I've decided to write a Letter to the Editor regarding the upcoming election. One of the hot races involves my local district, the 135th, between incumbant Charlie Denison (R) and challenger Nancy Hagan (D). I've had communications with both of them – Denison in the past and Hagan more recently.
Larry at Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind got me to thinking about the candidates. He was very impressed with how one of his candidates, James Owens, persisted in communicating with Larry, even when Larry disagreed with him. In fact Owens went to great lengths to locate Larry.
I am convinced that a good legislator listens to his or her constituency. Considering all voters, despite party affiliation, is important to the process and is the foundation for a good democracy. Too many legislators only listent to those that agree with them. They preach to the choir. Too bad. So I decided to write a Letter to the Editor and express my views.
The prose writer in me has a hard time sticking to the 200 word requirement. I don't like that, but understand it as a pragmatic necessity. So here is the Letter to the Editor that I submitted:
And yes, I included my blog address. It's time that bloggers are taken seriously, which means we must take ourselves seriously. So I included my blog address in my signature. I also sent a note giving permission to use my blog address if they choose to. We'll see what the News-Leader does with it. It doesn't really matter to me either way, but it will be interesting to see.
Larry at Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind got me to thinking about the candidates. He was very impressed with how one of his candidates, James Owens, persisted in communicating with Larry, even when Larry disagreed with him. In fact Owens went to great lengths to locate Larry.
I am convinced that a good legislator listens to his or her constituency. Considering all voters, despite party affiliation, is important to the process and is the foundation for a good democracy. Too many legislators only listent to those that agree with them. They preach to the choir. Too bad. So I decided to write a Letter to the Editor and express my views.
The prose writer in me has a hard time sticking to the 200 word requirement. I don't like that, but understand it as a pragmatic necessity. So here is the Letter to the Editor that I submitted:
Representatives, good representatives should listen to their constituency even to those who have dissenting views. That is the basis of a functioning democracy. That’s why I voted for Republican Roy Holland twice. I disagreed with him on many issues, but he always listened to me and responded to my letters and visits to Jefferson City.
Unfortunately, my thoughts are no longer considered valid. My Representative, Republican Charlie Denison, unlike his predecessor, doesn’t have time to listen to my views even though we’ve written letters and visited him in Jefferson City. When justifying his vote to cut the MAWD program, he promised that if people who really needed it were hurt that he would “fix it.” Well they were hurt and he did not work to fix it.
His opponent, Democrat Nancy Hagan, has come by my house more than once. She has responded to my inquiries and agreed to have our correspondence published on my blog. Party affiliations aside, it is more important that a Representative actually listen to me, even when we might disagree.
This time around I’m voting for Democrat Nancy Hagan because she has listened to me, and that is the foundation of a functioning democracy.
Jack Wilson
Springfield
http://fatjacksrants.blogspot.com
And yes, I included my blog address. It's time that bloggers are taken seriously, which means we must take ourselves seriously. So I included my blog address in my signature. I also sent a note giving permission to use my blog address if they choose to. We'll see what the News-Leader does with it. It doesn't really matter to me either way, but it will be interesting to see.
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1 comment:
Very nice letter to the editor.
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