How Lame is Your Duck?

The political world is wrapped up in the presidential election season. But what we are forgetting is that 2008 is also a congressional election year.

I'm going to take this briefest of pauses in the year of the presidential horse race to remind everyone to study their congressman or woman. While the presidency is obviously the single most important political office in the nation, your local congressional representative is meant to express your interests in Washington.

We all lament the rise of lobbying in Washington. We all long for a time when our voice was heard in the political square, but when was the last time you sent a letter, or called or emailed your representative? Do you even know their name? The president may set the agenda for the nation, but it is your member of congress that will create the laws we live by.

So I implore the media, the politicians, and the citizenry to reinvigorate congress with a sense of importance. Ever since FDR's presidency we have lived in an era of strong autonomous executives in the White House. We need congress to get its share of input. But only we, the voters, can give it to them.