David Mayhew’s positions reelection as the main goal of
every office holder in the government. All other goals are simply proximate,
and assist in achieving the overall goal. Three of these actions taken include
advertising, credit claiming, and position taking.
Advertising
Mayhew states that the most common use of
simple advertising by politicians is to gain or maintain favorable name
recognition. DeFazio, having had 16 terms in office, is not in great need of
simple advertisements. He has made a name for himself and created a consistent
image for his constituents to look to. He does, however, hold several townhall meetings a year throughout his district. While he does update his
constituents on what he is doing in Washington, these meetings serve as his
main avenue for advertising. He is face-to-face with his constituents.
Therefore, they remember his name and face, as well as get to know him as a
person rather than a corrupt politician.
Credit Claiming
Credit claiming, as described by Mayhew, is
not simply taking credit for an action completed, it is portraying yourself as
instrumental to the completion of that action. This is DeFazio’s most widely
used tactic. Having the seniority he has built, and now being a part of the
majority in the House, DeFazio has taken influential action in his role.
Most congressmen and congresswomen use franking as a way to
gain name recognition, especially in their early years. As they are in office
longer, they often create newsletters to send to their constituents. With
DeFazio’s high levels of franking, he uses such newsletters as a
way of claiming credit for getting things done in Congress. In almost every
newsletter, DeFazio mentions a bill he has introduced recently, which shows
both that he himself is making strides towards progress, and that those strides
would not be taken without him.
With an increase in social media use to reach voters,
franking is on the decline, but Twitter has had a major uptake. Similar to how
he used franking privileges, DeFazio’s Twitter feed is constructed of
several retweets of his accomplishments. As DeFazio is now chairman of the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure, he is often mentioned as being
instrumental to passing bills, and he loves to retweet his accomplishments. Nevertheless,
having the level of power he has earned through his dedication to Congress, he
deserves to brag every once in a while.
Position Taking
Position taking is taking and defending a
stance on any issue that may be of interest to political actors. Though like not
as influential as credit claiming, position taking is essential to reelection
by showing congruence with constituents. DeFazio is strong in taking positions
on issues that arise, and he stands by those positions even if they go against
party lines. In interviews with candidates running for office, DeFazio
is not only strong in his own position, but he is also strong in acknowledging
why it is better than his opponents, making it seem like he is taking the best
position there is.
In order to take action and not wait for news sources to ask
for interviews, DeFazio has created several press releases. Much of this
media outreach is used for credit claiming, but there are also several press
releases that simply detail support and applause for actions the House has
taken, or disapproval of actions President Trump has taken.
Having been a member of the House since 1987, and only
attempting to move to the Senate in a special election, it is clear that
DeFazio aligns perfectly with Mayhew’s claim that reelection is the overall
goal for politicians. While constantly campaigning by reaching proximate goals
may seem exhausting, DeFazio will continue seeking reelection, because for him,
it’s not over yet.
