President Obama has decided to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia in order to rally for Representative Tom Perriello, who ironically, given his title, has done very little actual representing.For those of you who don't know, Tom Perriello represents the Fifth Congressional District in Virginia, a district that is very conservative in its social politics.
Instead of reflecting the thoughts and wants of the people who voted him in, however, Rep. Perriello decided he wanted to establish "independence," and voted incredibly liberally on a great number of issues. Apparently ignoring the people who just voted for you for the first time is a good idea for your political career.
To count, Perriello has supported Obama's healthcare, stimulus, and energy legislation, and has taken incredible heat for doing it from his supporters, prompting Obama's visit.
Now, I don't know about you, but my view of an elected official is someone who has been voted into office by the people, and therefore must serve and exist for the people. Tom Perriello has done neither. What he has done, however, is cleverly convince to the federal government to get him out of his tight situation back home. Without Obama's help, it isn't likely that Perriello will win the next election, but really, who expects to win after they blatantly opposing their electors.
President Obama should not be helping Perriello. Obama has a responsibility as President of the United States to oversee the fact that the people are being represented fairly in politics, something Perriello is the antithesis of currently. Obama really needs to rethink the rally, something many analysts say is a thank-you note for his blatant opposition towards the electors. Does he really want to support someone who doesn't support the people?
7 comments:
Dan Fu has made an excellent post about what a representative should be doing. I feel President Obama should understand how much taxpayer's money he spends by campaigning. Going to Virginia, he would need to take Marine One, Air Force One, or both due to Charlottesville, Virginia being about 100 miles from Washington D.C. Though President Obama has to support his own party, he must also realize the large sum of money for his security. Each trip costs a minimum of $100,000 with hundreds of hours of preparation. Both the President and this Representative must realize we are not in China, North Korea, Iran, or any other dictatorial country where the leaders are chosen by a secret Politburo community. In America, our politicians have to represent the people. If not, then how different are we from any autocratic country? America is a country that must stand strong in all times and a beacon of hope for the various other countries and people around the world. Whether you are in North Korea, Zimbabwe, or even China, we are a country of freedoms and rights. We cannot allow these politicians to do as they please. Just recently some new information about the "new, and improved 'Marine One' helicopters" turned up. To gain the contract "Boeing and its employees gave more than $60,000 that year to almost every active federal lawmaker in Pennsylvania, where it likely will assemble the Marine One fleet if awarded a contract." This kind of corruption cannot stand. These helicopters are now becoming budget overrun due to these kinds of "bribery". How is this allowed? Do you want a corrupt politician who does not listen to his or her constituents(right or left)?
In my opinion, the people that we elect to represent us should not be slaves to public opinion. We elected them because we trust their judgment and ability to make appropriate decisions on our behalf. Thus, I think that Tom Periello's voting was completely legitimate.
@ Rashmi: While in a perfect world that would be true, with so many interests in our society, is that sort of idealism still acceptable? The facts are, we vote for politicians who share our interests, we place in them a sacred trust to govern so that we may achieve our ends. Perriello has abused this trust.
In all honesty, I must also agree with Daniel and Jonathan. I believe that it is ill-advised that President Obama show support for a "rogue" Representative; even if he is swinging from the right to the left. It is the Representative's duty to represent the people who have elected him and although he does have a mind and opinion of his own, he is ultimately at the mercy of the people and I would hazard a guess that Rep. Perriello's political career will not be a very long one if it continues down this treacherous path.
@Daniel: Are you suggesting that the people we elect should vote completely against their own convictions and beliefs just to make sure that they maintain the "trust" of their constituents? Obviously, if these people voted for him in the first place, they must have agreed with at least some of his ideologies and beliefs. Perriello has always been a relatively liberal person, and that is one of the things that got him elected in 2008; it's not like he campaigned in 2008 as a conservative and suddenly changed positions as soon as he got into office. Although I agree that the people we elect are supposed to represent us, they are not supposed to respond to every whim of the people; they have (hopefully) been elected because they have a broader, more knowledgeable view about what is best for the people, and must use their judgment to determine what is best for all the people they are representing.
As for Obama, he definitely should campaign for Perriello. As the current face and leader of the Democratic party, he is expected to campaign for Democratic candidates, and he would be doing the party a disservice if he didn't.
@Rashmi
You stated that Perriello and other elected officials "are not supposed to respond to every whim of the people," & that they "must use their judgment to determine what is best for all the people they are representing." The thing is, the people that Perriello are, as Daniel has said, EXTREMELY conservative. The previous represetative, Goode, won by margins of 64-36 & 59-39%, effectively landslides.
So Perriello isn't responding to "every whim of the people" eh? Is he even responding to ANY whim of the people whatsoever? It looks like he is blatantly OPPOSING the people he is representing, and is trying to pass legislation that will advance his party's objectives rather than the objectives of the people in his congressional district.
Either way, Perriello's going to lose his seat soon regardless.
What keeps our politicians in line? What prevents a President from removing becoming a dictator? The President already has command of the armed forces, and the Constitution is just a piece of paper with the trust of the American people. If Representatives are allowed to do as they please, then couldn't the President do the same. Our country needs trust. We must be able to trust our leaders, so once again I feel trust and representation should come first. One man is not better than his countless number of constituents.
Post a Comment