7. The Confederacy of Dunces: The Legislative Function

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7. The Confederacy of Dunces The Legislative
Function
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Boring History Stuff

• Historically, the executive in ancient
  governments also performed legislative and
  judicial functions.
• Separation of legislative functions occurred in
  three main ways
• 1. Once law-like traditions became entrenched,
  the king could not change them.
• 2. Religious power structures gained power.
• 3. Monarchs relinquished authority in return for
  acceptance of taxation.

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A Dreary Discussion of Democratic Legislatures

• While lawmaking is the most fundamental role
  legislative institutions play, they perform all
  of the following roles
• Lawmaking
• Representing
• Checking
• Legitimating
• Educating

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The Humdrum Function of Lawmaking

• This is the most basic function of democratic
  legislatures.
• Bills are introduced by legislators but may come
  from constituents, interest groups, the
  executive, or elsewhere.
• Most of the work of crafting legislation
  (research, hearings, debate, amending) occurs in
  committees.

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The Lackluster Function of Legislative
Representation

• Another fundamental job of legislators is to
  represent their constituents.
• A bicameral (two-house) legislature is useful if
  there is a need to represent different segments
  of society, such as by geography (the U.S.
  Senate) or by class (the British House of Lords).
• The redundancy of two houses provides an
  additional check but also slows things down.

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Representation Strategies

• There are two main strategies for how seats in a
  legislature should be divided to represent the
  country geographic representation and
  proportional representation.
• Geographic representation divides the nation into
  districts represented by the candidate who got
  the most votes (a plurality).
• This is a first-past-the-post system that favors
  moderate candidates and a two-party system.

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Representation Strategies

• In proportional representation, voters vote for
  parties, which receive a portion of seats in the
  parliament based on their portion of the vote.
• This results in a multiparty system.
• District representation supports regional
  representation.
• Proportional representation supports ideological
  representation.

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Types of Representatives

• A delegate is a representative who attempts to do
  exactly what his or her constituents want.
• A trustee is a representative who believes that
  voters trust him or her to make the right
  decisions.
• In reality, most representatives are politicos
  acting as delegates when issues are important to
  their constituencies and there is strong
  consensus, and acting as trustees the rest of the
  time.

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Featureless Subsection on the Function of Checking

• It is the responsibility of government
  institutions to watch over other government
  institutions (oversight).
• Investigative hearings are an example of an
  oversight function.
• Parliaments have shadow governments made up of
  members of the minority party.

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The Wearisome Legislative Function of Legitimating

• Legitimating refers to establishing the law as
  something that should be accepted.
• This can simply be because an issue was decided
  in the legislature.

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The Educating Function

• Democratic legislatures must educate the
  citizenry.
• This function is facilitated by the media.
• Members with geographic constituencies may also
  try other means of communication and education in
  their districts.

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Hello, Mr. Smith

• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a film that
  portrays an idealistic, but naive, senator who
  gets caught up in real-world politics.
• That senator engages in a one-man filibuster of a
  piece of graft-laden public works legislation.

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Hello, Mr. Smith

• The filibuster is a tactic used by a senator or a
  group of senators who, by indefinitely talking
  about a bill, intend to frustrate the proponents
  of the bill.
• Ultimately, the senator in the movie is
  victorious as he sheds his naïveté to embrace a
  political tactic.
• Even idealists must sometimes use political
  methods to achieve their goals (boycotts, civil
  disobedience, interest group pressure, and so on).

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Legislatures in Parliamentary and Presidential
Systems

• The presidential system creates a strong and
  independent executive.
• The danger is that the executive becomes too
  strong (the imperial presidency)
• By appealing directly to the people
• By accumulating power as legislatures avoid
  controversial decisions out of their fear of
  constituent backlash

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The Monotony of Gridlock in Presidential Systems

• If checks and balances work too well, it may be
  very difficult for government to get anything
  done.
• This is particularly true when there is divided
  government (different parties control different
  branches).
• Because of the separation of powers and gridlock,
  in the United States policymaking is often
  reduced to baby steps.

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The Banality of Parliamentary Instability

• Because it is difficult to enact big changes in a
  presidential system, social and economic policy
  remains fairly consistent.
• In a parliamentary system, sweeping change is
  easier, and too much change can be a problem.
• This is especially true for business or economic
  planning or any policymaking that looks to the
  future (education, law enforcement, and the like).

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The Banality of Parliamentary Instability

• A second source of instability in parliamentary
  systems is the tenure of the government itself.
• A simply majority vote of no confidence will lead
  to the formation of a new government and often
  new elections.
• The instability problem of parliaments is the
  opposite of and equal to the gridlock problem of
  presidential systems.

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District versus Proportional Systems

• A district system elects an individual who is
  clearly responsible for representing the interest
  of the district.
• A proportional system increases the number of
  parties and the variety of political perspectives
  represented.
• A proportional system ensures that almost every
  vote is reflected in the final representation.

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Coalition Governments

• With more parties, it is often necessary to form
  coalitions to maintain a majority.
• These are often ad hoc and uneasy alliances.
• This is so especially when a minor party is in a
  key position to form a coalition one way or
  another.
• Such relevant parties gain influence that far
  outweighs their electoral support.

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Coalition Governments

• While parliamentary governments do not suffer
  from gridlock, they may suffer from immobilism.
• The more complex and fragile the ruling
  coalition, the more difficult it is to enact
  coherent legislation.
• Occasionally a minority government will rule with
  an agreement that another party will abstain from
  a no-confidence vote.

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Coalition Governments

• Occasionally there will be a unity government
  when two major and opposing parties work together
  to achieve a higher national purpose.
• France has a parliament and a president who is
  elected separately.
• Such a system can result in cohabitation, with
  one party controlling the legislature and another
  controlling the presidency.

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Representation Flaws in District Elections

• Gerrymandering, or intentionally drawing
  districts to gain partisan advantage, may occur.
• The loyalty of the representative may be split
  between the nations and the districts best
  interest.
• District loyalty discourages party loyalty and
  encourages pork-barrel politics.
• Much of the legislators job becomes constituent
  service.

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Authoritarian Legislative Institutions

• Such institutions can provide important
  representation and advisory functions, especially
  in oligarchies.
• They can also legitimate laws and decisions, more
  so if the people believe the parliaments are
  truly representative.