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Recognizing elected officials who make decisions based on the facts not party positions

Updated on September 18, 2013

The low approval rating of Congress does not apply across the board to all elected officials. I strongly believe this statement. In the political arena there are always going to be those who vote strictly party lines and there are going to be those who vote with their conscience. The problem is that to identify those who vote with respect to the facts on the issues being presented is difficult at best.

There are good individuals in every profession and elected officials are no different. Those who represent not only our viewpoints and actually presenting solutions to problems facing our country should be recognized. We cannot count on the media or at least some of the media to provide this recognition. It is a well-known fact that certain media organizations have defined political viewpoints and perspectives and present those elected officials who agree with them in a positive way.

This creates a situation where it is up to us to recognize those individuals who have and exhibit the principles of integrity. This may be a strange statement to make but there are I believe honest people trying to do the country’s business in the right way. We the voters must keep informed of decisions made by those who represent us with regards to the decisions they have made and their opinions on the issues. One potential way to identify these individuals is looking at their opinion and whether their votes match their principles.

The political makeup and culture of Congress as it is today is different than years in the past. Part of this may be the issues facing many our country and the efforts or lack of them to address them. The political makeup of Congress changed dramatically in the last election with the creation of a divided Congress. The Republications took over control of the House of Representatives and the Democrats kept control of the Senate though the numbers appear to be more equal.

New individuals found themselves representing us in Washington and in some cases within several states. Voters sent a strong message which elected officials across the country need to understand and take notice. Voters are tired of the same approach to issues which have failed in the past or do not even address the root causes of issues facing our country. In addition actions which worked to solve issues in our history are ignored or brushed aside.

Individuals who will voter in the upcoming 2014 mid-term election need to examine whether individuals who have been in Congress are making the effort to address issues facing our country. Granted it is understandable to re-elect incumbents simply for the reason they have positions which can influence actions by committees but are the actions what we as citizens want. The answer to that question is up to us as individuals.

Examining the actions of our elected officials at any level of government need to be based on the decisions they make in conjunction with what we feel should have been made concerning specific issues. Examination should be based on all the facts not news reports which sometimes provide positive or negative analysis dependent upon the political opinions of the source doing the reporting. Every individual makes mistakes but they should learn from their mistakes. The key to evaluating elected officials is whether they constantly vote with their party or stand firm for the position they hold on specific issues. The political world should not be about parties but doing the right thing for our state and country. There have been times when individuals break from their political party affiliation based on the actions or inaction that are taking place. These are the kinds of individuals which should be afforded a second look when they are up for

reelection. Political parties often ignore these individuals which should be a clue for individuals standing up for their beliefs and positions on issues not the party to which they are affiliated. It is hoped there will be more individuals in the future that take the initiate to stand on their own not their political party.

Recent events in Congress bring some hope that though the leaders of the political parties try to encourage votes one way or another on legislation but supporting party positions is not always the result. Elected officials from both parties are bucking party positions and voting the way they feel not the way their party wants them to vote. This is a trend which I hope will continue. Individuals who stand on their own two feet not the political affiliation will gain more respect from the voters and potentially improve public opinion of the way Congress is meeting their responsibilities.

There are going to be times when we may not always agree with decisions made by our elected officials but in some cases they may have access to information which supports the decisions they make. Certain categories of information are not public knowledge and should not be. Aside from information which is not public knowledge we can find out much about those who represent us. We can communicate or receive emails from many if not all our elected officials who represent us. Many have periodic newsletters which lets us know the issues in which they are involved and sometimes the plans they have for the future. The principles on which this country was found need to be protected and those in whom we have elected need to make decisions to protect these principles. Many if not all the principles are embedded in our Constitution and the decisions our elected officials make need to address protecting those rights and principles. Decisions made by our elected officials which in our opinion does not address protecting these rights we need to evaluate our support for them when they are up for reelection.

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