To the Editor,
Once in a while I stop at the coffee shop and have some real discussions about who died, weather, sports, and today’s topmost topic politics. They don’t necessarily go together, but you get diverse thoughts and opinions about all of them. We were all in agreement, that Tim Conway was one of the funniest guys with his improvises. One major topic that came up for discussion was, ever wonder if our president and legislators really care about their constituencies? A common buzzword this session has been a disappointment over how little our elected representatives have accomplished, especially in the Senate. The discussion at the coffee shop is very knowable, attorney, former CEO, police chief, general contractor and a number of others. Good across a section of opinions.
“People have a negative view of Congress because they think it accomplishes little and is intent on waging noisy, partisan battles that usually end in stalemate. Pummeling Congress has been a popular national sport since the beginning of the republic, with everyone playing offense: the media, the public and even members themselves. Those negative attacks tend to feed on each other and grow.” From the Rollcall Staff. Republicans are raising hopes in the campaign of winning the Senate majority come 2020 elections. What has the Senate majority, the Republican, done? Occasionally, McConnell allows the passage of a bill deemed sufficiently uncontroversial and of minimal importance. After the majority was lost in 2006, the party was handed what it saw as evidence of its impotence or signs that Democrats would never let Republican lawmakers be involved in the legislative process. Senate Republicans are hopeful it will not transpire again.
The survey from the E. M. Kennedy Institute, “asserts the results demonstrate a disconnect between voters and the U.S. senators who represent them. Voters express dissatisfaction with the performance of Congress and want senators who are responsive to the people they represent. At the same time, the data points to an American electorate that lacks basic knowledge about our political system.”
Lee Drutman, The Atlantic wrote, “America’s political institutions are suffering from profound decay. The political parties—especially the Republicans—have become so constrained by their activists and addicted to short-term one-upmanship that they are incapable of governing together. At the same time, the political power of the very wealthy and organized business interests has reached levels that undermine our legitimate expectations that the political system should be able to solve big problems and generate shared prosperity.”
In 1889 wealthy businessman such as Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Morgan, and others who needed to use the political process for their own ends tended to “purchase” political support rather than getting directly involved. Republicans were also known as the party of business. Today’s common-sense approach, according to Lee Drutman; “for a long time, the dominant theory of the pundit class was that at some point, the center had to hold. The Republican Party couldn’t keep becoming more extreme and continue to win elections. Eventually, moderate Republican voters would have to abandon the party. Democrats would win again.”
“If, somehow, Democrats win a Senate majority and defeat President Trump, they’ll have to make fundamental changes to the rules of the chamber — like ending the filibuster — if they want their agenda to move forward. And if they can’t win a majority, Mitch McConnell may cripple a Democratic presidency from the start, blocking judicial and executive branch nominations in an even more extreme replay of his blockade of President Barack Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. Without the Senate in hand, Democrats could win the immediate fight against Donald Trump in 2020 but lose the larger battle against the Republican Party that supported and enabled him. The second problem is a set of long-term trends that will benefit the Republican Party as long as it maintains its holds on the least populated states and will burden the Democratic Party as long as it represents most of the densest, most diverse and fastest-growing major metropolitan areas in the country.” Wrote Jamelle Bouie New York Times
Legislators are usually expected to represent their constituents’ preferences. But many people argue that their legislative representatives diverge knowingly from their constituents’ philosophies. To influence your legislator, state or federal, ask him/her how they can assist in sponsoring a Bill. You are now on the inside knowing the direction of your legislator.
Norman Halls
