To be
in Congress is to fill a double role.
One needs to be both a legislator at the national level: making laws
which are necessary to the continued functioning of the country, as well as a representative
for a home district: following the will of one’s constituents and insuring
their continuing support. Without the
support of their constituents, a member of Congress will not stay in Congress
long enough to create any important laws.
Thus, the line which Senators and Representatives must walk becomes a
balancing act between appeasing members of one’s one home state or district,
and engaging in the vital lawmaking which they were elected for in the first
place. The question is whether or not it
is possible to fill both roles simultaneously or if these roles conflict to the
degree that they wind up creating insurmountable obstacles for the other. In theory, a member of Congress should be
able to represent their constituents through the act of lawmaking, i.e.
enacting laws which the people who elected them want. However, it is not always quite so
simple. Not everyone wants the same laws
enacted, even those people who voted for the same person. In order to fulfill both sets of
requirements, members of Congress must blend the two roles as much as they can
in order to stay in Congress and continue to create the laws which they, and
the people they represent, deem necessary.
Over
the past three months, I have been following the ways in which Senator
Elizabeth Warren balances and blends her role as both lawmaker and peoples representative. One of the most recent members of the Senate,
Warren is certainly new to the double role which she now plays, but that does
not mean that she is a political novice.
With a populist agenda and fiery rhetoric, Warren does not have any
trouble galvanizing the middle class. Even
before her Senate run, she had built up a name for herself as the scourge of
unregulated banking and a staunch defender of middle and working class
families. Her populist fame was clear when she ran for the Senate in 2012. 97% of her funding came in donations of less
than $100. It was clear from the outset that the middle class was on her
side. Because of the nature of her
support, her two roles were much easier to balance than they can be for other
members of Congress. From her time
before the Senate to her time in the Senate, her goals have not changed. She fights for regulated banking, fair
lending practices for all (but especially those who need the most help), and a
level playing field for all. Warren is
in a unique position where she is able to represent her constituents by making
the laws they put her there to make.
However,
all the important legislation in the world won’t mean much if the constituents
don’t hear about it. Again, Warren is a
unique case. Many members of Congress
will field questions from reporters on Capitol Hill or will answer questions as
the walk through the halls of Congress. This is a good way to get a name out
there and insure that constituents recognize the work they do. Warren, on the other hand will actively avoid
reporters on The Hill. While she will
almost never speak to reporters when they approach her in Washington, she will
regularly field questions when she is home in Massachusetts. She doesn’t have the national media tell her
constituents the work she does; she tells them herself. For a member of Congress, this is an ideal
way to insure that people know what she does for them, and by going directly to
the people of her home state, it demonstrates that she wants them to remember
that she works for them.
Warren,
even in spite of her avoidance of Washington journalists, is never short on
national media attention. Her impassioned
speeches, both on the Senate floor and at conferences and lectures around the
country, regularly make the national news and spread like wildfire on social
media sites. Always the populist, she
rails against government corruption, cuts to social services, and economic
policies which benefit the rich at the expense of the poor. By standing out and
speaking up for what she, and the majority of her state, believes in, she will
regularly steal the national spotlight. In doing so, she is able to act both as
a lawmaker by defending her stance on bills and as a representative of her home
state by reminding them why they put her there.
For
those members of Congress who are not quite so adept at stealing the national
spotlight, a common way to maintain the support of a state or district is
through money in the form of government grants.
If a Senator or Representative wants to remind their constituents that
they should continue to elect them, sending money home can be the best way of
doing that. Even Elizabeth Warren
understands this concept well. Last month,
she was home in Massachusetts to announce two grants totaling over $15
million. The grants which went toward
reducing juvenile recidivism rates and improving public schools were well received
and represented just one more way that a member of Congress can appeal to their
constituents.
While
Elizabeth Warren is a unique case, to be sure, she demonstrates that it is
possible for a member of Congress to not only fill their two roles, but to
blend the two roles and preform them at the same time. She is able to act to do this by fighting
ardently for the laws which gained her renown even before her time in Congress
began, and establishing a name for herself by making waves and gaining national
attention. The two roles can conflict,
however. There are times when Warren
must make sure that she appeals directly to her home state. Regular trips home to speak at an event,
interview with local news sources, or announce grants have the detrimental
effect of cutting into vital time that could be spent insuring the passage of
vital laws. The existence and importance
of these two roles can stretch a member of Congress thin at times, but if
managed properly by talented politician, they can exist side by side.
Sources:
Elizabeth Warren: New to the Senate, but a Capitol Hill
Veteran
http://2congressesatwork.blogspot.com/2013/09/elizabeth-warren-new-to-senate-but.html
A Week of Grand Speeches for Elizabeth Warren
http://2congressesatwork.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-week-of-grand-speeches-for-elizabeth.html
Elizabeth Warren Talks Corruption, Money, and the Growing
Tension Between Congress and the Courts
http://2congressesatwork.blogspot.com/2013/09/elizabeth-warren-talks-corruption-money.html
Liz Warren's Speech Goes Viral, Prompts More Speculation
http://2congressesatwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/liz-warrens-speech-goes-viral-prompts.html
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