Blog Reflection Post

First and foremost, this blog assignment definitely forced me to be much more aware of the happenings within Congress on a regular basis.  While I try to follow political news as often as possible, I often did not focus on [detailed] coverage of legislative issues and events; consider especially that, in the current political atmosphere, news of the 2016 Presidential race dominates the media.  Writing these blog posts not only made me pay more attention to Congressional news but also gave me the opportunity to analyze and more deeply understand these issues.  I think one of the things I am most pleased with, in retrospect, about my posts and the blog more generally is that many of us posted on a wide variety of Congressionally-relevant topics.  For example, my posts ranged from the electoral process to specific issues being pushed to the change in House leadership.  This post will serve as a reflection on the ways in which my understanding and knowledge of Congress has shifted, as evidenced through my past posts.

One of the most significant things that I gained from this blog is a better understanding of the internal workings of Congress, and I think the House leadership chaos caused by Boehner's sudden resignation greatly aided in increasing the visibility of some of these processes.  Three of my blog posts centered on the pressures faced and decisions made by Boehner in his final month or so as Speaker, allowing me to take a far more detailed look at the responsibilities required of the position.  For example, I knew very little about how the Speaker must deal with factions in the House, something that I was able to explore when the Freedom Caucus was staging a coup against Boehner.  I questioned if he would even last much longer as Speaker, and I received an answer two days later when he announced his retirement.  This was a fantastic opportunity to analyze the forces at work that pressure the leadership, as well as what happens when a party leader resigns unexpectedly.  On a different note, writing posts for this blog also allowed me to think more critically about the electoral processes and factors that influence whether or not Congressional candidates even make it to office.  Investigating Katie McGinty's current Senate run against Pat Toomey was by far one of the most interesting posts to write, as I was able to learn more about electoral factors in practice while also examining issues related to gender (one of my main academic and political interests).  Perhaps the ability to choose the specific topics that were of most interest to me was one of the best parts of this blog assignment, as it allowed me to enhance my understanding of Congress in a way that was both interesting and personally meaningful.

Overall, I think this assigment was a great tool to help me develop my thinking about Congress.  We started off the semester talking about the basic principle of the 'two Congresses,' and my posts have evolved from highlighting this principle to also including such concepts as Congressional procedures and processes, interest group involvement, campaign finance, and ideology.  I got into the habit of reading Congressional news every Wednesday morning before class as a way to prepare for writing my weekly post, which I often did on Wednesday afternoons.  Even though we stopped posting to the blog about a month ago, I still find myself perusing Congressional news every Wednesday morning—it's become a part of my weekly routine, and I am now better able to understand the events happening in Congress.  As I mentioned earlier, it's easy to get caught up in the flashy news surrounding the President and the Presidential race, but researching for this blog has given me a new appreciation for the happenings of Congress and I hope to continue following Congressional news even after the class ends.