Back when Lynn Westmoreland was the Congressman around here and Johnny Isakson was our Senator, I’d write and call to try to get answers to questions I had. Silence. Nothing from either one. But I did just happen to write to a Congressman in some other state, I think it was in Oregon, and danged if I didn’t get a letter back two weeks later. The difference? He was a Democrat. Now I wasn’t even one of his voters. He wasn’t duty bound to answer me. I certainly wasn’t expecting him to. I WAS hoping that Westmoreland and Isakson’s staff had the common decency to at least send a boilerplate letter. But noooooo.
That was when my husband and I were still living in Coweta County. Since then, I’ve gotten more and more vocal in federal, state, and local matters. It is consistent across the board. Republicans do not reply to the average voter. EVER. I don’t know when they came to the conclusion that the voters who put them in office were just necessary nuisances, but they treat them like toilet paper, e.g. useful when needed, but once used, highly forgettable. I refuse to be toilet paper.
I refuse to treat other people like toilet paper, even when they are obnoxious. (I learned that skill working in healthcare. People are rarely glad to see you when you walk in the door carrying needles and talking about blood, urine, and poop. They just aren’t.) I want to hear what is on their minds.
And when we moved down here, our Representative in the Georgia General Assembly, Bob Trammell, was amazingly responsive. That was in spite of the fact that he was the Democratic Whip at the time and must have been very busy. But our State Senator then and since have been Republican, and you can’t get a peep out of either one. The guy who defeated Bob? I see him around once in awhile, but that’s only when campaigning. Not very responsive either.
Those “new” Democratic Senators, Ossoff and Warnock? They have responded to every email, Tweet, and call I’ve ever sent to them. They are both out in the state asking questions and listening to people in between campaigning. I got ONE call from David Perdue while he was in office. His staffer wanted to know what I thought about something Perdue had said. So I told him and they never called back. Loeffler’s office never contacted me-ever. You feel like you are talking into black worm holes.
My view of elected officials is that they are PUBLIC SERVANTS. That is, the public citizens are their bosses and they owe the public a responsibility to “report” in on their activities, duties, and fiscal accountabilities just like they would working at any other job. They do not work for their campaign donors. I can see where it would be tempting to see it that way, particularly when the donations are large sums, but that where we need to get rid of allowing these PACs and corporations into politics. (That’s the fallacy of Citizens United.) If elected, the VOTERS would be my bosses ultimately. Campaign contributors are people who believed in me enough to help me get elected. I appreciate them, but I’m not for sale.
Want a Senator who will listen to you and talk to you? Here I am. Early voting is here. Election day is November 8. The choice is clear.
VOTE BLUE IN 2022.
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE.
REMEMBER TO ROE YOUR VOTE IN ROEVEMBER!
Wright4Georgia 