An Analysis of Mayhew
David Mayhew's Congress: The Electoral Connection centers around one fundamental argument: the ultimate goal of members in Congress is to be reelected. Mayhew expands on this point by first describing the electoral activities that members partake in, specifically advertising, credit claiming and position taking. He then argues that the structure of Congress itself allows members to actively pursue these electoral activities. One significant feature of Mayhew's book is that it was written in 1979. Mayhew makes a convincing argument complete with numerous examples, but are his points still valid twenty years later? The structural units of Congress that Mayhew mentions, parties, staff and committees, serve the electoral needs of members. The Congressional schedule, something not mentioned by Mayhew, helps members pursue electoral goals as well. In fact, evidence suggests that the structural units in Congress today are even more attuned to helping members pursue their electoral goals. Part One: Summary of The Electoral Connection Mayhew's introduction to the book nicely sets up his overall argument. Immediately, he poses the question why do legislators do what they do? There are several po
After establishing the importance of reelection, Mayhew goes on to question whether members can influence their own reelection. In countries such as Great Britain where party influence is strong, members of the Parliament can turn to their party to help with reelection. Party politics in Great Britain is so important that members have little hope of getting reelected without the aid of their party. They simply do not possess the individual resources to do so. In the United States, there is less party influence. Congressmen do not need their party to win the nomination, nor does any party have the power to alone get a member reelected: "In America the underpinnings of 'teamsmanship' are weak or absent, making it possible for politicians to triumph over parties" (Mayhew, 1979, 22 - 23). Members must use their own resources and develop a power base independent of the party in order to achieve electoral success. They do this by partaking in electoral activities.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Congressman Smith, Congress Mayhew, Senators House, United Congress, Electoral Connection, Roll Call, Connection Mayhew's, Congress Parties, Congress Reform, Combest Texas', mayhew 1979, electoral goals, position taking, credit claiming, roll call, structural units, electoral activities, getting reelected, mayhew describes, party unity, roll call 2000, structural units congress, ornstein et al, et al 2000, campaign finance reform,
Approximate Word count = 4899
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)
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