Welcome Yeomen Congressmen!
Maybe because it’s a new year and that’s when people tend to turn over new leaves – or maybe because I went through Ricochet withdrawals over the holidays – I’ve discovered my populist streak. Up until today, I figured that – if it existed – it was nestled somewhere even Freud couldn’t find. But then I looked at the roster of the incoming freshmen in the House of Representatives.
Though my tally is admittedly imprecise (Ricochet has repeatedly denied my request for research assistants, as they are still in the process of settling out of court with the last batch), it looks to me as if 40 of the new Republican members of the lower chamber have never held elected office before. This is a cause for celebration.
Experience is an attribute that shouldn’t be undersold at the highest levels of government, provided that it’s the quality of tempering enthusiasm with prudence (in many cases, it’s simply a synonym for personal and intellectual ossification). That being said, the lower chamber is the people’s house and it’s also something of a farm team for the big leagues of the Senate, the governorships, and the presidency. How refreshing to see a class who won’t arrive steeped in legislative jargon and anesthetized to the dangers of moral (as opposed to political) compromise.
Amongst this class, you’ll find people like Florida’s Allen West, the retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who is one of the most impressive new GOP recruits in ages; Indiana’s Larry Bucshon, a cardiothoracic surgeon; Arkansas’s Rick Crawford, an agriculture reporter; and Missouri’s Billy Long, a former auctioneer whose bona fides include participating in bass fishing tournaments since he was 16.
Of course in a group of 40 some of these folks will inevitably prove duds. There’s no correlation – positive or negative – between a colorful biography and the ability to govern. But the same can be said of the old hands from state legislatures throughout the nation. Given the choice, I’ll take my chances with the neophytes.
It will be some time before we know who the diamonds in the rough are. But I’ll hold out hope in the interim. Some of us still dream of Cincinnatus.
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Jul '10
Re: Welcome Yeomen Congressmen!
I personally would never, ever vote for anyone who has served in a state legislature.
State legislatures are the T-ball of political hackery - a place where people with no talents and no ethics go to suckle off the taxpayers' teats and to learn the art of corruption.
Jul '10
Re: Welcome Yeomen Congressmen!
No pressure guys! It's just the fate of the Republic, freedom, democracy, helping stand the greatest nation on Earth upright again. Go get'em! Make us proud!
Edited on Jan 3, 2011 at 9:35pm