Mayhew

Mayhew Analysis Paper In the book, relative The Electoral Connection, David Mayhew addresses his opinion ab bulge out the semipolitical system, and centralizes his contention on the assumption that the sole(prenominal) intent a member of sexual sexual relation has is reelection. The bulk of his argument is the behavior by the members of Congress involving advertizing, trust claiming, and gravel taking, which we discussed in coterie. Mayhew believes that these actions by the officeholder congressmen illustrate that they be more worried about retention their seat, than anything else.The first election legal action menti unitaryd in the book is advertising, which is defined by Mayhew as any effort to disseminate ones name among constituents in such a fashion as to work a favorable image tho having half-size or no fare content, (49). By spending money on advertisement, the house officeholder has a kempt advantage e rattlingplace their opponent. Mayhews antagonism f or this tactic comes from the sole purpose that near of it is through while the congressmen are in office.In my opinion, I feel that Mayhew thinks of congressional elections as more of a popularity contest establish on this story, There are specimen routinesfrequent visits to the constituency, nonpolitical speeches to home audiences, the direct out of care booklets and letters of commiseration and congratulation, (50). Mayhew realizes this is an unprincipled manner to get reelected, that it volition not stop and congressmen will confront to swallow advantage of advertising anyway possible.The second behavioral causality Mayhew discusses in the book is consultation claiming. This allows the superjacent to take credit for government accomplishments and tactile property good to the constituents. The credit claiming tactic allows for a member of Congress to stick out as an individual rather than machine-accessible with a particular party. In differentiate to do so, unifo rm we discussed in class, the congressmen must(prenominal) provide assets to the constituents that they can take infrangible credit for.Mayhew argues that a voice whitethorn take advantage of this due to curt knowledge, For typical voters Capitol Hill is a distant and mysterious place few having anything like a working knowledge of its maneuverings, (69). Therefore, constituents present no way of knowing if the credit claimed by their congressman is valid or not. This is wherefore Mayhew argues that this tactic is flawed because it may look to the constituents that the congressmen is putting in threatening work, when really it is redundant actions to that district to cognitive process them get reelected.However, like advertising, this is a really important reelection tool and the incumbent wants to egress loyal to the constituency. Mayhew discusses authority taking, which is the third activity congressmen use in their pursuit for reelection. It is defined in the book as the general enunciation of a judgmental debate on anything likely to be of matter to to political actors, (61). Mayhew argues here that most incumbents judgment involves speaking on the issue rather than acting on it. In class, we discussed what happens in a fibre call and the member must disassemble a side.Mayhew states that most congressmen will take the conservative route and take the position that got them their seat to begin with. This validates Mayhews argument that most congressmen are content with their position due to the prestige that comes with it and it pays well. So why would they want to leave? A congressman who has been reelected before knows what the constituents want, causing them to take acquainted(predicate) stance on issues like they keep back in the past. These tercet tactics by incumbents seeking reelection draw enough determinate evidence to contradict the following statement The U.S. Congress is a representative trigger that effectively responds to the preferences of a majority of the Statesns. The run-in representative, institution, and effectively caught my eye. Yes, there is representation, but it deems undistinguished in the fact that it is more on the congressmens mind to stay in seat for their sake, rather than really dowry the constituents according to Mayhew. There is no institution, it is a group of individuals each trying to draw a positive image to the constituency through with(predicate) advertising.In the United States Congress, congressmen do not charter their party to win the nomination, In America the underpinnings of teamsmanship are weak or absent, reservation it possible for possible for politicians to triumph over parties, (22-23). Mayhew uses the British Parliament as an instance of strong party influence. The analysis and sagacity of Mayhews argument on the reelection process allowed me to conclude that the accuracy of the statement to a higher place sounds true, but when broken down, it is no t.Mayhew made very strong and valid points about the incumbents process in tramp to remain in Congress. Also, relating back to class discussion, most members will vote in the direction that best suites them, which Mayhew talked about in part two of the book. It is apparent that with Mayhews argument that many congressmen put themselves out front of their constituents, which is not appropriate representation. In conclusion, it is gross that the intent a member of congress has is reelection.Mayhew clearly shows with his argument that the election activities of advertising, credit claiming, and position taking are done merely for reelection purposes and not for the betterment of the constituency. These troika tactics have very little to do with legislation and more so with publicity and appeasing the district by miniscule deeds and conservative voting that the incumbent has done in the past. However, these three strategies are assets to current congressmen and they will continue t o take advantage of them.