politics
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Honestly, it’s still up to us. It’s us, as constituents, that won the midterms.
We need to demonstrate the new vision. Our congressmen are there to represent what we want, they’re not there to come up with stuff we may want to see happen.
That means you have to write them and tell them exactly what you want to see. It’s not just about winning a vote, make sure they hear what you have to say.
Though I understand the underlying sentiment, and I recognize that politics isn't a once every two years thing, I disagree that it should somehow be on us on.
I would love an engaged electorate, but realistically people campaigned on a specific platform. We pay them to read the bills and ideally vote in accordance with what they said their values are. It's completely unrealistic to push that back on the constituents. Often even congresspeople don't have time to read an entire bill before they vote on it. Do I understand all the intricacies of every omnibus bill? No. I give them my hard earned money so they have the time and staff to. If I have to be on the phone all the time reminding them that they promised no more wars just so they remember to stop Trump from bombing Iran then they have failed to do their job.
Does that mean we shouldn't call and express our opinions? No, of course not. But the entire point of having representatives in a representative democracy is so that your average person doesn't have to sit down and understand the ins and outs of every policy. It's really not their job to, and especially in America it's unrealistic to act like people will. Party leadership should be the ones capable of looking around, seeing the direction the wind is blowing, and coming up with a unified vision that addresses the issues of the people that voted for the party.
Also, however much I support contacting your congressperson, and have done so often myself, I've never once had it have any affect whatsoever. I still do it, but that's not a reliable way to get policies you want to happen. The only real reliable way is to vote in someone who was going to champion that anyway.
I have to disagree.
Congressmen are there to represent you. Most congressmen themselves say that they encourage constituents to reach out and express their concerns and ideas. That is the point of the structure. The average Joe doesn’t need to understand the details of the bill, you’re right, that’s what the representatives are for.
However, they’re there to represent the constituents, the bills that get put on the table get put there based on what the representatives hear from their constituents, and then it’s their job to sort through it for us. If you have a minority opinion on something or want something done different that no one else is talking about, it’s going to be difficult for you to realize your concerns in any bill that’s passed. But if you get more people to express their concerns to the representatives, the louder your concerns will get with them. And if they don’t share your concerns, that’s where constituents need to spread the word themselves. That’s how this all works.
You didn't win the election.
The people who voted for Trump three times and switched are the ones who won it.
We have to give them what they want; lower prices and affordability.
Focus on them, because we've got to get them locked in for the next twenty years.
Wow what an astoundingly bad take.