Why Can’t They All Just Work Together?

A few weeks ago, Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced that he will not be running for re-election this November; a move that has been dissected by many writers around the country as incredibly troubling for centrism in America. During his announcement, Mr. Bayh seemingly derided Senators from both sides of the aisle for an increasing amount of dysfunction and an inability the two parties have to get anything done in the upper chamber.

While you can be happy or sad that Mr. Bayh is leaving the Senate, just as you can agree or disagree with his assessment of the Senate, I think we can all agree that the Senate is looming with dysfunction right now, and we need new voices in the chamber that can work together (even across party lines) to get things done. In these times of trouble we need Senators that have a mutual respect for one another and an ability to work together on important issues.

Because of this, it is troubling to me that Mr. Tiahrt has only one sitting US Senator (Jim Inhofe) endorsing his campaign for the Kansas seat. If we need Senators that are willing to work together and support each other, how are we supposed to trust that Mr. Tiahrt can work with the Senators we have if only one is willing to endorse his campaign?

Of course Mr. Tiahrt has gotten a steady stream of endorsements from people that have (at various times in their lives) been involved with the political system, including the Senate; but most of these people are not currently members of the United States Senate.

To date Mr. Tiahrt’s campaign has been endorsed by Former Senator George Allen of Virginia (a man whose most famous political moment was a racially charged comment during a doomed Senate campaign); Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (who’s 2006 re-election defeat was by the largest margin for an incumbent in twenty-five years); and Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (who, apparently, has conservatively spent $1 million dollars in taxpayer money since he retired). While these are fine endorsements, they do not do enough to prove to Kansas voters that Mr. Tiahrt will be able to effectively work with the other members of the Senate if and when he is elected.

If Mr. Tiahrt wants to prove that he can be a part of a newer and more effective Senate, he needs to show that he has greater support of sitting Senators in his bid for election. He needs to gain more endorsements from sitting senators, and he should probably diminish the amount that he touts endorsements from men that have been voted out of the chamber. Without the support of sitting Senators, I see no way that Kansas voters can trust Mr. Tiahrt to be an effective legislator for the state, and for America.

Endorselessly yours,

Publius