Senator Bennet Has Gone Rogue

Colo. Sen. Bennet Says He'll Vote for Health Care Bill, Even if it Costs Him His Job

This article is shocking enough on its own, so there is really not much more to say on it. When a politician so blatantly ignores his role as representative of the people, it’s time we all take notice. I suspect politicians have long voted their conscience regardless of the will of their constituents, but at least they play the game. Bennet blatantly disregards the political process and the integrity of our Constitution.

If the process works like it’s supposed to, those holding elected office represent the will of their constituents, otherwise they wouldn’t have been elected. This whole process breaks down when one is appointed to the position. Bennet was appointed to his seat by Colorado Democratic Governor Bill Ritter after Senator Ken Salazar, also a Democrat, was appointed as Secretary of the Interior by Barack Obama.

It obviously frustrates me when a politician not of my liking makes it into office. That is even worse when he was appointed rather than elected. Now, if I’m being fair, I suppose Governor Ritter did the right thing by appointing a Democrat to fill a seat vacated by a Democrat. Except for a few pockets, Colorado is largely Republican, yet it’s represented by a Democratic Governor and two Democratic Senators.

The political temperature in Colorado is clear: they do not support the Democrats agenda. I will make a prediction now that Governor Ritter and Senator Bennet will be replaced by Republicans in the midterm elections.

So what we have is a Senator who was not elected and does not represent the will of the voters, making decisions on behalf of Colorado. It’s not like he’s acting benevolently either. He understands and accepts the consequences that he will probably lose his Senate seat for this. This is a shame and an outrage.

The process of appointing representatives to fill vacant seats has always bothered me. I suppose to mitigate the chance of situations like this from happening again, Senators who are appointed should not allowed to vote until, and if, they get elected in the next election. I recognize this isn’t an ideal solution, but the way I see, it’s either that or have elections immediately following a vacancy (but that’s not ideal either because it might be too fast to run an adequate campaign).

Both options I present aren’t perfect, but I think they are better than having an appointed official making decisions that the people don’t agree with. The will of the people must be maintained at all costs. Article I, Section III of the Constitution calls for Senators to be appointed by their state legislature. The 17th Amendment replaces this system with direct election of Senators by popular vote, but it still allows the governor to appoint senators in case of vacancies.

It’s a problem when this system is abused. Senator Bennet is taking advantage of his appointment to advance a personal agenda, doing exactly what the Founders feared – abusing power.

I’ll leave you with this thought: It’s unfortunate that this is happening on an issue I am vehemently opposed to – government takeover of healthcare. But even if it was a Senator whose views were in line with mine that said no matter what he would vote his own way, regardless of the will of the people, I would be just as outraged and would vote him out the first chance I got.

This issue is above partisan politics. It’s about maintaining the integrity of democracy and our Constitution.