tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post6641385868696487465..comments2013-12-21T14:18:45.438-08:00Comments on Women's Issues and Legislatures: More Women=Less Gridlock?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03923854133229598287noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-13880194208070676382013-12-01T21:43:12.547-08:002013-12-01T21:43:12.547-08:00Another issue that I think has been overlooked is ...Another issue that I think has been overlooked is the fact that members of Congress are actually acting extremely rationally, given their incentives and punishments.Its the system itself that is causing these issues, not the gender of its members. If you replaced every single member of Congress with a woman, we would be in the exact same mess we are now. Brian NT-r-o-u-thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398131117797855625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-46315468456436394002013-12-01T20:24:17.227-08:002013-12-01T20:24:17.227-08:00Remember in class we once discussed the theory of ...Remember in class we once discussed the theory of super-qualified female members of congress. Essentially, women have to overcome more obstacles in obtaining a congressional seat, therefore they have to be much better legislators than the male counterparts to receive the same level of recognition or support. In effect, they’re held to a much higher standard. This could explain why the women we’ve observed in Congress have, proportionally speaking, produced rather large effects on policy outcomes or agreements like the shutdown deal. Like Jane, I’m not inclined to believe that simply adding more women solves the problem (‘good’ stereotypes are still stereotypes). We need to add more high quality legislators, regardless of gender. <br /><br />Will Will's bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13794668533197321572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-52439655976275043412013-12-01T18:19:21.917-08:002013-12-01T18:19:21.917-08:00I think that having more women in Congress is a go...I think that having more women in Congress is a good thing, but I'm not sure how much change will come about if women were the majority in Congress. First of all think a lot of women are being opportunistic about the issue of compromise since they are a minority group in Congress. I don't think it is really fair to say that having more women in Congress will bring about less gridlock because they are better listeners. Additionally one interesting theory related to the idea of women succeeding in Congress that we mentioned in class is that the current women in Congress might be better legislators because they have to overcome more obstacles than men to get elected. This could explain why people think women could be more compromising, however I think that if women were the majority in Congress it would dilute their impact as a united group.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17484589947136844310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-31799760642863387662013-11-30T17:30:14.417-08:002013-11-30T17:30:14.417-08:00I agree that having more women in congress does po...I agree that having more women in congress does positively change the culture of congress, but it will probably not affect the amount of gridlock. If political offices or preferred policy preferences are at stake, politicians will hold tight to their own political preferences. I think the government shutdown was a special case of bipartisanship because the majority of legislators in Congress and a majority of Americans did not want to see the government shutdown or the US default on its debt. <br /><br />--Arthur TownsendArthrTwnsndhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189711689353623596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-50332876622992475822013-11-30T14:12:32.843-08:002013-11-30T14:12:32.843-08:00I agree with Sophie on this one. It is clear we c...I agree with Sophie on this one. It is clear we cannot just state that more women lead to less gridlock, but women bring a different culture and perspective into Congress. In addition to being better listeners, I believe that being the minority brings them together. Despite party lines, there are certain things that most women will agree with each other one, if not actual legislation then just the fact that things need to get moving. I think it's really important to recognize the benefits they bring to our legislative branch and hopefully encourage more support and understanding to what they do to help.<br /><br />- Maddie Jmajoselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03331022820554002446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3918327042500720296.post-23664387577250336812013-11-30T14:01:32.432-08:002013-11-30T14:01:32.432-08:00Jane--Fair point that more women in congress will ...Jane--Fair point that more women in congress will not bring less gridlock as we look at the proposals on the floor now compared to the pivot points. But, it could be said that more women in congress will bring forth more legislation that is appealing to more members of congress, more rational actions in committees, and this could potentially spur more movement. As you mentioned above six out of the 14 Senators that led the efforts for compromise were women--well above their 20% level of representation in the chamber. Women might not change pivot politics and that schema, but they might be able to succeed in bringing more congressmen to the table to foster discussions on the controversial issues. <br />Sophie S. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com