When President Eisenhower gave his farewell address to the nation, he talked about how grateful he was that he was able to get along with Congress to get things done. He believed that the American people wanted the President and the Congress to work together. He believed that because his relationship with Congress was good, many things got accomplished to help the nation move forward.
Today, there seems to be less cooperation between Congress and the President. Part of the reason is that some members of Congress know they will be reelected because some congressional districts have been gerrymandered to such a degree that it is virtually guaranteed that one party will almost always win that seat in Congress. The boundary lines for these districts are drawn in such a way to make the area either very Democratic or very Republican. As a result, there is little incentive to compromise because these representatives know that if they do what the people in their district want, they will get elected even if it means little will get accomplished in Washington, DC. A good example of this is the lack of action taken regarding confirming the appointment of Justice Merrick Garland for the United States Supreme Court. Many Republicans in the Senate have said they won’t take action on his nomination until after the election in November, even though Justice Garland was nominated in March. They are hoping the Republicans will win the election for the presidency, which would allow a more conservative justice to be nominated.
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