Great roundup, Brian. However, I fear you may be overly optimistic when stating "politicians are like puppies — you must train them with rewards when they do the right thing but give them a swat with a rolled-up newspaper when they do wrong. Hopefully they learn."
Here's the thing: Many politicians do not learn from or respond to citizen feedback. They love the rewards, of course, but they ignore the newspaper disciplinarians entirely.
For a recent example, look no further than our Idaho Senate leader who recently mistreated conservative senators who dared to break the rules by telling voters the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Many voters called for apologies and stepping down after the leader's tyrannical behavior. Instead, the Senate leader doubled down, went after another legislator, and simply ignored the rolled-up newspapers.
Sadly, politicians on both sides of the aisle have learned that they can ignore ordinary voters as long as they do the bidding of their major donors. Major Jason Pierce and several true conservatives in Idaho's legislature are exceptions to that rule. I hope Brad Pike follows Mayor Jason Pierce's example, and not that of the Idaho Senate leader.
Great roundup, Brian. However, I fear you may be overly optimistic when stating "politicians are like puppies — you must train them with rewards when they do the right thing but give them a swat with a rolled-up newspaper when they do wrong. Hopefully they learn."
Here's the thing: Many politicians do not learn from or respond to citizen feedback. They love the rewards, of course, but they ignore the newspaper disciplinarians entirely.
For a recent example, look no further than our Idaho Senate leader who recently mistreated conservative senators who dared to break the rules by telling voters the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Many voters called for apologies and stepping down after the leader's tyrannical behavior. Instead, the Senate leader doubled down, went after another legislator, and simply ignored the rolled-up newspapers.
Sadly, politicians on both sides of the aisle have learned that they can ignore ordinary voters as long as they do the bidding of their major donors. Major Jason Pierce and several true conservatives in Idaho's legislature are exceptions to that rule. I hope Brad Pike follows Mayor Jason Pierce's example, and not that of the Idaho Senate leader.