User:Atcovi/AP Government/Unit 2

Introduction

 * The job of a congressman may seem glamorous as they have power and a hefty salary of $174,000 dollars - but what the public does not see is the tireless work of introducing and discussing about matters vital to the US as a nation, many trips between constituencies and Washington DC and constant raising of funds.
 * There are 535 members in Congress, 2 from each state = 100 senators for the Senate while 435 representatives in the House of Representatives.
 * Members of the House must be at least 25 years old and an American citizen for 7 years.
 * Members of the Senate must be at least 30 years old and an American citizen for 9 years.
 * Each member of Congress must reside in the state that they represent.
 * From statistics, the representation of women are under represented more than races (more whites then other races). Congress is mostly made up of wealthy people who are interested in law.
 * Women are voted less in as party nominees and are more inclined to take care of their children vs. men.

Congressional Elections

 * Congressional elections are expensive and exhausting.
 * Incumbents = Elected officials who already hold an office position. They usually win re-election [that is for the House, not for the Senate].
 * Senators don't share the luxury of "incumbents: easy-win". Senators usually win by small margins and this is because the Senates, for one, are not as close to their constituents than representatives, represent a whole state with ranging interests and are in the media more: therefore, will be held more accountable for controversial actions.

Reasons why Incumbents have an advantage

 * 1) Advertising their activities through television, newspaper, in-person visits, emails and the telephone.
 * 2) Credit Claiming: Serving their constituents, thereby increasing their reputation, through two ways: casework and pork barrel. Casework is somewhat of breaking the rules to get the people what they want, such as helping people with student loans. Pork barrel are federal projects awarded from winning federal funds for the state/districts.
 * 3) Weak Opponents: Their opponents won't be as financially backed and well-advanced as the incumbents. Funds are important as the opponents will need money to go against the "free" reputation the incumbent has earned.
 * 4) Campaign Spending: More money spent by the opponents, bigger chance of defeating the incumbents as they're building a hefty reputation through money. Usually, the individual who spends the most wins the election.
 * 5) Party Identification: If they identify with the party in which their constituents align to, it gives them a major advantage.

How to defeat an incumbent?

 * 1) A scandal occurs with the incumbent, so that leaves the incumbent vulnerable for a defeat.
 * 2) District boundaries are altered, giving way to more supporters of the differing party = defeat of the incumbent/more competition.
 * 3) Open seats (the incumbent resigns)

Term Limits
Some states have established term limits for members of Congress. Supporters for term limits argue that it increases electoral competition (more turnover in legislation, hold elections for open seats more often, incumbents being challenged in their primaries increase and general elections more likely to be contested by 2 party members). Critics argue that term limits is detrimental to legislation because legislators will lose their care in formulating new policies, lose experienced legislative members and that Americans have the right to choose whoever they want.

Federalist 55
Federalist 55 was an essay by James Madison arguing that the population in the House, as opposed to the critics, did not give away to potential misleads by groups of legislators who valued their own interest in front of the commonwealth. Critics argued that since the population in the House was small, this would give leeway to legislators who violated the rights of the people. Madison protested this in his essay stating that:
 * Federalist No. 55


 * 1) The size of the House will increase as time passes on.
 * 2) State legislators have checks and balances with the House
 * 3) Every member of the House is voted in every 2 years

"The truth is that in all cases a certain number [of representatives] at least seems to be necessary to secure the benefits of free consultation and discussion, and to guard against too easy a combination for improper purposes; as, on the other hand, the number ought at most to be kept within a certain limit, in order to avoid the confusion and intemperance of a multitude. In all very numerous assemblies, of whatever characters composed, passion never fails to wrest the scepter from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob" - James Madison [ Federalist No. 55#Madison's Argument (enWP)]

Federalist 62
Federalist 62 was James Madison's essay in The Federalist Papers where he justifies the existence of the US Senate. In the papers, he discusses:
 * Federalist No. 62


 * 1) Age/Citizenship Duration of a qualified Senate
 * 2) Appointment of Senators
 * 3) Equality of representation in the Senate (2 for each = 100)
 * 4) Number of Senators

Madison reasons as to why senators must be of at least 35 years of age and hold US citizenship for 9 years (differing from the House: 25 yrs old, 7 yrs citizenship) as with "age, comes more wisdom". The reason for the longer US citizenship is because Madison wanted senators who were almost guaranteed to be familiar with US customs and values-to not be tampered by foreign influences.

Madison originally proposed that senators are voted by state legislators, but the 17th amendment changed it to a popular vote by the state residents.

Madison is quoted as saying, "the government ought to be founded on a mixture of the principles of proportional and equal representation". Equal representation in the Senate is guaranteed as there are 2 senators from each state, totaling 100 senators. This is to ensure the state's interests are being accounted for vs. the people's interests are being accounted for [in decision-making]. This also ensures that every state has an equal say, preventing a large state like Alaska from having more power than a smaller state like Rhode Island.