European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 2, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 columns the stars and stripes David e. Rosenbaum Money is the Best insurance a politician can buy the founding fathers intended the Hou of representatives to be the pan of the Federal government closest to the electorate and thus most responsive to shifts in political winds. Describing the function of he House under the Constitution Alexander Ham Ilton declared Here sir the people govern. Here they act by their immediate in the Early years of the Republic that was the ease. Hut in the last generation he House has become almost immune id change despite political upheavals elsewhere through lib eral and conservative presidents. Demo cratic and Republican senates. This year not Only is the presidency up for nibs hut possibly a dozen or More of the 33 Senate seats at stake in he novem Ber election will change hands. Twenty seven senators Are running for re portion and six arc in very close races. Six senators arc retiring and a seventh scat could be vacated by the next vice presi Dent. Yet in the House the democrats Are sure to stay in control As they have been Tor the Las 34 years and the chamber s membership ils leadership and its committees will remain almost identical to whal they arc this year. All but 24 of the 432 there Are three vacancies Are running again leaving even fewer open seals than inc 40 or so that have been the Rule in recent elections. About 70 incumbents arc unopposed and most of the rest arc not threatened. Republicans and democrats alike say they will be surprised if As Many As a dozen incumbents lose in november. That will merely continue the wend of inc last several decades. In 1986, 98 percent of the incumbents won. This year some incumbents who might be expected to be vulnerable seem Likely to win anyway. Martin Tolchin listen up no him the % hear that wot and. For heaven s Sake Swartf fam he ski they include reps. Roy p. Dyson of Maryland and Bill Chappell or. Of Flor Ida both democrats whose dealings with military contractors arc being examined in inc Federal investigation of Pentagon procurement practices. They have weak under financed opponents. Even rep. Pat Swindall a Georgia re publican is an even bet for re election despite his embarrassing acknowledge ment that he had negotiated an $850,000 personal loan after having been warned that the loan was pan of a scheme to launder drug dealers Money. The few other incumbent representatives who Are in serious trouble this year mostly come from rare swing districts and have not been in Congress very Long. An example is James Mcclure Clarke a Democrat whose District in Western North Carolina has changed hands in every election in this decade. Why does the Senate normally have much More turnover senators lend to be older and a larger proportion of them retire every two years when a third of the 100 seats Are at stake. Candidates in statewide races get More free coverage and thus incumbency docs no carry As big an advantage As in the House. Twenty one incumbents and 13 fresh men were elected to the Senate in 1986, about average for the last 40 years. Six of the new senators filled seals of those who had retired seven had Defeated incumbents. Money is the first second and third reason you have such Lousy challengers said Norman j. Ornstein s specialist on Congress at the american Enterprise Zinsli Lute. Through last june challengers running in this year s election had raised a local of 120 million incumbents 1109 million. They Are Able to gel Money because they Are unlikely to lose and they Are unlikely to lose because they have so much Money David a Mayhew a professor of government at Yale said of the incumbents. Lawmakers Are generally in a favourable position regardless of their voting records if they have Strong records of winding fed eral contracts for their districts and inter vening for constituents who have problems with Federal agencies. The emphasis House member Are placing on serving constituents can be seen in the Way they organize1 their staffs. As recently As is Yean ago fewer than one Quarter of representative suit member were based in to licit District offices. Today More than 40 percent Are based in their District offices and Many congressmen have larger stuffs it Home than they do in Washington. The representatives Are also taking greater advantage of their postage privileges. The Cost to the government of mail from the House of representatives Rose to s96 million in 1986 from s11 million in 1971. Robert d. My Ciurca a political scientist at Syracuse University who has recently completed a Book political ambition on Why people do and do not run for Congress said the problem of finding worthy challengers was height ened by the fact that slate Legislatures As they become More professional opera Lions Are not the farm by slim for con. Gress they once were. The Legislatures Are no longer backwaters he noted and politicians can reach positions of authority in them rather quickly. The issues May not be of the Magni tude of those in the Capitol but lawmaker with a modest amount of seniority in the new York legislature can have More influence on policy than a Bac Bencher in the House where Only a few senior members have real influence on mailers like arms control and taxation. It requires a person of extraordinary foresight and enormous ambition to mount a Challenge for a scat in con Gress Coure said. Few people Are he new York times ratings of interest groups Don t Tell whole Story it is report card time again for members of con Gress and some of Ihm arc not amused. Dozens of interest groups Are toting up the performances of the 100 senators and 435 House members in the soon to expire 100th Congress. The groups Range from the american association of University women to Zero population growth. They include unions business groups religious organizations and those concerned with older americans eco nomic issues poverty religion Consumers foreign and military policy and ideological groups. Senators and representatives who score Well will publish the results As pan of their Campaign literature and Herald inc scores As establishing their Bona fides. But a growing number of members of Congress both democrats and republicans have become increasingly disenchanted with these ratings which they consider Quirky arbitrary and misleading. For example rep. Anthony c. Beilenson who prides himself on his record As an environmentalist voted last month against a Bill that would authorize the Purchase of 542 acres adjoining Manassas National Battlefield Park in Northern Virginia to prevent a real estate Developer from building a sprawling shopping mall on the Sile i know that that s going to be a bad Vole on my environmentalist ratings next year the California Democrat said but i just think these Guys Are dead wrong about some "1 think it s an outrage that a Developer wants to build a shopping mall next to the Battlefield and 1 would like to add the 542 acres to the National Parks Beilenson said. But i refused to Vole for a Bill that offers Protection to a Park in a manner that we be never done before. I Don t think we should spend Between Iso million to $100 million for the acreage a Price we be never paid for any other the congressman believes that such legislation could encourage developers to extort Money from con Gress by threatening to deface National historic Sites. Beilenson is among Many members of Congress who believe that the narrow focus of some inheres a groups often leads to skewed ratings. They contend that issues Are often too Complex to have votes categorized As Liberal or conservative pro consumer or anti labels Are losing their meaning Bilinson said. When people ask me what i am i say let s talk issues. I la Tell you my positions and if you want to Puta Liberal or conservative Label on it that s Fine " in addition some members arc Liberal on some issues and conservative on others. I m very Liberal on foreign policy and social policy and conservative on Fisca policy Beilenson said. Critics also complain that some interest groups rate members of Congress on Voles that have Little to do with their issues and say that some votes Are cast As alternatives to other proposals that Are worse. The interest groups say that their ratings help Mem Bers to stand up and be counted. They have proliferated As Congress has become increasingly open and members cast individual Voles that Are electronically recorded rather than casting Voles merely by standing As a group to Vole Aye or nay or marching with Sci anonymity past tellers As was once the custom. The groups then Analyse the recorded Voles and publish their ratings Are an instrument of an interest group. Lobbying efforts an attempt to change a vote before in is cast and thereby Alier the outcome. The groups often warn lawmakers in Advance that they consider a pending vote to be people will East their vote purely not to of fend one of these groups Beilenson said. Supporters of ratings say their purpose is to paint a Broad picture of a congressman s voting pattern. Our ratings Are an attempt to give a general sense of where members of Congress stand on a variety of issues said David scene chairman of the american conservative Union. Generally speaking Over a period of Lirije we select issues that give us a fairly consist ent picture of congressional trends and where the individual members ratings Are often the Mirror image of the rat Ings of americans for democratic action which scores members of Congress on their Liberal quotient. In deed both organizations lend to use the same votes in Raling members of Congress. Thus sen. Paul s. Sarbanes d-md., consistently receives a 100 percent Raling from the Ada and a Zero rating from the Acu. Conversely sen. James a. Mcclure an Idaho Republican consistently receives a 100 Raling from the Acu and a Zero from the Ada. Such ratings help candidates establish their Liberal or constr alive Bona fides. And at election Lime they can affect fund raising volunteers endorsements and realty make a difference in a close race said rep. Romano l. Tazioli Day even if the ratings Aren t accurate
