Question?

[kalm]

Stealing off a couple of comments from Chizzang, Ivy, and UNI88 in some other threads, do we elect politicians to lead or to represent? I can see it both ways and I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

[Chizzang]

Agreeing that presently they do neither...

can we elect one that does both..?

[UNI88]

Stealing off a couple of comments from Chizzang, Ivy, and UNI88 in some other threads, do we elect politicians to lead or to represent? I can see it both ways and I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

I expect them to do both and to exercise their best judgement on what approach to use for a given situation.

... An elected official has a responsibility to represent their constituents to the best of their ability and it is a judgment call whether that means voting exactly as their constituency would want or taking a different position because the official thinks it is the right thing to do. It is the voters job to understand this possibility and take it into account when deciding who to vote for.

There will be times when the popular position might not be the right position for their constituents and the country, especially in the long-term.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

Stealing off a couple of comments from Chizzang, Ivy, and UNI88 in some other threads, do we elect politicians to lead or to represent? I can see it both ways and I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

I expect them to do both and to exercise their best judgement on what approach to use for a given situation.

... An elected official has a responsibility to represent their constituents to the best of their ability and it is a judgment call whether that means voting exactly as their constituency would want or taking a different position because the official thinks it is the right thing to do. It is the voters job to understand this possibility and take it into account when deciding who to vote for.

There will be times when the popular position might not be the right position for their constituents and the country, especially in the long-term.

I completely agree with this. There are many times where "voting your district" is not the right decision - far too few electeds step up in these circumstances... there are reasons for this, but the point remains.

[Ivytalk]

I agree with Edmund Burke's view: a legislator represents his district and should have full communication with his constituents in an effort to understand their views on the issues of the day. However, if the legislator sacrifices his conscience and judgment to the popular opinion, he renders himself ineffective. That's from Speech to the Electors at Bristol, or something like that.

[Wedgebuster]

Makes sense, while I can hardly fathom anybody electing Sarah Palin to lead, it's easy to see she could represent millions and millions of that segment that I like to refer to as The Retardlicans. And we all know there's more than enough of them around needing representation.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Makes sense, while I can hardly fathom anybody electing Sarah Palin to lead, it's easy to see she could represent millions and millions of that segment that I like to refer to as The Retardlicans. And we all know there's more than enough of them around needing representation.

Totally agree, thats why the dumbasscrats elected BrObama to represent.