Discussion of the US Congress

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that contemporary American society is deeply concerned with the current state of political affairs. This means that an ordinary citizen has at least some knowledge of what is going on in Washington and has a specific attitude to it. Furthermore, the majority of the citizens tend to criticize one of the major institutions in the country, the Congress, because of its lack of functionality and a history of successful decisions. People are generally frustrated with the Congress because the latter has a difficult time projecting a positive image of itself due to its fundamental features and a recent shift in the behavior of the politicians.

To begin with, it is essential to point out that the institution in question has a unique function in the state and, therefore, its responsibility is exceptional. That is why it was designed that there would be some safeguards in the form of a bureaucratic process that would prevent Congress from passing ill-advised pieces of legislation (Straus and Glassman 43). However, the reality shows that this process prevents the Congress to function properly since the contemporary politicians are not able to follow the guidelines that were designed to facilitate a healthy and productive working process. All this leads to the understanding that the people believe that this institution is the victim of bureaucracy though it is the politicians who are incapable of adhering the ground rules.This can be specifically seen in the case of voting. In theory, if a party is able to secure the majority of the seat in both chambers, it will be able to pass any legislation since there would no resistance that it could not overcome (Straus and Glassman 116). However, in reality, some politicians often tend to diverge from their political party lines which undermines the value of having a majority. In other words, if every politician were present and voted in line with the members of the fellow party, voting would not be a problem, but that is not the case in the temporary society.

Another point that needs to be mentioned with this regard is that the Congress has a difficult time projecting its positive image due it extreme political polarization of its members. The recent events regarding the nomination of a supreme judge showed that the Republicans were willing to do anything so that their representative would join this institution. While some might suggest that this is nothing, but an example of devotion to the political ideas, in reality, this is a sign that the Congress is heavily influenced by the political agenda which might numerous negative consequences (Volden and Wiseman 87). Thus, people see this institution as the battlefield of the politicians rather than a body that was designed to pass legislation collectively.

Furthermore, a significant number of scandals that occurred in the political world recently undermined the respect of the ordinary citizens to the representatives of the Congress. In other words, it seems that people tend to hear about the latter in the context of yet another scandal rather than some positive change that was facilitated by it. Gradually, this creates an image that the politicians are nothing, but a group of people who are involved in various negative activities in one way or another (Volden and Wiseman 210). Given the lack of any significant positive change that was supported by the majority of the population that took place recently, this results in a stigma that is put on the Congress.

Nevertheless, one might notice that despite all the difficulties that were mentioned above, the majority of members of Congress tend to be re-elected which can be explained by a number of factors. First of all, it is clear that political inertia tends to influence the decision of the people: many members of Congress started their political career long ago and they kept promoting their ideas over decades (Miler 32). As a result, people find them predictable and reliable. One might add a natural fear of change to this and this will explain why many members of Congress have been re-elected numerous times.

In addition to that, it is also possible that good publicity contributes to the success of the politicians. It is logical that a person who has been active in the political world will be able to appeal to the potential voters more easily than a person who has just started one’s political career. This leads to a vicious circle: the longer a politician is in the office, the more one is likely to be recognized and the higher is the change that one will be re-elected (Miler 69). So, in the end, the number of new members of Congress is rather small over the years which contributes to the overall stalemate of the political system.

Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: despite being one of the most important political institutions in the country, the Congress is not widely respected by the citizens. The majority of the latter are frustrated by its alleged inability to implement any changes which can be explained by the specifically-designed decision-making process and the inability of the modern politicians to adhere to the guidelines that were designed to ensure the effectiveness of this body. The latter is perceived as a battleground of political agendas and is mostly heard in the context of scandals. However, many politicians manage to be re-elected because of the overall fear of change and good awareness that they enjoy.

Works Cited

Miler, Kristina C. Poor Representation: Congress and the Politics of Poverty in the United States. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Straus, Jacob R., and Matthew E. Glassman. Party and Procedure in the United States Congress. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Volden, Craig, and Alan E. Wiseman. Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: the Lawmakers. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]
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