You know who really excels at campaigning? Scalise!
According to an article by The Advocate, Steve Scalise
really raised 3.3 million to defeat six innocuous challengers that raised “$5,400
between them”. Talk about overdoing.
Let’s now discuss Congressman Scalise’s district activities
in relation to Mayhew’s theories on reelection. He lists three activities that congressional
representatives engage in for reelection.
1.Advertising.
Mayhew’s definition: “any effort to disseminate ones name among constituents in
such a fashion as to create a favorable image but in messages having little or
no issue content” (p.49). The aim is to get one’s name across in a favorable
light. Bombarding your constituents with
mails? Appearing uninvited to their private events? Following them to their
doorsteps? Everything is fair game here! Scalise goes beyond that. Here’s how much
he spent according to a Statement of Disbursements of the
House, April 1, 2016, through June 30, 2016
FRANKED MAIL ..................................................................................................................27,168.35
PERSONNEL COMPENSATION
........................................................................................208,295.07
TRAVEL ..............................................................................................................................22,534.45
RENT, COMMUNICATION, UTILITIES
..............................................................................49,309.25
PRINTING AND REPRODUCTION
....................................................................................18,485.71
OTHER SERVICES
.............................................................................................................5,824.00
SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS
.............................................................................................8,550.65
EQUIPMENT
.......................................................................................................................1,371.24
OFFICIAL EXPENSES OF MEMBERS TOTALS: 341,538.72
OFFICE TOTALS: 341,538.72
In the following video, Scalise engages in
credit claiming by visiting a damaged NASA building and assuring he will make
it so that it will be rebuilt and the jobs will come back there in New Orleans.
For Mayhew, the typical way of doing this
is by incorporating what he calls “particularized benefits”(p.53), which
involves addressing the benefit to a particular geographical constituency.
Scalise’s action coincides perfectly with Mayhew’s theory.
Below is the latest post from the congressman's Facebook page:
“A lot of us, especially in the pro-life
movement, knew when Antonin Scalia passed that we would never see a Supreme
Court Justice like him again. I'm glad that our new President Donald Trump has
picked a worthy successor to keep Scalia's legacy alive” referring to Judge Gorsuch.
Mayhew also says: “The electoral
requirement is not that he make pleasing things happen but the he make pleasing
judgmental statements.” (p. 62). For a primarily republican district, this
post is pleasing alright!
There is more where that came from, see https://www.facebook.com/stevescalise/
*Additional Reference:
Mayhew, David R. Congress: the electoral connection. 2nd ed. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
