News Brief: Institutions
Article Title: Transparency Is Killing Congress: Every institution needs an inner life—a sanctum where its work is really done
Author: Yuval Levin
Date: February 9, 2020
Publisher: The Atlantic
URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/lights-camera-congress/606199/
Article Summary
The article discusses how transparency in Congress today is weakening the institution. The author explains that the framers of the Constitution intended Congress to be a platform where the lawmakers meet, away from public noise, to discuss important issues affecting the people and working out deals that solve these problems. He also notes that even the Constitution itself was prepared behind closed doors, by a convention that represented each state of the union. However, the business of Congress today has been opened to public scrutiny, affecting the ability of members to work together to reach reasonable conclusions about various issues. This is because open deliberations lead to the creation of different factions that make it difficult to move legislation forward.
The article also discusses how the 21st Century politicians use the floor of Congress as a platform for commentary and elevating their political profiles. Instead of working with the other members, most representatives and senators today go to Congress only to channel the discontentment of those they represent, fanning the flames of the persistent cultural war. Although it is within their duties to present the concerns of their voters in the Congress, the leaders need to distinguish between their role as Congress members and as politicians to understand when they need to work together for the good of the country. This leads to partisan politics, distracting them from performing the core functions of Congress. The basic function of the legislature is negotiating with all members until a joint agreement is reached to address a specific issue.
Institutions
The Constitution requires the members of Congress to meet from time to time to deliberate upon various issues going on in the country and arriving at solutions and decisions together. However, it also allows members to use their position to channel the exasperations of the states and districts that they represent. This rule has been used by congressmen and women in recent politics to obstruct the process of passing legislation, including important ones that are intended to help the country. The author explains in the article how Republican Party senators during the administration of President Obama often refused to support the bills tabled by Democrats, and the same attitude is also evident in Trump’s presidency. This trend has, however, in part been driven by the rule structure of the Constitution, which has given the power to move legislation to a small group of congress members, leaving the others with little legislative roles.
Analysis
The framers of the constitution separated government powers for a reason; to prevent abuse of power by a single person or a few people. The members of Congress understand that the rules of the institution in which they have come to serve, but should not take advantage of the powers vested in them to obstruct critical processes without coherent reasons. Instead, they need to use the platform to settle their differences or at least find some common ground, for the sake of the progress of the nation. The rules governing the processes of Congress are effective as they are; the problem is only with the people who occupy the offices inside the institution.