#SchweikertFail: Some things aren't dilemmas for true public servants

In baseball, some players are "batting practice heroes," and some are "gamers."


The same is true in politics - there are wannabes, who put on a spectacular show when it doesn't count, and there are actual public servants who do the work in the trenches of public policy, taking positions and casting votes that certain of their supporters won't like (and that they themselves may not particularly like), but that are in the best interests of their constituents.

Congressman David Schweikert is shaping up as a wannabe, not a real, public servant.

From the Washington Post -

On his 104th day in office, Rep. David Schweikert stepped before about 60 of his constituents here and, like an economics professor, flipped through one scary chart after another to hammer home his point: America faces a tidal wave of debt.
Then he asked for a show of hands: If you were a freshman congressman like him, would you vote to raise the government’s debt limit?

{snip}

This is his dilemma: He knows Congress has little choice but to raise the amount of money the government can borrow to prevent the economic havoc sure to follow if the United States defaults on its loans. He also knows doing so is deeply unpopular — not only among his conservative base, but among some moderates and liberals, too.


“I desperately want to vote ‘no,’ ” Schweikert said at the town hall. “I also desperately don’t want [the economy] to crash.”

If Schweikert finds himself in a difficult political spot, it’s partly of his own making. He and the scores of other Republicans who were elected last fall ran on an unyielding pledge to cut spending, reduce the nation’s debt and generally get the country’s finances in order, a mission that has been fully embraced by party leaders in Washington.

When Harry Mitchell was in Congress, there were a number of times when I disagreed with his votes on certain measures, but I never disagreed with his motivation for those votes - trying to find the best way to serve the interests of the people of the 5th Congressional District.  He was willing to set aside his personal ideology to do what he thought was right by his constituents.

He didn't necessarily like all of the votes, but he cast the votes he thought were necessary.

David Schweikert?

If he played baseball, he'd lead the league in batting practice homers.