Big Daddy Robert Byrd
What can a drunken Robert Byrd really tell us about the American political system? Quite simple. The truth and nothing but the truth. While people like to focus on the president, it is quite clear that the true force in American politics is still Congress and here it is clearly the Senate which plays the overpowering role (due to its only 100 members and need for bipartisan consensus). Thus, Robert Byrd is not far off with this self-description. Big Daddy. The Man.
Senators virtually never lose reelection (the incumbency advantage is even stronger than in the House where incumbents lose seldom enough already). This prominence coupled with the need for a broad consensus (in order to avoid a Filibuster) makes for easy earmarking in the Senate. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) constructed his famous bridge into nowhere, Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) assured money for his bio-center. Every senator does this, some more, some less successful. Drunk politicians really make political scientists’ jobs easier sometimes, so thank you Robert Byrd for emphasising this point.
By Benjamin Preisler
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4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Kolja
Funding for Projects like the bridge to nowhere is only possible because of fundamental flaws in the system, visible in the praxis of earmarking. Unfortunately, these flaws help the congressmen and -women to bring home the pork, so they can get reelected each term. I just cant think of an incentive for anyone involved in the process to put an end to this – so the pork barrel just keeps growing.
A historical analogy I had to think of is the log-rolling of the 19th century that led to ever higher tariffs and finally resulted in the “tariff of abonimations”. let’ s hope today’s deficit spending hasn’t the same repercussions…
Oct 24th, 2007
Benjamin
Just to be devil’s advocate here for a second. Isn’t that their job though? Bringing home the pork? They are after all not elected on a national level and the people in these states benefit from succesful representatives like these two. So maybe is not a fundamental flaw in the system but just representative democracy.
Oct 24th, 2007
Kolja
It’s not the fact that politicians compete for the biggest infrastrucutre project which I see as a problem. It’s the way how these projects are slipped into the congressional budget proposal in the last second – Without any debate. Hard to spot the democratic element in this case…
Oct 29th, 2007
Sensemania
Granted, that is a problem, don’t think that is quite as prevalent as sometimes perceived though. Plus, in the last second still means that the whole House (or Senate) floor has to vote on it and it has to go into Conference.
Also, there is a theory in regard to the collective action problem that general interest legislation can only be passed in district-representative only parliaments through vote-buying, thus through pork barrel projects, earmarking, or distributive benefits.
Oct 31st, 2007
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