For a different Congress, shift focus from fundraising to governing |
Ideally, members of Congress are sent to Washington to legislate, solve problems, and represent their constituents. In practice, much of their time is spent doing something else entirely: raising money.
Fundraising has become so central to political life that it now competes directly with the work of governing. It's been widely reported that lawmakers are expected to spend hours each day in party call centers, oftentimes devoting as much as 30 hours a week to fundraising alone--nearly the equivalent of a full-time job. This has created a system where political survival depends less on governing effectively than on fundraising successfully.
This shift has significant consequences for the public that is meant to be served. When time is finite, priorities matter. Every hour spent dialing for dollars is an hour not spent governing or serving the people. Legislative productivity........