Representatives Should Be Listeners And Leaders

Press Release

You will sometimes hear politicians say that they're not going to form their own opinions on issues until after they've talked to you, the voter. Under the guise of being "listeners," they wait before taking a stand on any issue.

At first blush, this may sound like a good characteristic. But it's actually how certain politicians develop reputations as handwringers. They typically want to review public opinion polls or review focus group data before making up their minds.

The extreme example of this phenomenon is former vice president Al Gore, who even polled Americans' opinions of his wardrobe choice during the 2000 presidential election. If you can't make up your mind in the morning as to what you're going to wear, you shouldn't be running for office!

The truth is that a good representative is both a leader and a listener.

There are many issues that shouldn't require a candidate for office to listen to the American people. Your position on abortion, for instance, is a moral conviction, and your view on this issue should be well-formed before you run for office. Congressman Mark Souder, for example, has always been a leader on pro-life issues, and he's consistently received a 100-percent rating from National Right to Life. He's going to vote pro-life no matter what.

Another example is border security. We should expect our representative to have strong positions on this important issue. Either you believe that our southwest border represents a dangerous vulnerability in the post-9/11 world, and it should be secured with a physical and electronic fence, which is Congressman Souder's position—or you're not particularly concerned about our nation's porous border and the millions of people crossing it undetected each year.

On other issues, however, our representative should be more of a listener. Many readers know that Mark Souder has been leading the fight to keep northeast Indiana's veterans from being sent to Indianapolis for inpatient care. Since the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department threatened to close the Fort Wayne VA hospital several years ago, Congressman Souder has been working to ensure that inpatient care remains in Fort Wayne.

As this battle has progressed—so far successfully—Mark has listened to veterans as to whether they would prefer to expand the current VA hospital in Fort Wayne, or whether they would like to see a dedicated wing for veterans at a local hospital (such as Parkview or Lutheran). In order to hear veterans' views, he's organized town hall-style meetings with them and asked them to contact him. After all, veterans will be the ones receiving the inpatient care, and Congressman Souder wants to know what they think.

Same thing with the No Child Left Behind Act. Leading up to the renewal of this broad education law by Congress, Mark Souder has wanted to hear what parents, teachers and students think. So last year he organized multiple listening sessions—including one in Kendallville—and he's made use of what he heard as the Education Committee has considered the law's reauthorization. To be sure, Congressman Souder has strong opinions about the federal government's role in education—for example, he opposes Washington setting a national curriculum or standardized test—but he wants to hear from Hoosiers about what is and isn't working.

When examining a politician, therefore, I believe it's a good idea to determine whether he or she is being a leader or a listener. In my opinion, the best representatives are both and, most important, they know exactly when to lead and when to listen.

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