Politicians in our political institutions practicing politics . . . shocking, I tell ya

[bigtree]

Why do folks keep insisting that our politicians can accomplish any more than the votes they are able to generate? Even in referring issues and concerns to outside prosecutions requires votes. Convictions under impeachments require votes. And all of what we expect from the politicians in our political institutions ultimately require votes to advance those concerns into action or law.

That's the inherent nature of our political system. Those frustrated with the pace and direction of congressional action are certainly correct in expecting for politicians to address issues of accountability and defense of the law with vigor and resolve, but they are still limited by the amount of support they can generate inside of our political system for the actions they seek. That support can only manifest itself as a result of the politicians coming together and VOTING to proceed.

Expecting our legislators to somehow overcome the inherent nature of our political system is baffling to me. Either you have enough legislators with enough support (votes) to advance legislation or other concerns, or your issue or concern doesn't move forward into law or action. Expecting our legislators to overcome or supersede the rules and inherent structure of our democracy in the institutions of our national legislature and somehow dictate action on a particular issue is essentially un-democratic and an aberration to the very nature of our system of politics which we rely on to bring the myriad of views, proposals, and solutions from the many disparate, diverse sectors from around the nation and reconcile them into positive action or law.

Politics is the essential exercise of our democracy. It is not easy or assured. Political change takes time and effort. We need to stay engaged in that process and not expect our politicians to be able to jump that political process without first generating the support needed (votes) to make all of that happen.