It has come to my attention that some people think that voting on principle is enough to show a good congressional record. That is the opposite of the case, and here’s why (very briefly):
The role of Congress is to create laws, ostensibly to improve the country. The only way Congress can affect the country is through legislation.
Therefore if you are in Congress and believe something would make the country better, you write legislation to that affect and try to have it passed. Or someone else writes it and you cosponsor it. And then you fight to pass it. This does not mean you just come in and vote. That’s not enough. You have to help proponents of the bill or resolution accumulate enough votes to get it passed (this is called “whipping votes”). If you really believe in something, there is no excuse for not doing this. Now why isn’t voting enough? Well it’s because if you’re on the losing side, your vote basically didn’t count. Yeah you can show your credentials and your beliefs, but on a real level, only the votes on the winning side mattered. Either the legislation passes or it doesn’t. How many votes it got or whose votes they were make NO DIFFERENCE to the people the legislation affects.
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