(6 of 10)
Quite a few of the newcomers, however, do not want to stay around even half that long. Says Gary Hart of Colorado, a first-term Senator: "Many members come in here having already done something interesting; they think about doing this only for a while, then doing something different." Hart, 40, who was George McGovern's campaign manager in 1972, is thinking about challenging Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. Senator John Danforth, a freshman Republican from Missouri, calls himself "a citizen on leave to the Government." Some oldtimers regard the career switchers as unprofessional. Louisiana Democrat Lindy Boggs, who was elected in 1973 to a congressional seat that her late husband Hale Boggs had held for 26 years, looks down on them as "steppingstone Congressmen." She misses the "camaraderie, trust and lifetime dedication" of the House in years past.
Nonetheless, reports TIME Washington Bureau Chief Hugh Sidey, who has covered the capital for 20 years: "Veterans of Washington have increasing admiration for this doubting, debating Congress. The men and women* in it are better informed, better traveled, better aware of their rights and prerogatives than any who have served before them."
Contrary to expectations, the newcomers—particularly the 47 freshmen and 78 sophomores who make up 43% of the Democrats in the House—turned out not to be very liberal in their voting. One reason: many of them come from marginally Democratic districts, and in some cases from normally Republican ones.
The 95th Congress has sometimes given the impression that it is markedly open to influence by special interest groups. Legions of lobbyists for consumer groups and the oil and gas industry swarmed over the Senate while it was working on the energy bill. Nonetheless, Sidey concludes, this Congress actually is less receptive to old-style lobbying than its predecessors: "Back in the days when the big leaders used to roam the halls, lobbyists could find a man or two and work their deals. But today one cannot push buttons and get things done. The issues are so complex and interlocking that about the only way to win major battles is to generate pressure in members' districts. The oil industry probably has worked harder back home than it has in Washington to bring the Congress to its current doubts about Carter's energy proposals."
Half a dozen years ago, A.F.L.-C.I.O. Lobbyist Andrew Biemiller could guess correctly how some 300 Congressmen would vote on labor legislation; thus he and his assistants had to sound out and try to persuade only the remainder—about 135 Representatives. Today he has to touch base with at least 300 unpredictable Congressmen and never can be sure which way many of them will jump. Last year he was confident that the House would pass the common situs picketing bill, which would have allowed a single union to shut down an entire construction site, but it lost by twelve votes.