Lee H. Hamilton, The Case for Congress

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Lee H. Hamilton, The Case for Congress

• KEY ELEMENTS
• I. Overall Theme Unwarranted negative public
  perception of Congress and the consequences of
  this perception
• II. Sample list of unfair criticisms of Congress
• A. Special interest influence
• Authors view special group interests are
  central to the public discussion of policy
• B. Do nothing gridlock
• Authors view slow process facilitates
  deliberation and compromise
• C. High cost of elections (very closely related
  to A)
• Authors view most electoral money comes from
  like- minded groups, and home-district opinion
  is still the most important electoral factor

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Lee H. Hamilton, The Case for Congress

• III. Points for Critical Reflection
• A. Point not considered by the author Why the
  negative perception in the first place? One
  possible response deep-seated cultural distrust
  of government, exacerbated by Congress itself in
  the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
• B. There is an unresolved contradiction under
  the third criticism. The author sees room for
  campaign finance reform, thereby giving some
  credence to the criticism. However, money in
  elections comes from special interest groups, and
  the author previously argued that such groups are
  not an insidious influence.