In support of Congressman Massa

Much is being made of congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) who says he will vote against the desires of his constituents. But that is the form of government that we have, and it’s designed to be that way.

I can not blame a man for voting his conscience, regardless of how his district wants him to vote. He may be wrong, and the result may be dangerous for America. However, he is doing what he truly believes to be best, then he is doing the right thing.

Then, in the next election, the constituents should ensure they elect someone whose beliefs are closer to their own. That’s how the representative democracy works.

In fact, I wish more politicians were like this man. At least he is honest enough to admit he will vote his conscience, knowing it may well doom his next election chances. Too many politicians will lie and say whatever the particular group they are in front of wants to hear.

I listened to Glenn Beck on the radio yesterday, and his guest host, Joe Pagliarulo, was incensed about Massa, and he did a pretty good spiel about how that is not the job description of a representative.

I stand by my point that you simply cannot take a popular vote for every single thing that comes up in government. If you were going to do that, why vote for representatives in the first place? Why not just hold a vote on every single issue?

Here’s another point. Let’s say you are pro choice, otherwise known more correctly as pro abortion. You get elected to represent a group of constituents. The majority of those constituents are pro life. Are you going to put aside your personal principles and vote against abortion because more people in your district are pro life?

As I said, I respect Massa for standing up for his principles. He’s dead wrong on this issue, and I would vote against him if I lived in his district, but not because of his refusal to stand up for his beliefs.