can overthrow of congress earlier this decade. It seems to me that the current congress-president communication is working relatively fluidly, however I would like to c a more informed general public on the issues being worked on. With Presidential mobilization of congress working decently, only one question remains… Do these relations support elite or popular democracy?I would like to praise congress and the presidency, but I have to say that the way in which they work together supports elitism very much. Upon being elected into congress, a congress –person is placed in some echelon of the committee system. The most senior member of the committee is the placed at the head of the group. While it is definitely a good idea to have more experienced people heading these groups, I feel that they tend to oppress popular democratic views. While in the head position of the committee this singular person now has the ability to sway the ENTIRE committee to his likings…very elitist. I also feel that the relation is elite due to “politicking” of certain programs. What I mean by politicking is how the congress people may vote on an issue in a different matter merely because of some past position, or in order to save face. Right now the only popular democratic input into the congress-presidential mobilization is interest groups. These groups have many members from a greater cross section of the public than the elite congress and president can account for. Basically, interest groups and an occasional scandal or other media event are all that keep these transactions from a totally elitist system. Otherwise the public goes completely unaware of the daily happenings of congress which to me, calls for a change in the congressional system that allows for MORE popular democratic input… or at least someway to keep the public informed about the issues discussed. Until the “middle-man” of between con...
