And Off We Go ...

The difficulty presented by commencing a blog is the commitment: does one really wish to hold forth on matters political on a daily – or, at least, very regular – basis? Besides, in politics, anything one says can and will be taken out of context and used against you in the next election. Most incumbents prefer to run under the radar, as it were, providing as few targets of opportunity for their opponents as possible. And, then, only those poll-tested opinions scrubbed by advisors and focus groups, usually so vague and platitudinous as to be virtually devoid of content, ever see the light of day.

The difficulty with that, of course, is that an electorate ignorant of its representatives’ positions cannot render an informed decision at the polls. A democracy’s survival depends upon the ability of an educated electorate to render informed decisions.

Hence, this effort. As with the political commentary which appears on my website and, occasionally, in the press, I intend herein to remark upon those issues facing those of us privileged to serve in the Legislature and, perhaps, to provide an "insider’s" window into the process.

But, no satisfactory conversation can ever be wholly one sided, and no representative worthy of that title simply bloviates, heedless of the responses of his audience. One of the huge difficulties we, as a people, confront, lies in the unwillingness of the populace to engage their representatives and the reciprocal reluctance of those representatives to offer unscripted responses. Too few people involve themselves in politics and fewer still make any effort to communicate their thoughts, desires, and opinions to those elected to represent them. And, perhaps, too few of said "representatives" devote sufficient attention to the opinions of their constituents, contributing to the generalized feeling that one voice cannot make a difference.

I flatter myself that I am somewhat atypical among my colleagues, in that I make every effort to avoid being "politic". I like to answer my mail – especially my E-mails – personally and individually. (Although, as with anything else, if one receives a canned communication, one tends to send a canned response) I dislike Clintonian non-responses to specific inquiries and eschew polite "I will take your feelings under consideration" answers to communications. Sometimes, this ruffles feathers; it can be taken as insufficiently "sensitive". So, let me get my apologies out of the way on the upfront: if you ask a question, you’ll get an answer. Usually bluntly. If you’re looking for a diplomat, you’ve come to the wrong place. One should ALWAYS be polite, but, also, plain spoken. A communicant should come away from any conversation with a legislator without the slightest doubt where that lawmaker stands.

And, so, off we go.