- Share This Post
- submit
- 0
-
Sparkle (0)
On the day after President Obama was inaugurated, BlogHer.com Contributing Editor Dana Loesch posted this blog entry titled, "So is dissent still the highest form of patriotism?" The post invites discussion on that question, and concludes with this:
...people should not be surprised if there is criticism of the
President's actions in these next four years. If Obama does something
that conservatives don't agree with, they have every right to disagree,
just as liberals disagreed with Bush for the past eight years.Afterall, we're just showing our patriotism.
Well, I gotta tell ya: As someone who is running for office (which is something Dana says she'll never do because, "The beltway harshes my mellow,"), I've had to give this question a lot of thought and I've come to see how overvalued expressing dissent in politics is compared to seeking consensus.
Let's take a very public, timely example.
Compare what is happening with and to Maine's senior U.S. Senator, Olympia Snowe (R) with what has happened with and to South Carolina Congressman, Joe Wilson (R, 2nd).
How hard was it for Wilson to actual shout, "You lie!"? He says it was spontaneous (although in researching links for this post, I found this fascinating Psychology Today blog entry that challenges that). That the things that the president said just hit him and he reacted, based on what he feels he knows about the subject of health care coverage, federal contributions to that coverage and illegal immigrants.
And what did Wilson's display accomplish? Sure it showed dissent - from a whole lotta things. But at its basest, calling someone a liar is about as strong a dissent one can lodge when it comes to words we use to express ourselves.
But did it get done anything in terms of bringing about health care reform? Don't answer that. Yet.
Now, Olympia Snowe was tagged by TIME magazine as one of the key players in health care reform. And she's living up to that designation as she garners intense pressure from both the left and the right, working as she is to bring about a solution to a complex set of issues that a majority of Americans say needs attention (yes, really). And she's getting this whiplash from both sides even though a thorough review of the amendments she wants to make to the Baucus bill demonstrates that her suggestions are reasonable, intelligent, forwarding-looking and responsible - as you would expect from someone elected by some people in her state, but serving all the people in her state.
And so, not surprisingly, Snowe was named one of America's ten best senators - in 2006, during George W. Bush's second term. From TIME:
Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan
point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every
policy debate in Washington. Last year she was one of 14 Senators who
reached a compromise on President Bush's judicial nominees that
prevented a Senate meltdown between the two parties. More recently, she
helped craft an agreement to increase congressional oversight of the
Administration's no-warrant surveillance program, helping ease tensions
between the Senate and the White House.But while Snowe, 59, is a major player on national issues, she is
also known as one of the most effective advocates for her constituents.
First elected in 1994, she goes back to Maine nearly every weekend,
often stopping in a small town for what she calls a "Main Street
tour" — walking the streets and visiting shops to ask people what
they're thinking about. "It's better than any poll I can think
of," she says. When Snowe returns to Capitol Hill, she looks to fix
the problems Maine residents have told her about: she successfully
fought to keep open two Maine military bases recommended for
closure last year, and last month she got passed a bill that will
provide millions to pay the heating bills of low-income people, a huge
worry in frigid Maine.
Senator Snowe fits a functioning three-branch federal government well and her role in getting things done - by seeking consensus that grows out of what she believes is good for her constituents and is shaped by recognizing the needs of her fellow legislators and their constituents - is what I value about her approach to her job. Also, having been an ombuds and a risk manager, no one is going to tell me that what Snowe does and the way she does it isn't what voters want. The evidence shows otherwise.
So, while dissent like breaking decorum and shouting "You lie!" at the POTUS