Fleck wrote:
I'm all for TALKING about the future. About how coal and manufacturing and blue and white collar jobs are going away, never coming back, too expensive, too dirty etc etc. I am all for planning and making changes on this future possibility. But if I was a politician I would be smart enough to know who voted me into office and what their needs and aspirations were. I can't disagree with what you said here. It's the unfortunate/fortunate way our democratic system(s) work.
It's indeed it's a rare, politician these days who will stand-up and go against the grain, against his/her party, and supporters. I think it's an Irish saying - "You dance with the one that brought you"!
I have several friends here in Canada who have been Federal MP's (roughly equivalent to your House of Representative reps). In private conversations, they tell me they wrestle with this all the time - your party, what's right/wrong, your constituents, your conscience! That's the part of the job they tell me is most challenging.
I agree. I wish it wasn't that way but it is. And has been.
I think the larger issue here that isn't being discussed is how the D party is reacting and how they plan to work with or not work with the R party.
I understand that the immediate walk out of the chamber the other night was pre-planned. But in light of the way that speech went over, and how for the first time Trump reached out to that side, the optics were not great in my opinion.
Trump brought up some very Democratic pieces in that speech IMO. Child care credits and infrastructure rebuilding to name two.
IMO wise politicians in the D party would do well to figure out places they could work with him on to get things like the above through a R majority house.
I have seen in WI how outright rebellion, and refusal to work with this type of set up turned out for the Democrats in my state. It wasn't and continues to not be pretty for them.
You can sit on the sidelines and protest and watch the process pass you by or you can stay in the game and limit the other side to 80% of what they want while getting 20% of what you want.