Members Of Congress Mayhew Summary

Daniel Severinov
11/3/2014
01:790:395
D. Mayhew

Mayhew provides an analysis of the structure, function and organization of the United States Congress, as well as the incentives that the Members of Congress find themselves motivated by. In Madison's Federalist Articles, the founding father lays down many facets and points that he would like to see incorporated by the government, as well as possible solutions to several problematic areas of interest, such as factions. Mayhew's analysis points out the Members of Congress' prioritization of re-election seeking behavior, with congress members finding themselves in a state of constant fear of losing an election and always seeking ways to improve their chances of winning an election, "interested

in nothing else." (Mayhew, 13) Thus, the overall balance of Congress is maintained by a trifecta of goals that members find themselves engaging in: advertising, credit-claiming and position-taking – in my opinion - position-taking being the central role/point of the Congress Member in relation to the functions of government, and advertising and credit-claiming playing a role in the Members of Congress' need for re-election and showcasing the bureaucratization of modern government.

This results in a balance in which the functions of government are still considered despite the prioritization of a somewhat primal need of the Congress person to keep himself in office - motivated by money and power on the individual level, and adding the lust for money and power into the functions of the government: and not that Mayhew is praising this function of the

government, this is something Madison was against. The central idea in Mayhew's Congress: The Electoral Connection revolves around the point that the structure and organization of the United States Congress may be explained as a result of the re-election seeking behavior of its participants (the Members of Congress).
For Madison, the frequent elections to restrain the human nature of the “temptations of power” are a corner stone of democracy: “…where annual elections end, tyranny begins.” (Federalist 53, 74) However, he acknowledged that too frequent elections would not afford legislators with enough time to learn issues at hand.

Therefore, the period of service should “bear some proportion to the extent of practical knowledge requisite to the due performance of the service.” (Federalist 53, 77) He also foresaw that some outstanding legislators might be re-elected and would become “masters of public business” (Federalist 53, 72). As now-a-days the re-election rate for members of Congress exceeds 90%, it seems that Madison’s theory of democracy is in contradiction with the present situation where the political elite minority rules over people. And as Mayhew points that politicians are only motivated by the rewards of office (income, prestige, and power), thus they seek re-elections to hold on to these rewards rather than to promote ephemeral “good public policy.” (Mayhew, 16) But whatever stimulates the politician; frequent elections uphold the democratic principle of the accountability of politicians before the people. The quest for re-election makes a congressman to engage in activities related to re-election, such as advertising of his qualities as a politician to promote public policies, claiming credit for influencing certain legislature, and taking a position on current issues.

Even though all these activities stem from the politician’s self-interest, they assist the public with information on government legislative activities and help the public to assess their representatives’ position and performance. Thus, as Madison envisioned when “the interest of the man” is “connected with constitutional rights of the place” (Federalist 51, 60) and “the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights” (Federalist 51, 65) the democratic principle is maintained not as a difficult to achieve ideal, but as a working model of society where there is no angels amongst the men or the governments.

Works Cited

• Mayhew, David R. Congress: The Electoral Connection. Second ed. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale UP, 2004. Print.

• Rolfe, Genevieve. The Federalist Papers: A Modern Translation : Numbers 1, 10, 39, 51, 53, 70 and 78 in Parallel Text. Teacher ed. Yorba Linda, Calif.: DAC Educational Publications, 2000. Print.