If you mention “democracy,” right-wing critics jump to object that we live in a constitutional republic, not a democracy. It’s a big talking point.
In fact, the United States, strictly speaking, is a “democratic republic” with a constitution. Democracy plays an important part.
Republics are governed by representatives. We democratically elect our representatives who should do three things for us: take our needs to Washington, speak on our behalf, and bring solutions home.
Right now, West Virginia has two MAGA Republican representatives in the House of Representatives who fail to represent and fail to advocate. (MAGA Republicans are Republicans who follow Trump.)
Representatives Alex Mooney and Carol Miller both got Trump’s support in their elections. Their campaigns consisted of being Trump loyalists.
Calhoun County has been represented by both of them.
Calhoun is a poor county in the state’s center in the western foothills of the Appalachians. We have such a small (and diminishing) population that we can easily be flipped from federal congressional district to district, wherever 6,176 people are needed to equalize numbers.
West Virginia lost a congress person in the 2020 census. We are now down to two. Alex Mooney represented our county in 2020, but in 2022 we were flipped to the first (or southern) district represented by Carol Miller.
Because our two local news sources, daily online and a weekly print paper, do not attend much to national news, most of us learned this by chance. No one knew or much cared.
The federal government often seems very far away from a poor rural WV county.
Our representatives should be the vital connection between a rural county and the federal government in Washington, learning our needs and working to improve life here.
If our federal government were to have a substantial impact in the county, what could it do? We certainly have needs that are too large to cover ourselves – and apparently also too large for the state to fix: 1 – extending water lines 2 – providing fast and reliable internet and 3 – lowering the cost of medicine.
In 2021, the Democratic Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act providing $50 billion for water infrastructure and a minimum of $100 million to each state for broadband development. Mooney and Miller both voted NO.
The Affordable Insulin Now Act capped the price of insulin at $35/month. Mooney and Miller voted NO.
The Inflation Reduction Act gave the government the ability to negotiate Medicare drug prices. Mooney and Miller voted NO.
Mooney and Miller’s own legislative successes are meager. A bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins for the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary became law. Miller also sponsored a successful bill clarifying that federal education funds can be used for training in hunting and other shooting sports. That’s it.
Our two Republican representatives are part of the dwindling Republican majority in the House of Representatives, the most dysfunctional and least effective in modern history. When the Democrats in the House had a 5-seat majority, they passed 85 bills in their first year. The current Republican-led House has passed 22.
From the beginning, this Republican House has been riven by Republican infighting. During a period of worldwide upheaval, ultra-conservative Republicans, including Miller and Mooney, shut down the House, ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, then couldn’t agree to replace him. For 3 weeks, the House did no business.
MAGA Republicans refuse to pass funding bills, creating continuous threats of government shutdown. MAGA Republicans oppose funding for Ukraine defense, aiding Putin’s war efforts.
MAGAs claim that America is no longer great. That sounds pretty puny when you realize that it’s MAGA Republicans throwing sand in the gears of government and then complaining that it isn’t working.
So often, people ask why West Virginians vote against their own interests and elect representatives who are working for Trump instead of West Virginia. People who ask that question presume they know what West Virginia wants.
During the 2020 and 2022 elections, there were many pro-Trump signs and flags all over central West Virginia. That’s particularly impressive when you realize that people buy the signs themselves. (Democrats should take note. We need more signs in rural areas.)
Two Trump signs in our neighborhood spoke volumes. One, the size of a small billboard, said “F* Biden” and “F*” was spelled out. (What did parents tell their kids who were just learning to read?) The second sign said “F* Your Feelings” and, again, “F*” was spelled out.
You must assume that people mean what they say. Trump supporters are telling us what they consider their paramount interest to be: F* Biden. And if that bothers you, F* you too.
We live in a democratic republic. We get the representatives the majority chooses. Thus, we currently have Representatives Mooney and Miller who are working diligently to F* Biden, doing the work they were sent to Washington to do.
If, however, you care more about our government working to help people than about F*ing anyone, vote for Democrats. If you care more about water infrastructure, internet, and drug prices, vote for Democrats. If you care about keeping Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security strong, vote for Democrats.
F*ing things up is easy. Governing well is hard.
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