Final Blog Post

Prior to taking US Congress I had a very basic and elementary understanding of how our Legislative Branch worked. Through this class I have learned the complexities and struggles that our law makers face both in terms of passing legislation and in maintaining a positive relationship with their constituents. One of the more fascinating and reoccurring themes throughout the course is the idea behind reelection being one of, if not the most important factor in decision making among congress makers. Each member must be focused on upcoming elections in one way or another because in order for them to able to get anything done they must remain in office. Understanding the reasoning behind the actions of the members of congress provides an interesting insight to how our and why our government functions the way it does. 

Many of the themes we discussed in class were consistently present in our weekly blog entries following the current congress. It was evident that congressmen and women for focused on their constituencies and were extremely careful with what they said and when they said. We witnessed a historical moment with the ousting of former Speaker John Boehner and we also observed the struggle to find and select a new Speaker to fill the empty seat. Bipartisanship was and is one of the most defining characteristics of Congress today. It is near to impossible for anyone to reach middle ground as both parties strongly encourage individual members to vote along party lines. This has caused the inability to pass any important legislation or really any legislation for that matter. We discovered this frustration for ourselves through the simulation where it was near to impossible to convince members to vote across party lines, but we also saw the power of a majority to push legislation through Congress. 

Overall this class has given me a much greater understand and respect for our countries representatives. They face many obstacles and struggles in balancing their multiple responsibilities of forming and passing legislation and voicing the opinions of their constituents. I have also grown frustrated with the way in the condition of the current congress. Our country needs strong, yet rational leaders that are willing to take risks and find compromise, but the current congress has thrown compromise out the window and now features two parties in constant gridlock. Our focus is almost solely on who is to be the next president, but rather than considering the effect of one individual our focus should turn to our representatives and seek to fix and restore the power of Congress. Turning our attention to mending Congress could help provide a path and a starting point to helping address the many issues that our country currently is faced with.