He writes:
In Utopia our elected representatives would listen to all points of views, not just the ones they agree with. Unfortunately we live in Oshkosh.
That was never more clear than Monday when Sen. Carol Roessler and Rep. Gregg Underheim failed to attend a community hearing in their home town on a bill supporters call the "Compassionate Care for Rape Victims".
The bill would mandate that hospitals provide information on Emergency Contraceptives to rape victims to prevent pregnancies. Underheim in the assembly and Roessler in the senate are chairmen of the health committees. Both have adopted the "don't bother me with the facts, my mind is made up" approach to listening to members of the their community. Neither one will hold hearings on the bill, first introduced in 2002, much less release the bills for a vote. The only reason to not send the bill to a vote is to protect their Republican colleagues who don't want to have to explain how they voted to the folks back home.
Regarding the hearing Monday both dismissed it as politically motivated.
Roessler's response was a veiled threat: "This to me seems much more political posturing than it does anything else. It's a curious way to win friends and influence people."
Underheim's response was not as deft as he resorted to a lame and tired stereotype: "It's sort of the left wing of the Democrat party that showed up in Oshkosh."
Either way, their absence from the meeting was an affront to Oshkosh residents people who happen to have a different point of view on an issue.
After this month's performance before the common council, you would think Roessler and Underheim would be more sensitive to the people they represent. But then again, this ain't Utopia and it ain't Madison.
http://everydayeditor.blogspot.com/2005/10/who-elected-them.html
Go get 'em!
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