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Congress
Articles from The Atlantic Monthly's archive and related links "Too Representative Government" (May 1995) Why is Congress held in such low esteem? One reason is that as it has become more truly representative, it has tried to solve more and more problems, including many that no one knows how to solve—thus raising expectations and frequently disappointing them. Quick-fix reforms aren't likely to make the public any happier with the legislative branch. By Steven Stark "A Radical Plan to Change American Politics" (August 1992) From the term-limitation movement to the rise of Ross Perot, the signs of discontent with the political status quo are everywhere. Our author outlines a plan to channel that discontent in an innovative direction, one that would make the House of Representatives more democratic and more responsive to the variety of opinion to be found in the country and that would break the monopoly on power enjoyed by the two parties. "Because of our peculiar electoral law" he writes, "the American government is divided between two parties. The American people are not." By Michael Lind "What's Wrong with Congress?" (December 1984) Before Congress can lead the nation, it must be able to lead itself. By Gregg Easterbrook "Reports: Washington" (September 1972) The two most important questions about Congress are, first, why it does not do more, and second, how much it can be expected to do. By Elizabeth Drew "Bleak House: Frustration on Capitol Hill" (July 1977) "Organizational reform collides with a constant fact of life: the average congressman is confronted with a staggering decision overload.... In practical political terms, this may not make any difference anyway, because most congressmen are judged not on the basis of their stand on issues but on how well they perform as ombudsmen and interveners between the people and their complex government." By Sanford J. Ungar "The Small Sins of Congress" (November 1869) "A special calamity of the small sins of Congress is, that their results are exceedingly conspicuous, and bring upon Congress an amount of odium or ridicule that ought to be excited only by great transgressions." By James Parton Related Links Information about Congress and Congressional Voting Records from Project Vote Smart Congressional Accountability Project Citizens Against Government Waste Copyright © 2001 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved. |
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