How Political Leaders Create Real Change

a. How well does your representative’s position reflect your district’s likely preferences or broad interests on the issue? Support your inferences about the district with facts – not just your opinion about the district as shaped by your own political opinions and ideology.

The very first thing Matthews wants us to know is how important personal relationships are in Washington. “Retail politics,” a method by which a politician wins people over one at a time, plays a huge role in this chapter. According to Matthews, retail politics is a very important and useful strategy in Washington politics. Lyndon Baines Johnson was a master of retail politics. Matthews describes in

6. To Hold Your District: Study Human Nature and Act According’- Plunkitt talks about books being a hindrance and the only way to last is to know everyone in your district. He talks about looking after the people, know what they are interested in and help them with what they want. Help the people and they will help you on election day.

Today, career politicians are constantly looking for what will aid them in getting reelected. They become more loyal to their campaign fund contributers than to the people whom they represent. This increases the likelihood of having corrupted politicians in office, as they use the government as a vehicle to further their own career (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 123, 129). George Will, a well-known political journalist, was quoted as saying “[The] worst feature of professionalism in politics is that it obliterates the proper distance between the representatives and the represented” (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 125). Even James Madison agreed that legislators were meant to represent the people, not hold office as a career. In The Federalist No. 57 (1788), he wrote, “From this change of men must proceed a change of opinions; and from a change of opinions, a change of measures.” The lack of new faces in Congress today symbolizes that the American legislative branch is straying from its intended purpose.

Mayhew examines the congressmen activity in Washington that is useful to engage in for the purpose of reelection. The first activity is advertising, defined by making a conscious effort to disseminate one’s name in a positive light among constituents to gain a favorable view. They emphasize personal qualities such as:

     Upon election, Hayes demanded that his dealings with lobbyists and politicians should be based upon the merit and importance of each issue, rather than political considerations of the person.

My promise When you elect me as the district 23 state senator you will be enabling us as a district to make an important progress because I will ensure that the national government hears your voice. By doing so you are guaranteed that you will also remain in the loop.

Not only were the larger counties becoming more suburbanized but Flynt’s primary constituents were shifting to the Republican Party. Flynt had a decision to make. Should he change his representational strategy? or not? The new district proved to be a bigger problem than Flynt had thought, the redistricting would be the cause of the closeness of his 1974 and 1976 reelection contest.

My U.S. Representative is Devin Nunes. Nunes belongs to the Republican party, and has served in the House of Representatives since 2003. Nunes is 43 years old and is chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He authored and published Restoring The Republic in 2010. Nunes graduated from Cal Poly, receiving a bachelor’s in agricultural business and a master’s in agriculture. At the age of 23, he was elected to public office as one of California’s youngest community college trustees. Nunes currently serves the 22nd district, and has been a member of congress for the last thirteen years. For constituent services, Nunes offers help with D.C. tours, academy

With this in mind, Fenno embarks on a quest for pragmatic knowledge by examining five members of Congress who possess varying party affiliations,

Chapter 1 focuses specifically on the political strategy of getting to know and befriending other politicians and possible voters. The main goal was to work to attain good relationships in politics but also gain an understanding of the “inner” workings in politics as well. This chapter highlights the power of one on one conversations and relationships and how it is of a powerful political tool. Approaching one customer once at a time became known as “retail politics.” Good politicians get to know other good politicians, which will then later benefits them in the long run.

Although he does not serve as a lawyer, McCain has had a positive impact on America, serving as a military leader and representative of the U.S. government. He is recognized as a hero for his honorable morality in his military performance. He, like Hamilton also has had a substantial contribution in America’s government and after serving in the military, delegated his work in politics. He is recognized as a bold conservative, and, like Hamilton, is not afraid to express his opinion towards his political party. McCain has succeeded numerous times and in the most recent election on November 8, 2016, he was re-elected for his sixth term in the U.S. Senate. Just as Hamilton put effort into influencing his political party- the federalist party- in his support for Thomas Jefferson and his efforts to making him the next President, McCain played a role in supporting his party - the Republican Party- by showing his support for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, and later went on to supporting Trump, but eventually receded from his support after the Washington post was released. Both men’s endorsement towards their specific leader, however, were surprisingly not based off the leaders themselves, but the party they represented. As mentioned before, Hamilton greatly disliked Jefferson, but still supported him, in efforts to do what he believed was the best for the country’s political future. McCain stated, “I am a Republican. I'm loyal to the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. And I believe that my party, in some ways, has strayed from those principles, particularly on the issue of fiscal discipline.” (Mccain, 2016) Both men have done remarkable jobs in representing America for what it stands

It doesn’t matter how much experienced you’ve stocked on a resume. Getting ahead is sometimes falsely claiming to care for other concerns in order to gain the support of others. Yes, I agree that networking is an important aspect to get ahead in life. Many people I’ve met have emphasized that in order to be successful, one must network. I’m glad to know that Matthews took the risk of knocking on many top politicians’ doors in order to seek job opportunities, and I’m also glad that he took a lesson in starting from a smaller position than just sprinting to the top. A lot of people are desperate for a reward, but what they don’t realize is that it takes years to get to that destination. I’m satisfied with the majority of the content in this chapter; however, I would never waste my time trying to win the support of another politician in order for me to sympathize with a preoccupation I do not care for at

Senator Tom Young was one of the first speakers of the second half. He was interesting to me mainly because I am very active in politics and happen to share the same platform interest as he. Although Mr. Young had never even heard of Jim Collins, the main thing that he believes makes a good leader falls right into line with something that Collins touches on in Great by Choice. Jim Collins’s idea of productive paranoia found its way into my notes when Young mentioned that as a congressman and lawyer in order to have successful turnouts in each side of his business life he tries to anticipate everything that might could happen and always plan ahead for whatever may happen. Collins does write in the very beginning of Great by Choice that “you

In the following documentary, “Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style” this film is taken place from a behind-the-scenes point of view that shows a very closely fought race in the Texas, There was an ongoing race for the House District 45. Not only did you see the ongoing race but also got to witness the governor’s race, which is Tony Sanchez against Governor Rick Perry. Also another witness Ron Kirk running for senate in Texas against John Cornyn. Overall numerous comments are proclaimed by local and nation figures in the documentary about discussion’s on politics, which really had a very intuitive background to an in depth side from running campaigns to strategies that some candidates used to attract voter to vote for them. In the documentary it primarily focused on two specific candidates running for The House District 45. First, you had Rick Green, a thirty-one year old incumbent Republican Legislator and a conservative leader that is running for reelection as House District 45. He had served two terms during the republican holder generation. Most people notice right from the beginning that he is well more experience candidate for the election, thus making people more openly trust him that he can manage the position of in which he is running for. This not only makes him more experienced through the people’s perspective but also through his campaign style and debate appearances. Another appealing interest that people see is that he is a Christian which people pick up