Victoria Dochoghlian
Poli Sci 137BW
Prof. Uhlaner
November 5, 2015
Are the Representatives “Like Us” in the U.S. Congress?
“Stand for” representation, means a descriptive or symbolic representative that stands for someone or something. In descriptive representation there is the idea of representing a group of people and governing for them, two very different theories. Representing descriptively means to proportionally and characteristically represent the population they stand for, and to govern, means to make decisions and create legislature for the people they represent. In the U.S, descriptive representation is somewhat, yet not fully, present in Congress. The definition of descriptive representation relies on the understanding of …show more content…
In congress, decisions have to be made with a majority rule, but that does not mean that the minority can’t be represented, they can, and they should, so the congress would be proportional with the nation. Some proportionalists are criticized for this, because when they are concentrating on having perfect proportionality in legislature, they are turning a blind eye to the governing aspect of it, even though they are separate ideas. Governing and representing descriptively are not the same thing, but they are intertwined because while having “representative functions” a legislature must also “support a stable government”, thus assuring “adequate representation but only at the cost of weakening government, while the majority system secures adequate government but only at the price of withholding adequate representation” (Pitkin 1967, …show more content…
congress is not good “fit” of descriptive representation. The House of Representatives is 80.6% male and only 19.49% female, and in the Senate; 80% male and 20% female. The House of Representative is made up of 79.8% Whites, 10.1% Blacks, 7.8% Hispanics and 2.3% Asian. While the Senate is made up of 94% Whites, 2% Blacks, 3% Hispanics and 1% Asians. There is a big difference when it comes to proportional representation while looking at the U.S. population and its congress, there is representation of the four main races, but it is not proportional. Descriptive representation is somewhat present in the U.S. congress, but it is not proportional to the population, this may cause the overlooking of some groups of people, but it doesn’t mean that their needs won’t be addressed to congress. The chances are slim, but just like Adam Schiff does it to the Armenians, there congressmen and congresswoman who are willing to represent all the people in their district, no matter if their characteristics match
Poli Sci 137BW
Prof. Uhlaner
November 5, 2015
Are the Representatives “Like Us” in the U.S. Congress?
“Stand for” representation, means a descriptive or symbolic representative that stands for someone or something. In descriptive representation there is the idea of representing a group of people and governing for them, two very different theories. Representing descriptively means to proportionally and characteristically represent the population they stand for, and to govern, means to make decisions and create legislature for the people they represent. In the U.S, descriptive representation is somewhat, yet not fully, present in Congress. The definition of descriptive representation relies on the understanding of …show more content…
In congress, decisions have to be made with a majority rule, but that does not mean that the minority can’t be represented, they can, and they should, so the congress would be proportional with the nation. Some proportionalists are criticized for this, because when they are concentrating on having perfect proportionality in legislature, they are turning a blind eye to the governing aspect of it, even though they are separate ideas. Governing and representing descriptively are not the same thing, but they are intertwined because while having “representative functions” a legislature must also “support a stable government”, thus assuring “adequate representation but only at the cost of weakening government, while the majority system secures adequate government but only at the price of withholding adequate representation” (Pitkin 1967, …show more content…
congress is not good “fit” of descriptive representation. The House of Representatives is 80.6% male and only 19.49% female, and in the Senate; 80% male and 20% female. The House of Representative is made up of 79.8% Whites, 10.1% Blacks, 7.8% Hispanics and 2.3% Asian. While the Senate is made up of 94% Whites, 2% Blacks, 3% Hispanics and 1% Asians. There is a big difference when it comes to proportional representation while looking at the U.S. population and its congress, there is representation of the four main races, but it is not proportional. Descriptive representation is somewhat present in the U.S. congress, but it is not proportional to the population, this may cause the overlooking of some groups of people, but it doesn’t mean that their needs won’t be addressed to congress. The chances are slim, but just like Adam Schiff does it to the Armenians, there congressmen and congresswoman who are willing to represent all the people in their district, no matter if their characteristics match