Book Review: Congress: Keystones of Washington Establishment by Morris Fiorina

“To recount … by working to establish various federal programs (or in some cases fighting their establishment) congressmen earn electoral credit from concerned elements of their districts. Some federal agency then takes Congress’s vague policy mandate and makes the detailed decisions necessary to translate the legislation into operating programs. The implementation and operation of the programs by the agencies irritate some constituents and suggest opportunities for profit to others. These aggrieved and /or hopeful constituents then appeal to their congressman to intervene in their behalf with the bureaucratic powers that be. The system is connected when congressmen decry bureaucratic excesses and red tape while riding a grateful electorate to ever more impressive electoral showings.” (67)

Thus the key to the Washington establishment is not the bureaucracy but the Congress itself. This situation is solidified by the stable nature of the members in Congress. In other words, the “resources he possesses to invest in his reelection effort … (are) more productive political strategies than previously. And these strategies are an unforeseen … by-product of the growth of an activist federal government.” (35) This activist federal government can be translated into lawmaking, pork barreling and casework. Unfortunately, according to Fiorina, lawmaking is in the back seat when compared to pork barreling and casework. As Fiorina reveals, “pork barreling and casework … are basically pure profit.” (43) Profit which is in the form of reelection. Moreover, “the key to the rise of the Washington establishment (is) the growth of an activist federal government (which) has stimulated a change(s) in the mix of congressional activities. A lesser proportion of congressional effort is now going into programmatic activities and a greater proportion of congressional effort is now going into pork-barrel and casework activities.” (44)

This situation has arisen because of incumbent security and the ability of the incumbent to understand the pulse of his or her district. This does not occur because of redistricting, party identification, or pecks by incumbents. The key to the incumbent success is the activist federal government. This creates a cycle explained above. In conclusion, “the overreaching theme of this work is that responsiveness in that narrow sense (responsiveness to district concern only) can impede responsiveness in a larger sense (national concerns tend to take a back seat).” (134) Moreover, “the problem with Congress is that congressman conscientiously, openly, and as a matter of electoral survival assiduously (serve) the special interests of their districts. And in the absence of the coordinating forces of strong parties of presidential leadership, the general interest of the United States gets lost in the shuffle.” (129)