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Health & Fitness

How the U.S. Senate Affects You

Does the U.S. Senate Impact You? Absolutely.

The U.S. Senate, to many, is a group of politicians who have no real connection to the lives of everyday Marylanders.  But the Senate has at times demonstrated an ability to have a real and lasting impact on our country - through leadership.  

Senators have the ability in both stature, and in the Consitution, to set the country and their home states in a positive direction.  Is there room for improvement in the U.S. Senate?  Absolutely. 

Below are four areas where Senators can positively impact our daily lives. 

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1. A Senate leader respects federalism but speaks out when his state government acts unwisely.

It is vital for a dutiful Senator to try to influence his state’s governor and assembly in good directions (e.g., avoiding harmful taxation). It is possible to do this without injuring the boundary between state and federal responsibilities. A dutiful Senator comprehends that he is a leader in his state as well as in Washington. He is not a distant bystander peering through a spyglass.  A genuine Senate leader speaks up before the shipwreck. Not after.

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2. A Senate leader uses moral authority and Senate tools to deter a President from harmful policy.

Moral authority can change a President’s mind. But more often than not, forceful use of Senate procedural tools is required to deter or correct a presidential act or omission.   A genuine Senate leader forthrightly uses such tools even with a President of his own party. 

3. A Senate leader puts nation and state before party.

A Senate leader never forgets that his first loyalty must be to his state and nation – not to his party or ambitions. A Senator who sacrifices state or nation to party (e.g., by meekly following disastrous political dictates of Senate party bosses, the White House, or the Governor) is a burden. 

4. A Senate leader knows when to step down.

For most Americans, longevity brings wisdom. In Congress, longevity brings isolation. Isolation from the people invites tyranny. Such isolation is visible in Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone,’ whose original architect was Saddam Hussein, not the American soldier. America must not tolerate creation of a Green Zone around Congress by politicians-for-life. A Senate leader who is truly concerned about the interests of his state and nation knows this. Like General Washington, he understands the critical value to the nation of a Farewell Address. He leaves on a warhorse, not a gurney.

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