It’s tough being a member of Congress. Your constituents are always up in your grill, holding you accountable for your votes, and wanting answers. “Do you support this bill?” “Why did you vote this way?” “Why did you vote that way?” “Will you try to shut down the government of the United States of America to prove a political point about immigration?”
That last one was a question asked of Congressman Dan Benishek this past week by someone with a video camera as he left a blood drive in Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They spent over a minute walking next to him, asking him if he would pledge not to vote to shutdown the government. Benishek, for his part, spent that same minute intensely and studiously ignoring the woman questioning him as if she didn’t even exist. At one point, his aide attempted to grab the camera.
Watch:
You gotta give Benishek credit; the dude knows how to ignore a constituent with the best of them. He also seems to know just how devastating these government shutdowns are considering how little they accomplish. Harming our economy and your constituents to score political points that, in the end, only hurt you in the minds of voters is self-defeating and Benishek appears to know that it will harm his position to say he would or wouldn’t vote for it.
Seems to me Benishek owes his constituents an answer on this simple, fair question. Is he willing to inflict harm on our country and our citizens to score points against President Obama while accomplishing nothing positive?
And his aide should know that it’s perfectly reasonable and legal to ask a sitting member of Congress a question like this on a public sidewalk without having your camera messed with. If you and your boss can’t stand public scrutiny, perhaps he should retire and go back to being a doctor. Because, just sayin’, he doesn’t appear to have the intestinal fortitude for this job.
By the way, if you’re looking for a legitimate candidate in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, someone who takes serving his country seriously and with the level of professionalism that we should be able to expect from our public servants, have a look at Democrat General Jerry Cannon. “To me, service should mean a better life for those you serve, not yourself,” Cannon says in his latest ad:
Make a donation to Gen. Cannon’s campaign HERE.
