I actually worked for a US Senator when I was in college in Washington DC.
A very well-known one. I was extremely impressed with his work ethic and concern for his constituents. He worked very long hours, despite his age, and everything he did was geared towards taking care of his constituents. I found a similar attitude among other Senators.
But people love to demonize both houses of Congress. A favorite question is: Why do they veto popular bills?
Frequently, it’s because bills have riders, or other, completely unrelated, issues added on. For example, a good bill that is trying to get money to a state after a disaster may be vetoed because it includes a random amount of money for a senator’s pet project (that benefits a big campaign donor). Sometimes, these riders are ridiculous and actually undermine the bill itself. They are added to entice senators to pass a popular bill despite their best judgment, simply because the media will tear them up if they don’t. It’s despicable. The senator I worked for talked a lot about “pork” being added onto bills (he wasn’t the only one, this is a frequent complaint). These are the riders that I’m describing that might give one senator’s financial backers a little reward. Or, they might be for something good, like more acreage added onto a National Park, or incentives to businesses to build new stores in troubled neighborhoods. To the senators, these bad riders might be added because they think that the ‘end justifies the means’ (“if I get money from this company, I can continue in my job as senator, and, now I have gotten the hang of it, and can help more people and make a real difference”). No freshman senator accomplishes their goals. They need that second or third term to even come close. So, it is too easy to allow in the influence of lobbyists. They are typically smart, well-dressed and well-informed people that offer assistance to the senators. They even use the large ballrooms in the Russell Building (or other buildings) to put out a nice spread of food and a place for the senator to meet and greet important members of their lobby to help them work deals. I was a starving college student at the time and had to walk by these old ballrooms with lovely smelling treats. The senator I worked for did not allow us to go to any of these lobbyist’s temptations. We represented him, so we could not be seen hanging around lobbyists. We respected him for that, despite the enticing smells. You just walk faster past the ballrooms and bring snacks, lol!
One thing that was an awesome resource was the Senate Library. Any topic you could think of was summarized in these yellow folders. Knowledge of countries, policies, military, health care issues, pro-life issues…everything, was summarized and convenient. As someone who was going to be commissioned when I graduated from college, I enjoyed reading about various countries. These resources are completely unbiased (they have to be) and provided to all senate and staff.
The senator that I worked for not only vetoed every pay raise that the senate voted for themselves (it passed anyway) but he took the difference and donated to charity every year. He has been a senator for decades and his office runs extremely well.
What people don’t understand is how much the senators rely on their staff. Each staff member has an area of responsibility. Some care for veterans, others are in charge of health care, defense, social services, elderly, education, etc… Their are also military liaison officers, if the senator is on the defense committees. These staff people need to be experts in their respective fields. Their effectiveness helps make the senator more effective. It takes years to get good, knowledgeable staff members who know how to get things done.
As an aside, first term senators do not have the knowledge base, nor the staff, unless they hire experienced people. It’s hard to get the best if you’re just a freshman senator. I was working there when Senator Clinton was serving her first term. She had a reputation of not listening to others and not understanding that she had to learn the ropes. She didn’t have the knowledge base but expected the respect. Her attitude made it very hard for her to be effective. Senators are quite civil and respectful of each other. Once they are on the floor, they have to make an impression, but it’s never personal.
Voting for a first term senator into the office of the presidency would be a bad move, in my opinion, because they don’t have enough experience running a staff and solving state and national issues. This is why I think President Obama struggled and why I thought Senator Rubio would have struggled, had he been the nominee. After at least one term as a senator, they get to know how government runs (which is far different than corporations). I think after at least finishing their first six year term, a senator is much better prepared for the presidency.
Military experience also helps tremendously in understanding how government works and how to get things done. The senator I worked is a veteran, which certainly makes him more effective.
If Congress isn’t getting things done, it’s because they are not seeing eye-to-eye. If they aren’t seeing eye-to-eye, it’s because we, their constituents, aren’t getting along. And the media fans the flames.
Before you blame Congress, at least visit Washington, take a tour, and meet with your senator. I think you will be surprised at how different it is than how the media portrays it. Of course, it’s an old scapegoat of everyone that has ever run for president. Before you buy into the degradation of Congress, please see it first hand for yourself and decide. There are issues with lobbyists, but some senators try to use the lobbyists to accomplish a common goal.
Can you guess which senator I worked for? Senator McCain.
and don’t forget before ISIS there was Osama bin Laden and we all know what happened to him with Hillary Clinton and President Obama in the Situation Rm.