Dorie Morgan’s Rising Up

Is Arlen Specter concerned about his constituents?

October 16, 2008

Tags: politics, senator casey, senator specter, student loans
Posted in: education, money, politics

I’ve been really pissed at Senator Arlen Specter for the last week. Pissed is actually the nice way to describe how I feel. I am outraged by the Senator and his staff.

Why?

I am on a one woman campaign to get Senator Specter and Senator Casey to pay attention to their Gen Y constituents. As of today, I have only had one response from Senator Robert Casey and two responses from Senator Specter.

The mortgage bailout sparked this feeling in me – this feeling that said “wait a minute, no one cares that Gen Y will still be paying for this bailout with their last dying breath”. This feeling is also marked with an urge that says “you have got to be kidding me”.

So I started sending emails to senators. In the last volley of emails, I thanked Senator Specter for his response but pointed out that he did not answer any of the questions I had posed to him. The response I received on Tuesday, October 14th is printed below.

The Response from Senator Specter:

Dear Mrs. Morgan:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding your follow-up concerns on student debt and education for young adults.

I appreciate your taking the time to bring your views on this important matter to my attention. As a United States Senator, it is essential that I be kept fully informed on the issues of concern to my constituents. Be assured that I will keep your thoughts on this important issue in mind when the Senate considers this or related issues during the 110th Congress.

The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov. Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

Arlen Specter

I was outraged by his response. Once again, there was no real answer to the questions I posed. But even more concerning was the lack of an attempt on the part of his staff to provide an answer. An inability to attempt to answer the question “What will you do to help us as we begin our lives in Pennsylvania?” is unacceptable.

So how do we capture the attention of our elected officials?

First things first, we all need to vote. I don’t care if there is rain, snow or a beautiful sun shining down on you. The weather is not an excuse to not vote. I also do not care if the line is long. If an AARP member can stand in line for an hour to vote, so can you. And besides, your knees are younger. Bring an MP3 player and you can entertain yourself during your wait. I bring books to read. I survive the process.

Second, care about local elections. John McCain or Barack Obama will not be accessible to you when either one is elected president. They may be “in touch” now but that will all change soon due to something called “National Security”. And frankly, you shouldn’t be able to call the president and get through to him. I would hope that he would have much bigger fish to fry. It is much more realistic to think you will be able to contact the office of a local/regional elected official. But also know that it takes work and you’ll have to contact a lot of them. Repeatedly.

Third, be an informed voter. Know who the candidates are and what they stand for. This can be a little tough in local governments but the information is out there. And you’re a smart person – with a little effort, you can find that information and cross over into the category of “informed”. Believe it or not, “informed” may get you farther than being only “smart”.

Fourth, don’t just vote down the party line. No one benefits when you vote down the party line. Sure, it’s easy. They even make a handy little switch for you to flick (or button to press) to help you do it. But that doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. Voting needs to be accessible to all but it’s a very serious decision. Take a moment to think before you press that button.

I sent another email to the Senator this afternoon. I know I probably won’t get a very good response but it is so important to show that younger constituents have serious concerns that need to be addressed with the same level of respect given to older Pennsylvanians.

My Response to Senator Specter:

Good Afternoon Senator Specter:

Over the last two weeks I have sent you several questions and none of those questions have been answered. While you may rely on your constituents to inform you of their views, you seem to be capable of only providing generic responses. This concerns me greatly.

Once again, I would like to ask you what you are doing to help and support your constituents who fall within the 18-30 age brackets. What are you doing to help your constituents who are burdened with student loans? Are you doing anything to help these individuals? Do you plan to do anything in the future? Are you so disconnected from this block of constituents that you cannot provide something that attempts to answer my questions?

I am very concerned we live in a world where we bailout companies who failed to create and maintain a sustainable business model but we fail to support and nurture our young adults. I am concerned we live in a country where I pay into a government program (Social Security) while knowing full well that I only hear false promises that it will be there to support me and my family in my elder years. I am concerned I live in a state when my elected officials cannot give an attempt at a response to the questions I ask.

In these times, an irrelevant form answer is no longer enough.

Regards,

Mrs. Dorie A. Morgan