Jim Terry
Now, those guys...
By Jim Terry
James M. Collins represented Texas' Third congressional district from 1969-1983. He was a folksy, traditional Republican who preferred to be called Jim. Collins was a guiding light in the growth of the Republican party in North Texas and the best politician I ever knew.
Jim knew how to organize volunteers and he gave much to them through political seminars he sponsored at his ranch in Irving, Texas; his annual picnic which attracted hundreds of grass roots workers and politicians; and his personal recognition of each campaign worker who stuffed envelopes, knocked on doors or made telephone calls in his campaigns. Jim knew each one on a first name basis.
He also knew how the folks at home felt about the antics of the guys in Washington. Whenever Jim was back in his district in Dallas, and that was almost every weekend, he was a favorite speaker at Republican functions. As he would bring everyone up to date on congressional actions, he would say, "Now, those guys up there in Washington . . . " He maintained his distance from congress because he knew that while the public at large usually regards congress lower than used car salesmen, people generally like their own representative in congress.
The public still has a low opinion of congress. A Fox/Opinion Dynamics poll of registered voters conducted February 19-20 indicated only 22% of those polled approve of the job congress is doing and 68% disapproved. But that was a better rating by the public than an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll of January 20-22. In that NBC/WSJ poll, only 18% of Americans approved of congress; while 70% disapproved.
Regardless of the public's opinion of Congress, people's view of their own representative seems to have not changed over the years. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International the week of February 20-24, 2008 asked 1,240 registered voters nationwide: Would you like to see your representative in Congress be reelected in the upcoming congressional election, or not? Sixty percent responded "yes;" twenty-two percent responded "no."
The survey went on to ask, "Regardless of how you feel about your own representative, would you like to see most members of Congress reelected in the upcoming congressional election, or not?" Forty-nine percent said, "no." Thirty-six percent responded, "yes."
The current crop of candidates for president, those still standing, include three current members of congress: Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain.
How does this lineup square with the public's perception of congress? Remember, Americans have a negative view of congress in general, but they more often like their own member of congress.
The three sitting senator presidential candidates have three constituencies: Arizona, Illinois and New York. Inexplicably, John Doe in Kansas or Marilyn Doe in Ohio view these congressional members as their own.
Sitting members of congress have not done well in our history when it comes to the presidency. Only one president, James A. Garfield, was elected while a sitting member of the House of Representatives. Two sitting senators, Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy, have been elected to the presidency.
How, then, have these Washington insiders, sitting members of a body generally detested by the public, defied the public's cry for change? They are and have been a part of the Washington which the public declares needs change.
Senator Clinton has played up her inside knowledge of Washington-her experience as a second term senator, eight years as co-president of the United States and ten years as co-governor of Arkansas- and how it has equipped her to bring about change.
Senator McCain, the one with the most service in congress, twenty-six years, talks about how he has already brought about change in Washington and has the experience and background to effect more change.
Senator Obama, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 after serving in the Illinois State Senate seven years, has been criticized for his lack of political experience.
It may be that Obama knows what Congressman Collins knew many years ago and has turned his lack of experience in Washington into his strongest point, that he is not really one of them. Have I heard him say, "Now, those guys up there in Washington....?"
© Jim Terry
James M. Collins represented Texas' Third congressional district from 1969-1983. He was a folksy, traditional Republican who preferred to be called Jim. Collins was a guiding light in the growth of the Republican party in North Texas and the best politician I ever knew.
Jim knew how to organize volunteers and he gave much to them through political seminars he sponsored at his ranch in Irving, Texas; his annual picnic which attracted hundreds of grass roots workers and politicians; and his personal recognition of each campaign worker who stuffed envelopes, knocked on doors or made telephone calls in his campaigns. Jim knew each one on a first name basis.
He also knew how the folks at home felt about the antics of the guys in Washington. Whenever Jim was back in his district in Dallas, and that was almost every weekend, he was a favorite speaker at Republican functions. As he would bring everyone up to date on congressional actions, he would say, "Now, those guys up there in Washington . . . " He maintained his distance from congress because he knew that while the public at large usually regards congress lower than used car salesmen, people generally like their own representative in congress.
The public still has a low opinion of congress. A Fox/Opinion Dynamics poll of registered voters conducted February 19-20 indicated only 22% of those polled approve of the job congress is doing and 68% disapproved. But that was a better rating by the public than an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll of January 20-22. In that NBC/WSJ poll, only 18% of Americans approved of congress; while 70% disapproved.
Regardless of the public's opinion of Congress, people's view of their own representative seems to have not changed over the years. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International the week of February 20-24, 2008 asked 1,240 registered voters nationwide: Would you like to see your representative in Congress be reelected in the upcoming congressional election, or not? Sixty percent responded "yes;" twenty-two percent responded "no."
The survey went on to ask, "Regardless of how you feel about your own representative, would you like to see most members of Congress reelected in the upcoming congressional election, or not?" Forty-nine percent said, "no." Thirty-six percent responded, "yes."
The current crop of candidates for president, those still standing, include three current members of congress: Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain.
How does this lineup square with the public's perception of congress? Remember, Americans have a negative view of congress in general, but they more often like their own member of congress.
The three sitting senator presidential candidates have three constituencies: Arizona, Illinois and New York. Inexplicably, John Doe in Kansas or Marilyn Doe in Ohio view these congressional members as their own.
Sitting members of congress have not done well in our history when it comes to the presidency. Only one president, James A. Garfield, was elected while a sitting member of the House of Representatives. Two sitting senators, Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy, have been elected to the presidency.
How, then, have these Washington insiders, sitting members of a body generally detested by the public, defied the public's cry for change? They are and have been a part of the Washington which the public declares needs change.
Senator Clinton has played up her inside knowledge of Washington-her experience as a second term senator, eight years as co-president of the United States and ten years as co-governor of Arkansas- and how it has equipped her to bring about change.
Senator McCain, the one with the most service in congress, twenty-six years, talks about how he has already brought about change in Washington and has the experience and background to effect more change.
Senator Obama, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 after serving in the Illinois State Senate seven years, has been criticized for his lack of political experience.
It may be that Obama knows what Congressman Collins knew many years ago and has turned his lack of experience in Washington into his strongest point, that he is not really one of them. Have I heard him say, "Now, those guys up there in Washington....?"
© Jim Terry
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