PresidentialCongressional Relations Essay Research Paper Second Problem

Presidential-Congressional Relations Essay, Research Paper

Second Problem Paper:

Presidential-Congressional Relations

How does public opinion, presidential patronage, iron triangles, the distribution of power within congress, and whether the presidents agenda involves, foreign or domestic policy affect the president’s ability to mobilize congressional support for his programs and bills. Are these relations between the president and congress showing signs of support towards elite or popular democracy. These are the questions brought to light in this paper and each factor will be discussed as to why these functions operate as they currently do. Without congressional approval the president is helpless as to his power to but a bill or a proposal into law. Therefore, it is mandatory for the president to gain congress’s support for his bill, or at least his main goals associated with this program. The first factor that contributes to a presidential proposal being successful is the president’s ability to rally public opinion in support of his bill.

The best way to get a proposal through congress is keep the public informed and active as its situation. Public opinion is key for success because the public has direct access to its congress-people and is able to voice their opinions as to what they want accomplished and sway their congress-person’s position. If enough people from their respective districts voice concern over the standings of said bill they may change their opinion in favor over to this current standpoint of public opinion. The president may chose to rally public opinion in a number of ways.

In order to gain public’s interest on a given topic, it is necessary to get its attention. The president has many options available to him, as the most public of all American figures. Through press, the president has to him available millions of possible supporters of his programs that he is pushing. The president may chose to hold a press conference, run commercials, hold a “fireside” chat, or run a propaganda or slandering campaign in order to bring public opinion over his bill into favor. Another factor in the president’s mobilization of support for a program in congress is presidential patronage.

Presidential patronage as defined by the president now in office, giving his best supporters or contributors key positions in office. In order for the president to be able to rally support quickly and efficiently from the public, having people in offices or positions of influence over many people is very favorable. As these people who being given patronage jobs for their support of the president, will feel obligated to show support. Not only can the people the president appointed to office show their support but they can rally their “underlings” in office for their support also. This is a very favorable way for the president to gain momentum with his bill, because these people are basically guaranteed votes and need only to show their strength to congress to support this idea. Mixed into the patronage idea are the contributors necessary for most of the funds behind a campaign. The president has the advantage here, because he can appoint these contributors to honorary positions. Therefore threatening the individual congressmen with the thought of losing a valuable contributor for their own campaigns for office (if they go against the president and his now loyal campaign contributors.) The president having both control over public opinion and influence with his patron appointments, runs into trouble with congress when iron triangles are faced.

The iron triangle basically depicts the actions of president being judged by congress, who then are judged by the interest groups. The problem with this situation is that congress may propose something that the interest groups support, but be shot down in turn by the president. The opposite holds true when the president and congress are hammering a program together, and interest groups step in threatening negative public attention to the very same program. In basic terms, this iron triangle set-up is the most general form of checks and balances. One that was basically created to not only split presidential-congressional power, but allow interest groups themselves a small part of the “say” as well. Iron triangles exist not only between the president, congress, and interest groups, they also exist inside of congress as well.

These iron triangles inside of congress are the real problem. They exist due to poor communications between committee’s and their sub-committees. Poor interactions between these groups, and minor squabbles over the fine print can literally kill a perfectly good program. The coordination and co-operation between committees in congress itself is a key factor in a government that is habitually slow to act on even the non-political hand grenade type issues. Some good news about poor congressional coordination, is that these inner-triangles are becoming weaker and congress is now able to facilitate better communication between the “corners.” So now this once anti presidential-congress bargaining tool, is starting to allow greater flow of information between the groups and less time spent gripping about the small things. I won’t say that the inner squabbles of congress will cease anytime soon. However, it seems that for the most public of issues, such as education and welfare a