The Conclusion of Cohen

Thinking back on my time at Cohen’s office, it has been a good experience. It has allowed me to get a first-hand look at what it is like to work for a Congressman. More importantly, I had the opportunity to study the employees of the Congressman, instead of simply the Congressman himself. In classes and books there is always quite a bit of studying and research around the behavior of members of Congress, but very little said about those who work for him. In reality, the employees behind the Congressman probably have a lot more to do with what the Congressman does, and how he is perceived by the public. The average person is almost completely unable to directly interact with the Congressman himself; when he or she calls in it is his fleet of constituent representatives and interns who answer his or her needs. Interestingly enough, if someone was looking to get into politics with the objective of helping people, they would likely find a job working under a Congressman much more rewarding that being the Congressman himself. Cohen has to stand before Congress and give speeches, appear at events, and propose bills. But the vast majority of proposed bills never even escape committee, so in reality the Congressman has little power to directly aid his constituents. The constituent representatives, however, are on the front lines, actively working to help the constituents get what they need out of the government bureaucracies. There have been countless people I have seen leaving that office expressing endless thanks and appreciation for the work that the constituent representatives do on their behalf. It may still not be the job for me, but it was still satisfying seeing how grateful people can be for what services
Cohen’s local office provides.