General Overview
If the Netflix television series house of cards is even remotely a true portrayal of the American democracy, then the country is in great trouble. The plot of the series revolves around actual constitutional offices within the United States. The main character in season one, Francis J. "Frank" Underwood plays the part of the US majority white in the House of Representatives (Willimon, 2013). He is therefore in charge of the majority members in one of the two houses of Congress. However, based on two episodes within the first season of the film, Underwood has no interest of the nation at heart and is simply using the position to further his private agendas. Indeed, at some point, one even wonders if the chief whip is the most powerful man in America. There is also the question of how far, the end will justify the means, to get laws passed in Congress.
Majority Whip
The majority whip in the USA is an integral part of the legislative system and an important member of the House of Representatives. Normally, the individual who holds the position is elected by the party that has most members within the aforesaid House of Representatives. This is usually either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, the two dominant political parties in the USA. The Majority Whip, may or may not be a member of the ruling party, depending on which party has a majority in the House. In the House of Cards, the Majority Whip is Underwood as aforesaid and a member of the party that has just won the presidency. Underwood campaigned for the President on the promise that he would be appointed Secretary of State (Willimon, 2013). The President, however, goes back on his word and Underwood remains the Majority Whip. He decides to abuse his office and use it as a stepping stone for political power. Therefore, Underwood deviates from the normal expectations of the office of Majority Whip because of his personal agenda (Willimon, 2013). His actions are mainly to the detriment of the American populace, unlawful and illegal thus against the parameters normally expected for the said office.
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The Legislation Process Works
The US government is democratic in nature with legislations being done through a mainly competitive process. A legislative bill may emanate from the executive as part of government policymaking process. It can also come from a member of this house. The main players in the house, to wit the House Speaker, the leaders of the two parties and the Whips will work together to have the bill brought to the floor of the house, debated and passed with or without amendments or rejected in its totality. This process might involve acrimonious debate, negotiations with consensus building and in extreme situations a filibuster. However, all the processes of passing bills are legal, above board and civil. Episode three of the season one of the House of Cards which is dubbed “chapter 4” presents a very different process for passing laws. The Bill being passed is the Education Bill, which had been sponsored by the government (Willimon, 2013). For his personal reasons, the Majority Whip causes several contentious amendments to be added to the Chagrin of House Speaker Bob Birch. Birch withdraws his support for the bill, an act that almost derails the bill. To regain the support of the speaker, Underwood blackmails him by moving a motion of no confidence against him. To ensure the support of the motion and therefore the success of the blackmail, Underwood unlawfully and illegally manipulates many members of the house (Willimon, 2013). Eventually, the manipulation and illegal schemes succeed and the Education Bill is passed with the illegal amendments. The House of Cards, therefore, portrays a process for passing laws that is criminal and not in line with the normal process of passing bills in the US parliament. Indeed, a parliament that passes bills like that would be a den of criminals seeking to send the Union into chaos.
What Congress Is
The US congress is the second installment of the US government out of the three governmental installments. The other two are the executive and the Judiciary. The three installments operate through a carefully organized system of check and balances to ensure that the best interest of the Union is maintained. Congress has two houses; the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate is comprised of two senators elected from each of the 50 states in the USA while the house of Representatives has a fixed number of members, spread across America based on the population of the states. For a bill to become law, it has to be passed by the House of Representatives, then ratified by the Senate before it is presented to the president for approval or veto. In the house of cards, the correct depiction of what congress is with its bicameral nature being well depicted. Just as in the ordinary US Congress most of the grunt work in the passing of the bill through debate and consensus building is done in the House of Representatives. This is indeed the correct picture depicted by the movie. However, the procedure of conducting business is extremely flawed. The movie features several members of the House of Representatives and well as several members of the Senate, who are seen to interact informally (Willimon, 2013). This is also the correct nature of Congress and the two houses ought to operate independently in an official capacity. However, since they are made up of members of the same parties or individuals who share similar ideals, there are continuous informal interactions albeit informally.
Reference
Willimon, B. (Writer). (2013). House of Cards [Television series episode 1 & 4]. In House of Cards Season 1 . Netflix
