Opinion by George McClellan:That could be considered a “Catch 22” question. Despite promises to the contrary, once in office all the sensory antenna of the newly enfranchised political office holder are understandably overwhelmed with learning policy, rules, regulations, where the restrooms are and where their office is located, hopefully near a restroom. They are engulfed in a frenzy of learning the ropes, taking orders from their betters on how to do their job and wondering if the professional staff selected for them will really be true to the campaign promises made by the politician. Oh my!

By the time the awful truth finally dawns on them, that they are not really their own person but belong to the party elites, that is if they want to be a committee chairman or something, it’s too late and they are, like that ol’ Brea Rabbit, stuck to that tar baby of realpolitik. Any thought of staying in close touch with constituents, as promised, is quickly relegated to the back shelf of good intentions – that won’t be kept, surrounded by a bodyguard of lies that excuses the lack of attention to the home folk.

Certainly, for those congressmen and senators from whom larger donors expect a reward, the personal contact may in fact continue, for awhile. Only the Washington lobbyist’s that have up close and personal, everyday in their face contact, especially on the evening cocktail circuit where deals are made and promises extracted, have any influence while the rest of us, here in fly-over country, are pushed to the back of the shelf and quickly forgotten except when our congressmen and senators sometimes return home and hold Town Hall meetings designed to appease those small time donors who put them there and still believe their voices really count. The awful truth is, their vote counts, not their voice.

Of course we’re dazzled with emails telling us they are “fighting for us” against this, that and the other thing but rarely on the things that are important to their base. We now get questionnaires soliciting answers to such questions as “What issues are important to you?: 1) “Protecting 2nd Amendment rights, 2) Illegal immigration, 3) The Presidents refusal to identify Islamic Terrorism, 4) Cutting Federal Spending to balance the budget and 5), Not sure, want to lear more.” Four of the five questions could be answered with one word: Obama’s lawlessness, his criminality, his unconstitutional law making efforts, his unaffordable no healthcare disaster for our economy. We’re not stupid here, we know what the issues are and I, for one, refuse to limit my answer to a silly one choice questionnaire. I want to be called, spoken to and asked what’s being talked about in my community. I want to be able to give truthful answers without my representative feeling offended because the truth sometimes hurts.

If I were a Congressman, who would I stay in touch with? How about the people who know? I don’t believe it ever occurs to congressmen or senators that they could have, with very little effort, their own accurate, willing and able intelligence system with a few simple phone calls to the right people, a few kind words and a professional, “let’s get the job done together” demeanor to gather the feelings and tempo of a community not found in the newspapers or spoon fed to them by aides. I don’t really like talking to my congressman through aides.

Who would these people be? The County Sheriff’s for one, even of the opposite political party. County Commission chairmen for another, even if of the opposite political party. County political party chairmen certainly and last but not least, tea party leaders and effective political bloggers who comment nationally on issues affecting our nation like that great American, Joe McCutchen, who has a national following.
Remember, freedom is the goal, the Constitution is the way. Now, go get ‘em! (4 March 2015)