An open letter to LBR
If she's talking bipartisanship, let's see her walk the walk.
First of all, my apologies for missing a post. I’ve been sick and, truth be told, this post is the first one I’ve done on my new laptop. It’s replacing my six-year-old HP that was literally falling apart, so there was some transition time involved over the weekend.
While I was dealing with my bronchitis, I came up with the idea of calling on LBR to exhibit the bipartisanship she regularly extols, as you’ll shortly read. I went to her House website (since she’s not a Senator yet, presumably this is where I would send it to) and sent her the following this past Sunday:
Dear Senator-Elect Blunt Rochester:
First of all, congratulations on your victory, and presumably promotion to the august body of the United States Senate. While I supported your opponent, he conceded and “offered best wishes” as you prepared for the new position, and so shall I.
The one theme I remember most from your campaign was the emphasis on “bipartisanship.” You stressed how much you’ve been working with Republicans on various projects, so that brings me to the subject of my letter today.
In the same election where you were promoted to the Senate, America as a whole decided on a new direction, giving the largest number of votes (just shy of a majority) to President-elect Donald Trump and his vice-presidential candidate Senator JD Vance. In the runup to their inauguration, President-elect Trump has announced a number of his selections for his Cabinet and other important positions which will need to be filled so he can get started on the agenda America has backed.
When President Biden selected his Cabinet four years ago, he placed an emphasis on diversity; an emphasis which began before his election when he vowed to select a black woman as vice-president. Once Senator Kamala Harris was picked and America voted in 2020, Biden’s Cabinet and executive selections seemed to be aimed more at filling in blanks with groups he deemed underrepresented: a gay man as Secretary of Transportation, transgenders in the Department of Health and Human Services as well as in charge of nuclear waste disposal, a woman and then eventually a lesbian POC as the White House Press Secretary, and so forth.
Unfortunately, this emphasis on physical diversity created a Cabinet that may not have served us as well as they could have. I believe that emphasis on DEI therein was one key reason for the defeat of the Harris/Walz ticket, as America sought better.
Instead, the Cabinet that President-elect Trump is seeking has a different sort of diversity: a diversity of thought. While his first selection, Susie Wiles, broke ground as the first female Chief of Staff in Presidential history, the idea in Trump’s case was to bring in those who would not just oversee their departments and bureaus, but bring necessary reforms to agencies which have grown stale and sclerotic – a fresh set of eyes, if you will. Nor did they have to be loyal, longtime members of his political party: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is by no means a Republican but President-elect Trump believes he could be the reformer that Health and Human Services desperately needs, just as former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard – who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination against both President Biden and Vice-President Harris in 2020 – would be the breath of fresh air needed as Director of National Intelligence.
I will say that I’m not necessarily a fan of all of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet selections, and it’s obvious he’s made a couple missteps along the way. His heart was in the right place with Rep. Matt Gaetz, for example, but Gaetz decided that he would be too much of a distraction and withdrew himself from consideration as Attorney General. In addition, Florida sheriff Chad Chronister quickly backed away from pursuing the position as DEA head after public outcry regarding his actions during the pandemic.
All in all, however, America has decided we don’t want business as usual, and this is where you come in.
While Joe Biden was assembling his Cabinet, in most cases it was done with a bipartisan vote. Merrick Garland, who has turned out to be as rabidly partisan an AG as we’ve ever had, was confirmed with 70 votes in the Senate. Some Republicans believed he was too partisan, but others moved him along on his merits, figuring he was the nominee the President had asked for.
I’m sure you’re not going to agree with the philosophy of each and every one of President-elect Trump’s nominees, but here is the opportunity to establish some of those bipartisan bonafides you pay lip service to but don’t necessarily vote for. It’s time for you to show the leadership and start bringing the Democratic Party back to the center, where America has resided.
It seems to me that President-elect Trump has an eye on restraining government, which has grown under both parties to the tune of a nearly $7 trillion budget annually (that we know about), $36 trillion in national debt (and counting), and sprouted tentacles through regulation that cost Americans over $2 trillion a year, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Of course, in the House you were a part of that increase, so it may not be worth asking you to turn over a new leaf.
But that word “bipartisan” hangs out there as your claim to fame, and if you are a woman of your word you will turn those words into action. New office, new attitude, right?
I look forward to your response – not necessarily that of a personal nature to this constituent letter but leadership on this vital issue of government reform via a change in leadership for departments that desperately need it.
I don’t know what sort of response I’ll get, but generally in the rare occasions I write to my elected representatives I get a form letter, or something semi-tailored for the occasion, such as a more specific form letter addressing the broad topic.
But if we’re going to get a new Delaware, it has to start somewhere and we have to soften a few hearts on the federal level to play along.
Until next time, don’t just remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there - be aware I’m having a sale on paid subscriptions for a limited time. Just follow this link for 50% off!
Well written, and I hope you go over bronchitis.