A marine in Iraq won an election in North Dakota. His family went door to door making sure people turned out and he was known in the area because of a talk show on which he was the host. I love this opening paragraph to the article, though:
“We’ve got a raid going on right now, and I can’t do anything for another 90 minutes. Can I call you then or is it too late?”
He’s scheduled to return to the states 93 days from the election. He’ll be calling in to meetings until he returns to the states.
So, why mention this? It’s great that this man was able to win the election but why can’t we do something about the Federal Government– especially the House– to make it so that elected leaders and their people can be in the same area and have some kind of technology to connect them instead of having them in Washington. Maybe add more districts, rotating service, and make it something that’s part time rather than taking over a day job.
We need representatives that can be with us where we are, not guessing from Washington. We need to have it so that it rotates and it’s not just those pre-destined for political places get the positions, but that others have a chance to be involved– to have a stake in our government. Maybe then we’d see less “getting ready for the next campaign” and more “getting done what’s best for America.