State Legislatures Represent True Political Voice, Impact

Conservatives are hardly noticed on the national level, being impotent and marginalized in states like  New York, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.  Even in states like South Dakota, Republican representatives to Congress  like John Thune and Kristi Noem quietly casts their few votes in support of party allegiance.  No problem, because this is what we all expect–though we can hope for a lot more.

      But if our Congressional votes automatically concur with the national GOP positions, do we need representatives at all?  Why not let the states just cast party-line votes and save the expenses of sending representatives off to distant Washington, DC?  When the GOP itself is split, why not just let those in state legislature debate and decide? It might be good for them.

       Congressional seats have become so lucrative financially that those in the Senate and House keep the lowest possible profile, never speaking out unless it’s safe to do so.  Does anybody remember the last time Thune or Noem got into the national limelight for anything?

         You would think that with the liberal hegemony firmly in place across political and social America, then conservatives would be more vocal than ever to level the playing field.  After all, members of Congress have the ear of the nation and foreign countries too.  Firebrands and militants will be heard, especially in opposition to the prevailing “progressive” norm.

       Alas, it appears that only state legislatures have the flexibility to give voice to positions that might fail nationally, but which are at least articulated as worthy of being put on the legislative table.  Sean Murphy’s recent Associated Press article “States’ rights bills surge in GOP states” reveals that state legislatures offer the only hope for beleaguered conservatives:  “In Oklahoma and other GOP states, lawmakers form special panels to fight federal power.”

      Don’t we find in state legislatures what representative democracy used to be long ago, as local politicians assemble within the state to interpret the will of the people?  If Thune and Noem don’t use their offices to speak out on unpopular conservative issues, then the importance of their party-line votes and occasional photo-ops seem to have a lot less value.