9/22 Blog

Stalemate is a problem that frequently arises in our legislative branch of government. Stalemate derives from the way our representation works in the House and Senate. The House represents the population of the United States. There are 435 members elected to the House and each state is represented. Since each representative is entrusted to represent its constituency things can get a little confusing. Each state wants different things which makes it difficult for 435 people to agree on something. The Senate contains 100 members with each state having two members. The Senate represents the elite in U.S. society rather than just the population. It is also difficult for the House (representing the population) and the Senate (representing the elite) to come to agreements as well. This is called a stalemate because no moves can take place when the two sides can never agree. Causes of these stalemates are various interests between the different constituencies and also disagreements between the elite and the lower population. While annoying and sometimes ineffective, I find that gridlock is an appropriate way to represent our people. The representatives do their best to voice the opinions of their people just as the Senate does their best to voice the opinions of the elite. This helps keep the United States intact and not subject to any radical change. Just because one constituency wants something does not mean that a change has to be made. Because of the difficulty passing legislation, you know that when everyone agrees on something it will be beneficial to everyone rather than just one person. I think that the ineffectiveness that stalemate creates is in fact what makes the legislative branch so effective. The fact that no major change can take place unless it is good for the whole country prevents us from radical change. This is what the U.S. government was always about.