How does the US Congress, as it exists in its current structure, support and/or limit authentic representation?

When the question asks how does congress limit or support authentic representation, I guess one would first have to answer, what does authentic have to do with things when the government is involved?  In other words, shouldn’t it be restated, “accurate” representation?  Like I saw from most of the classes’ discussion, it all boils down to power and money.  The famous saying on how the government is out to “make the rich richer and the poor poorer” comes into play.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this saying.  I remember my father saying those words when I was five and we are talking decades upon decades ago!!  Seriously though, in a way our book implies congress to be a double edge sword. They are responsive to “less privileged groups” in order to truly reflect on the public’s opinion, but how can that part of the public be so openly viewed when the wealthier of the two are certainly more likely to get out and vote or even donate money?  “Congress tends to hear the upper-class members of the chorus better because their money, their votes, and their organization amplify their accented voices.” (Katznelson, Kesselman, & Draper) The author is completely right with this statement, but like I always find myself asking, we all know that to be the case, and have obviously felt that way for generations past, what can the public do now to help make the lower and middle class more open and driven to be heard?  Ultimately, I feel Congress limits authentic representation because of the rich vs. poor ways we all seem to hold in our heads. 

However, while money has shown to play a large part in congress and its limits on “authentic” representation, in a way it has supported that representation.  If we think back to the past of why and how we came to be today, we remember that both people of color and women were restricted from playing any part in politics.  In the end African Americans were allowed to join the services and eventually vote.  Women also fought to be allowed that privilege as well.  In a sense, this is where the house or  any other party helped to support its representation.  However, while members of congress showed a support, it was never meant just for African Americans or woman and in fact for public as a whole.   Unfortunately, this leads to another area of debate because special districts might see this black majority support and then that would limit any time of “authentic” representation one would hope congress supported.   

Bibliography

Canon, D. T. (1999). Race, Redistricting, and Representation: . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Katznelson, I., Kesselman, M., & Draper, A. (2006). The Politics of Power. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.