A Boston Tea Party …(The Anatomy Of Re-election)

Once upon a time there were two Senators from the same state who voted differently on a Supreme Court nominee. These two Senators obviously represent the same constituents yet did not vote the same way. This story tries to figure out how this could happen.

I have mentioned in a few articles that I visited Washington, D.C. in December. A young man from Senator Dorgan’s office gave my wife and I a tour of the capital building and answered any questions I had for him. He continually tried to convince me Senator Dorgan did not care if one was a Republican or Democrat but rather what was in the best interest of North Dakotans. Dorgan’s fellow North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad expressed this same sentiment last week on the “Ed Schultz Show”. Schultz was asking the Senator how he was going to vote on the Alito nomination. Conrad answered with undisputable facts. Alito was favored by a strong majority of the country. Alito was given a top vote by the American Bar Association. North Dakota citizens favored Alito even more than the national polls (my guess is a minimum of seventy percent). Conrad told Schultz that a Senator must represent his/her constituents.

In theory Senator Conrad is correct, in theory. Dorgan’s vote is the reality of politics. Conrad is up for re-election. Dorgan is not. Both Senators vote for their constituents every time they pass another farm entitlement program. When the time came to vote for an extremely qualified justice nominee only one could vote in the manner the citizens of North Dakota demanded. The reality of this telling event is every vote is politics.

Elected official’s motivations matter. There is no better example of motivations than this particular vote. These two men should have voted in unison, for or against Alito. Conrad’s concern for re-election prevented that from happening. Had Dorgan also voted in favor of Alito, I would have been complementary to the both of them. Because their votes were split is perfect evidence to me why only thirty-four percent of Americans feel Congress people do a good job. They only do what they should when the fear of losing an election is hanging over their heads.

The Republican Party in this state should have new commercials running tomorrow. Dorgan’s “no” vote can be wrapped around both his and Conrad’s neck. In order to defeat these two men one must talk about them as a pair. Splitting votes on this justice provides insight into the anatomy of re-election. If I were running against either of them I would use it as a weapon against them. My commercial would ask the people of North Dakota which Senator voted with their heart. My hunch is it was Dorgan.