European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 1, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Angry voters hardly in a laughing Moody Janet Hook congressional quarterly Hen rep Philip Sharp decided to Back president Clinton a Controvert. Sial budget last summer the Indiana Democrat expected some flak for supporting tax increase. But he Wasny to prepared for what followed. Sharp received two death threats. And after the budget vote his first town meeting Back Home degenerated into a vitriolic shouting match Over taxes. And spending pork and pay raises. That was one of a series of bitter encounters with voters in recent years that drove Sharp who in the mid-1970s was a Pioneer in to Ding town Hall meetings to look for other ways to communicate with a a a constituents. A a a -v.-. A a a a a a a a a re it also helped drive Sharp 51, to look for other ways to make a living. In february he announced he would not run for re election this year. He is hot unique. Many politicians have winced As voters views of Congress have grown ugly in recent years and hostility toward the institution has become part of the Warp and Woof of american political life. The poisonous political atmosphere of the past decade has altered subtly but profoundly the Way. Congress does business. It has helped reshape the. Way members Deal with constituents the Way they legislate the Way they run for re election. It has driven some lawmakers from office and deterred others from running in the first  the institution under siege much of what Congress does exudes defensiveness. Party leaders routinely Structure votes to give members a political  of controversial issues. Lawmakers maintain increasingly elaborate constituent service operations that help insulate them from voter anger. Members up for re election Are camouflaging their incumbent. By rather than flaunting it. Many lawmakers see the current health care debate As a Rich Opportunity to show americans that they Are not the self serving gridlocked crowd of elitists that critics have made them out to be. But it will not be easy to repair the damage wrought by years of growing cynicism and to convince the Public that Congress can competently tackle a Job As Complex As designing a fair health care system. A when i first went to Washington people did. Think we were capable of coming up with solutions a said rep. Robert Matsui d-calif., who was first elected in 1978. A a now we have very Little credibility. They done to think we be done anything  Congress always has been an object of popular derision but in recent years Many analysts say Macri cans traditional scepticism of politicians has metastasized into something downright malignant. A it is qualitatively different a said Joseph Cooper Provost of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a scholar of Congress. A the Basic legitimacy of Congress is being challenged in ways that Are  anti Congress sentiment has been institutionalized in a Way that was unheard of just a decade ago it has found a voice in a presidential candidate Ross Perota radio personality Rush Limbaugh and a politic ii Agenda term limits. That has transformed Congress critics from a largely silent mass of apathetic citizens into an organized Force that turn sup at lawmakers town Hall meetings jams their switchboards and votes in Large numbers. The treatment of Congress by the news Media also a a taken on an adversarial tone that Many politicians and analysts say is palpably More strident than in times past. A there Are More people now making it their Stock in Trade to deprecate their government a said sen. Sen. John Danforth a the need for a politician is to take a position which is very easily  Paul Sarbanes did the climate of mistrust has become so much a part of the air breathed by politicians and voters that it is easy to Overlook How pervasively it influences. The Way  its Job but its effect  into Congress Central function How Mem Bers debate and vote on legislation. Caution has become the order of the Day. A your concern  anybody at Home is the driving Force in Congress a said rep. Michael Castler Del. A we Are afraid to make Tough Deci a  a congressional leaders often Structure floor debate with an Eye on How members of Congress can explain their votes to surly constituents. A to the extent that Public discourse is All anger. And hostility the need for a politician is to take a Posi t Ion which is very easily explained a said sen. John Danforth r to. A virtually All of political discourse is in sound bites and 30-Sccond  Public hostility toward Congress is beginning to of feet relationships Between members and. Their own  like Sharp arc More reluctant to hold town. Hall meetings because they so often become lightning rods for vocal. Organized special interests and critics of Congress. / after voting for Clinton a budget last year rep. Bill Sarpalius a Texas had a Public meeting that got so Rowdy a local newspaper described it As having a the feel of a  after voting for gun control legislation in november Colorado Democrat David Skaggs saw several town meetings dominated by hostile gun owners. Quot its diminished the value of the town meeting a said Sharp. He now tries instead to have More invitation Only events and smaller meetings. Some members question whether mistrust of con Gross is so deep that lawmakers can do nothing to redeem themselves. A a a. 1 a rep. Eric fingerhut a Ohio said his constituents scepticism was Clear when he held 26 town meetings on health care this Winter. At every one someone asked whether Congress was going to exempt itself from the new health care plan. Cynicism like that a undermines their Confidence and therefore Pur ability to enact any sweeping solutions to major problems a fingerhut said. That May typify the gordian knot Congress must untie to restore Public Confidence in the institution. A a we re dealing with two conflicting impulses a said Sharp. A people say a there Are problems do something about  then they say a we done to Trust you to do the right  a a who make programs work by Phil Duncan conf Gressional quarterly 7w Ake Pickle. A Swift. Romano Mazzoli. Ham i fish. Unless you Are a professional Follower i of government you probably have no idea _ a who these people Are. But the average american ought to know something about politicians such As these because their careers reflect positive qualities of an institution that gets mostly bad Marks these Days Congress. Those serving in Congress should not be surprised that voters Are sceptical of their doings. That a a historical trait of american civic culture Long before there was a Beltway to be beyond folks in the heartland groused that their voices weren t heard however an accumulation of events in recent years including the House Bank scandal of 1992, stirred especially intense Public antipathy and it lingers. Only 29 percent of americans approve of the Way Congress is doing its Job according to a March Gallup poll. Such sour ratings Are no Surprise since the news most americans see about Congress dwells on scan dais and squabbles. But for All Congress Short Ham fish comings any balanced assessment of the institution must take into account this simple fact Many members do a lot of hard work on issues that have a direct political Benefit for themselves. 7 in just one Small Sample House incumbents who decided not to seek re election this year a. There Are a number of legislators who have Laboured on some of the hottest controversies of our Lime. Pickle a Texas Democrat first elected in 1963, was at the Center of the passionate 1983 debate on the future of the social Security system As chairman of the ways and Means subcommittee on social seen Rity in the 98th Congress he worked to save social Security from Long term financial collapse. Facing senior citizens opposed to any Benefit cuts and conservatives resisting tax increases Pickle pushed 7 through a Compromise package that put social Security on sounder footing. Swift a Democrat from Washington state was a to Anchorman before winning election to the House in 1978. As a legislator he has toiled outside the. Spotlight working patiently on challenging issues. In the 100th Congress he was the Leader of a group of nine moderate to conservative Energy and Commerce democrats who looked for ways to break a Long deadlock Between environmentalists and in Dustira representatives who disagreed on revisions of the clean air act. The work that swifts group did on the intractable Issue helped create momentum for enactment of a new Law in 1990. A Kentucky Democrat Mazzoli first elected to the House in 1970, spent half a decade trying to Craft legislation to overhaul the nations Laws on illegal immigration even though immigration was hardly a burning Issue in Kentucky. Fish a House member from new York since 1969, is the senior Republican on the judiciary committee where Over the years he has sought to find middie ground Between conservatives and liberals on a Range of issues including civil rights Job discrimination and fair housing. Phil Duncan is a senior political writer Tor congressional quarterly and editor Al cd s politics in America Book which profiles the careers of every member of Congress. Page 8 Sunda May 1, 1994