Partisanship and Iron Triangles: Not for the public at large

Partisanship, or more precisely our current two-party system of partisanship, is flawed and needs to be changed. Other practices of Congress are also causing problems. Let me elaborate. Partisanship is definitely not what the founding fathers of this country wanted when they wrote the Constitution. As we learned in our textbooks, James Madison exhorted in his Federalist Paper #10 the principles of factionalism as fundamental to and inherent in human nature but also detrimental to the formation of a true and successful democratic system. Woodrow Wilson even proclaimed the Office of The President to be “above parochial or partisan interest”, AMGOV 2010 edition, pg. 300.


So how can we possibly be following the founding fathers wishes and be practicing a true and successful democracy when we have two leading parties (factions) rather than the multitude that Madison called for, deciding the fate of our nation’s politics? To answer truthfully: we can’t. Party lines and commitment to the party often call for members of Congress, at both national and state level, to vote against the wishes of their people. The fact that a legislator must be more concerned with whether or not to vote as he is directed by his party leaders rather than by what is truly in the best interests of his constituency is one example of the deficiencies in our current system.

Lobbying and the revolving door practices are another big issue. The iron triangle concept that links economic and political aims directly, while leaving the general population out of consideration, is terrible. The companies who have the money pay for campaigns to obtain a firm hold on the coattails of key legislators. Legislators who often feel inclined to repay the favor by enacting legislation in favor of the same industry or business interest. Some of these legislators even own business interests in the area they write the legislation for. It is necessary for these legislators to have knowledge of the industry they write laws for so that they don’t hurt that division of the economy, but a personal interest in it? That would leave the most responsible and dedicated public servant tempted to work in their own favor, by passing laws that allow for them to make the most money in their private lives let alone someone of weaker convictions.

Together with higher business interests, and powered by partisan goals, legislators have formed a wealthy elite that is corrupted by personal interest in many of the laws they make, disconnected from the common citizen, and showing less than due regard for the public interest.