ization to the individual members of the CBC. Reelection of the individual members of the CBC to their seats in Congress indicates that the members of the CBC are effective in their jobs. It is of course true that reelection for a member of the CBC is dependent upon the service provided by a representative to her or his district or by a senator to her or his state, as well as on the effectiveness of the CBC in the championing of issues of importance to Black Americans. There appears, however, to be no objective standard for the measurement of the effectiveness of the CBC than the willingness of Black American voters to reelect those CBC members to their congressional seats. Even at this point, however, some degree of arbitrariness is required to establish such a criterion. For purposes of this research, a reelection rate of 70 percent appears to be an appropriate indicator of success.
This examination was based in elite political theory. In defining the term "political elite," alternative mod
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