A guy I used to work with (who no longer lives in MA) posted:
“Ya cuz the people that voted for him are the ones that cared enough to not let the country spiral into nothingness yey Scott brown woot so happy . . . Let’s please remember that he does represent those 52% sine the other 48% support do nothing ruin the state patrick who singlehandedly ruined Massachusetts and if u disagree please look at the police and firefighters that got laid off or the teachers that didn’t get a raise and so much more . . . “
When I pointed out that I didn’t want this conversation to spiral into mean-spirited partisan bickering, he wrote:
“It’s not bickering it’s just cold fact I don’t meanto be rude or me it’s just how it is sorry.”
So I guess we just can’t even be nice to some people . . .
Who gives a shit what joe schmoe from idaho said on facebook. What was the response from calling his office?
He seemed genuinely touched, and a little surprised, by the call.
I’m always surprised to encounter conservatives who believe we liberals don’t really believe what we say we believe. It’s as if they think the conservative perspective is just so very right that it must have convinced liberals too and we’re just pretending.
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p>Take the stimulus bill. Any neo-Keynesian will give you excellent arguments as to why a stimulus bill is essential when interest rates can no longer be lowered. Yet there are plenty of conservatives who believe that that was just the “excuse”, that it was principally a vehicle for corruption.
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p>Similarly, I’ve read the theory on RMG and elsewhere that various liberal-supported programs were intended to bribe constituents to vote Democratic. In other words, liberals were not supporting them because they were good policy.
So it doesn’t surprise me that you ran into a conservative convinced his opinions constitute “cold fact”.
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p>Nietzsche may not have been a liberal, but liberals are more often adherents of Nietzschean perspectivism than conservatives.
the 48% of eligible voters who didn’t bother to vote at all, plus a significant number of minors. A million people voted for him, out of about 8 million persons (not including corporations) who live in the Commonwealth.
He alienates this “true majority” at his peril.
Karen,
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p>You are right. Everyone has the right to contact their senator, congressman, state senator, etc. and voice their concerns and opinions and receive a fair and open answer, even if the means that they have to get back to you (and they had better!).
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p>This has never been as important as it is in this election. In full disclosure I did vote for Scott Brown, but acknowledge that he has the most enormous of shoes (not sure how to say the very biggest) to fill in terms of constituent services. Senator Kennedy was far and away a class act when it came to dealing with constituent issues and concerns. While much of the credit probably goes with a stellar staff, it all starts from the top.
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p>I have written Senator Brown letting him know that I will be holding him to account not only on how he deals with the issues (including encouraging him not to vote solely with the Republican caucus but to seek input from all his constituents and do what is best for MA and US first) but also on how he deal with constituent services. That will be a true test for him as he takes his seat.
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p>I will close that Anthony Petrucelli is my state senator and I have had the occassion to discuss issues with him over the years. He is well aware that we do not always agree, but he always returns emails personally within days and explains his position and why he has ended up where he does. I appreciate his approach and wish others would follow a similar path.
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p>I know people here will hold Senator Brown accountable for his policy positions which is as it should be and I also hope that you will hold him accountable for his approach to constituent services. He is filling big shoes in that department, let’s see if he measures up.