Every Friday FairVote releases a new item in their series of 'Innovative Analysis', and today it was 'The People’s House? Not When the Bums Aren’t Afraid to Be Thrown Out', an insight into the politics of incumbency in the House of Representatives.
The article outlines the Framers' thinking behind the institution and mechanics of the House of Representatives:
The House of Representatives is known as the "People’s House," because the framers wanted it to be the body of the federal government that is most sensitive to voter opinion. With members representing individual localities rather than states at large, with terms limited to a quick two years, and with every vacancy requiring a special election to be filled rather than appointment, one would assume that the U.S. House, more than any other body, would shift control in sync with the political attitude of the national electorate. In the mean time, it would also follow that the presidency – where presides our head of state and the commander in chief of our armed forces – would be more stable, less prone to big shifts that could affect how our laws are executed.
However, as FairVote point out, things never turn out the way you expect them to.
In fact, rather than being the most accountable body, the House has changed hands only twice since 1954, in 1994 and 2006. In that same period, however, the party in control of the Oval Office has flipped six times. The "People’s House" has shifted down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, in sharp contrast to the vision of our founders fearful of establishing too much executive power.
Most people are aware of the startlingly high rate of incumbency in US elections. But what makes FairVote's analysis particularly fascinating is a few choice anecdotes they throw in to really highlight the extent of the problem. Take a look at this particularly good example from Tennessee:
The state of Tennessee is a stark example of the immovability of incumbents in Congress. Since 1966, no Congressional incumbent from Tennessee’s U.S. House delegation has ever lost a bid for re-election even once. Woe be unto prospective challengers in the Volunteer State.
To read the whole article, click here.