Blueskygirl is at a loss today, as she is many days, to understand why Ann Marie Buerkle continues to be such a powerful force in the lives of her right-leaning constituents.
Democracy requires participants to question the motivation of candidates, their qualifications, their ability to translate their life experiences into good policy and governance.
In addition, democracy asks voters to separate their emotional reaction to candidates from a long hard look at whether candidates have the voters' interests at heart.
Ann Marie Buerkle represents a district in upstate New York straddling the NY Thruway, once a thriving manufacturing corridor from Albany to Buffalo.
Today that district is solidly in a region we know as the rust belt. Recently the carcass of Carrier Corporation, world leader in air conditioning, was sold for scrap.
Oneida silverware, Buffalo china and Syracuse china are all manufactured in China. New Venture gears eventually came from overseas, made of inferior steel, and the last of New Venture Gear disappears by the end of this year. Crucible Steel's high quality steel is barely competitive with foreign, inferior steel. National Grid laid off 800 workers this year.
Inner cities are mostly in ruin, their inner city schools and neighborhoods increasingly deserted by professional parents who want the best education for their children, and who can blame them? Outlying malls surround empty storefronts in our downtowns.
Rurally, small farmers struggle because their competition is huge and protected. Even the big farms here (with, astoundingly, 3 big barns!, which no one in the old days would have called a small farm,) struggle to compete.
In this landscape Ann Marie Buerkle, conservative, tea party sweetheart and "the pretty lady from Syracuse", tells us that she will never vote to raise taxes on the extremely wealthy people and corporations of this nation.
Glaringly missing from her vocabulary are words like poverty, homelessness, teacher layoffs, soup kitchens, living wage, unemployment. Missing from her intent in Washington are solving the home mortgage crisis, creating real jobs, improving the lot of farmers, and making good educations, from kindergarten to BAs, BSs, MAs, and yes, even MDs, accessible for the less and least fortunate among us. Missing is support for unions.
Rather, every single one of her decisions is made in favor of corporate interests. Thus she paves the way for increased contributions to her next campaign. Thus she pleases John Boehner.
Tea partiers, conservatives, Republicans: wake up and look at what Ann Marie Buerkle does every day. Is she looking out for your best interests and those of your neighbor? If she is not, push back and wake HER up. She needs to hear from you.
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