POLS 300 Final Exam

In this research class, we closely examined Congressman ‘Bizz’ Johnson’s archive of constituent letters and responses from his office. In the beginning of the semester, before I was able to analyze the data and truly understand the scope of representation in regards to ‘Bizz’s’ term in office, I had a somewhat finite notion of what political representation is and how to identify it when it is applied to citizens and constituents. This summary will analyze the difference of my idea of representation from the beginning of the semester to a possible transformation and the idea of representation after researching Congressman ‘Bizz’ Johnson.
In the beginning of the semester, I had a fairly clear and concise way to define political representation. In summary, my belief was centered around democracy, very simply put, letting the people have the power. “My personal idea of proper political representation is when groups of people have elected a leader, by a free, fair and open election, and who is accountable for them, hears what they have to say, and acts upon the needs of the people not for his or her own benefit, but rather the true benefit of the people.” (Assignment #1). While my definition of representation and the core values of it have remained the same, my idea of the varying degrees of how that representation is actually implemented have been modified.
The absolute best way to measure representation is through the means of data. However, in the instance of analyzing ‘Bizz’ Johnson representation over his constituents there was no data set. It was the duty of the class to create a useful data set including key information which: First, showed how the constituents of the California 2nd congressional district (later renamed the 1st) felt about certain issues and; Secondly, how ‘Bizz’ responds to those letters from constituents using the means of pure position taking or not. Finally, with this data, we could begin to accurately analyze in what way ‘Bizz’ would respond to constituents with opposing viewpoints versus similar viewpoints and whether those issues were domestic issues or pertained to a foreign policy. Overwhelmingly, the data showed that ‘Bizz’ acted like “two presidencies” suggesting that members of congress respond differently to foreign issues rather than domestic issues. In addition, the data revealed that ‘Bizz’ would, over 90% of the time, obscure his position in response letters to constituents when they had opposing views. The findings were conclusive that ‘Bizz’ acted like a trustee to his constituents, that is being elected and entrusting him to act helping the greater good of his district. However, those with opposing viewpoints still did not find him unfavorable because of his ability to be seen as a delegate of their views. His rhetoric in those response letters led constituents to still feel heard and represented. Balancing between those two styles of representation enabled him to be in office for so long and lead a successful career as a politician. This information brought great insight to me as well as the entire class and shifted the way I measure the extent of representation. Now, I realize that politicians have to be fluid, and adapt how they frame views and opinions based on the people they represent. A good analogy would be how a person would tailor their résumé to fit different potential employers in order to be viewed as a more favorable candidate for the job.
After the countless hours reading, tabulating, creating, and analyzing the data set, It is obvious to me as well as my classmates that ‘Bizz’ carried out a successful career representing his constituents and in Congress. In the research poster “Political Representation and Position Taking” by classmates Jessica Zepeda and Roger Cortes-Chacon, they also conclude: “Bizz used position taking to make pleasing judgements to his constituents. This is a way that our representatives use representation to get re-elected.” A reoccurring theory as to why representatives might play the role of two candidacies, is for the sole reason of being re-elected. This theory needs more data and analysis in order to be confirmed. Such methods as analyzing Congress voting records on certain bills and comparing them to a politician’s publicized opinions are a possible way to determine their true motives. However, in the case of Harold ‘Bizz’ Johnson, the general consensus of his time in office was positive.