There are polls about how Americans rate Congress—very low!—but of course there are no polls about how congressmen and senators rate the American people. Many national politicians, I suspect, would give the American people a low rating for one reason: So many Americans have the fantastical notion that the best person to represent them in Washington is someone with no political experience whatsoever.
The New York Times reported that the results of some recent primaries were “a vivid illustration of just how toxic the taint of Washington may be in 2018. The night was a near-wipeout for members of the House seeking higher office.” The Washington Post hit the same note: “If there was one descriptor you didn’t want next to your name Tuesday, it was ‘congressman.’ ” To be sure, many Americans have a favorable opinion of their own congressman, but not of Congress in general.
Is there any other job where having work experience in your field is something that you do not want to tell your prospective employer?
To paraphrase Yeats, many Americans have fed their hearts on fantasies. They assume that the more time a person spends in Washington—aka the swamp—the greater the likelihood that he (or she) will lose his integrity and become disconnected from “real” Americans.
The suspicion of national politicians is an old, old story. In 18th-century America it was called jealousy. Americans were jealous of their rights, and they feared that Washington politicians would conspire to undermine them. Both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison worried that excessive political jealousy would make it difficult to form an “energetic”—Hamilton’s term—national government.
In Federalist 26 Hamilton argues that “the principles which had taught us [Americans] to be jealous of the power of an hereditary monarch were by an injudicious excess extended to the representatives of the people in their popular assemblies [emphasis mine].”
Madison agreed. In Federalist 55 he says: “Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some of us faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be, that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.”
Political jealousy has always been a strong current in American politics, but for two reasons it has become even stronger in recent years. First, many Americans say they would like to reduce the size of the federal government, yet at the same time they want the government to help them in myriad ways. If there are cutbacks in the government programs they rely on, they jump to the conclusion that unsavory deals are being made in swampy Washington by politicians beholden to well-heeled lobbyists.
Second, the Internet is rife with websites that peddle conspiracy theories and promote a hyperpartisan brand of politics that is also the stock-in-trade of many television commentators on the left and the right. These opinionators are angry that Congress is dysfunctional, yet they often criticize congressmen who cross party lines to draft legislation.
Since political jealousy is likely to remain a strong current, in November we will probably see a new crop of outsiders in Congress—people with no experience in government. It is reasonable to assume that they will fail to fix what’s wrong with Congress.
To make the legislative branch of government effective, we need experienced politicians who have the courage to compromise on legislation—politicians who can also oppose foolish legislation proposed by the executive branch.
Madison hoped that Americans elected to Congress would develop the esprit de corps that comes from sitting in a national deliberative body. Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” This is a cheap shot. Many members of Congress—even those who have served many terms—are smart and possess integrity. The most superficial reading of American history gives us examples of honorable members of Congress—from Henry Clay to John McCain. I worked once for a senator—he would be embarrassed if I mentioned his name—who is one of the most admirable Americans I’ve ever met.
Politically jealous Americans should keep in mind that “playing politics” is not reprehensible. Tommy Corcoran—a Washington insider who advised many presidents—is reported to have said: “You can’t take the politics out of politics.” George Will once spoke of “the dignity of the political vocation.” Americans will continue to have a dysfunctional government so long as they assume that serving in Washington means losing your integrity.
