Congressional Seniority

[billroper]

I'm sure that many people have made this observation, but it struck me this morning that the biggest problem with the Congressional seniority system as used to determine committee assignments and chairmanships is that the most extreme members of each party end up controlling the show. In order to accumulate seniority, you need to be around for a while and the best way to be around for a while is to be from a "safe" district (or state, in the case of the Senate). And those are the seats that tend to have the most partisan representatives.

Not a good thing, I'd think, if you're anywhere near the center of the political spectrum.

Comments

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

Iowa has such a system, at least for the U.S. House seats; they're all somewhat competitive in most election cycles.