We all know what happens when food spoils. We don’t keep the decaying food — we throw it out. But what happens when a government becomes spoiled?
Spoilage in government is like cancer. Once it infects the body, it spreads if not removed. Often, it leads governments to revolution or some form of authoritative leader. Our spoils system started in the House, but it has spread to the Senate and executive branch. The decay is visible, in the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent legislation, the populist waves of Bernie and Trump complaining about the rigged system, the attack on the House on Jan. 6. And now, the House can’t elect a leader.
The people have lost their power, and to get it back, we need reform.
We need a leader in the House who’s not controlled by party allegiances — a competent leader who would use the Speaker’s power as a knife to cut away the cancer. A Speaker should prioritize nominating the most qualified members to committees, endorsing reform legislation like a new apportionment bill or campaign finance reform bills, and then opening up the floor for debate. This would allow the people to see who in Congress is there to represent them and who is there to represent their party, allowing the governors to govern and unmasking the campaigners as the grifters they are.
Our government has had two major spoil system eras, and in both cases, it eventually led to reform. A spoils system is a practice where political loyalty is rewarded with government positions; we are currently in the middle of our third.
The first era began during the Antebellum period under President Andrew Jackson’s administration. Jackson believed in “rotation in office,” arguing that government positions should be accessible to all citizens, not just a bureaucratic elite. However, this often resulted in appointments based on political allegiance rather than merit, leading to inefficiency and corruption.
The second era was the Gilded Age in the late 19th century, a time marked by rapid industrialization and political machines like New York’s Tammany Hall or Roscoe Conkling and the New York Custom House. During this period, party bosses wielded immense power, exchanging jobs and favors for votes and political support. The blatant corruption of the spoils system during the Gilded Age culminated with the assassination of President James A. Garfield by a disgruntled office-seeker, and eventually led to reforms like the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.
The spoils system shifted our leaders’ focus from competency to political loyalty, decreasing administrative effectiveness. A quid pro quo system rewards corruption and favoritism. Individuals who secure government positions through patronage often misuse their power for personal gain, leading to inefficiency and the erosion of public trust in government institutions.
To remove the cancer of spoils and reform the system, we must understand our current predicament. The foundation was laid during the Progressive era, first when the House of Representatives adopted Reeds rules; second with the ratification of the 17th amendment; and third with the passing of the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. These three events concentrated and transferred power in the wrong places.
Reed’s Rules, implemented by Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed, were procedural changes designed to streamline the legislative process in the U.S. House of Representatives. These rules sought to reduce the ability of members to use procedural tactics to delay or block legislation. This included limiting the use of motions to adjourn or to “call the previous question” as a means of obstructing the legislative process. Additionally, they centralized power in the Speaker’s hands, enhancing the majority’s control over the legislative agenda and reducing obstructions from the minority.
The 17th Amendment altered the process for electing U.S. senators. Instead of being chosen by state legislatures, as originally provided in the Constitution, senators would be directly elected by the people of each state. This amendment aimed to make the Senate more democratically responsive and reduce potential corruption and deadlock in state legislatures over senatorial appointments.
The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 established a fixed number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives at 435. The act provided for the automatic reapportionment of House seats every 10 years following the census based on population shifts, but without increasing the overall number of seats. This legislation replaced the previous method, which required Congress to pass a new law after each census to determine the apportionment of House seats. Since then, the United States population has increased from around 100 million in 1929 to over 330 million today, with the representative-to-citizen ratio growing more and more disproportionate (1:220,000 to 1:758,000).
After Thomas Reed left the Speakership, the House did away with his rules until 1975, when trust was lost in the government. Following the Watergate scandal, Democrats secured a majority in the landslide elections of 1974. They adopted Reed’s rules, which gave them the right to name all Democratic members of the committee subject to the approval of the entire Democratic caucus. Eventually, Republicans would adopt the same procedure, and our spoils system era began.
The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 concentrated the people’s power. Reed’s rules concentrated the House’s power into the Speaker. The 17th Amendment split the people’s focus and gave them power they were never intended to have. This turned the People’s House into the Party’s House.
We don’t throw away government because it’s spoiled — we reform it.
Jeff Mayhugh (@jmayhugh28) is the co-founder of the Madisonian Republicans and a former congressional candidate for Virginia’s 10th congressional district.