cost of making members of his district aware of what is actually
going on in Congress.
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