The Class of 1974: Where Have All the Members Gone?

The 1974 midterm congressional election is considered to be a watershed event in American politics, as the Class of 1974 fundamentally reshaped the U. S. House of Representatives (Loomis 1988; Smith 1988; Schneider 1989). Not only was it successful in instituting a number of internal reforms, but it also was responsible for honing a new type of politics: Technical competence became as important, if not more important, than political ideology. The cohort mastered the art of incumbency, which helped a large number of "careerists" retain their seats nearly twice as long as the average House member. Their style of politics has since become the norm for others who are interested in making careers of serving their congressional districts. The paper examines the art of incumbency, as practiced by the Watergate Babies, and tracks the post-congressional careers of those who served at least eight terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]