Letter to Senators

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I sent this letter to my Senator yesterday. It is really an open letter to all Senators.

I moved to Indiana in 1980 and have been registered as a Republican for 51 years. My parents were life-long Republicans. I was born in the Eisenhower era and learned to respect and admire many of what I now call “old-school” Republicans, such as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, John McCain, and Indiana Senators Richard Lugar and Dan Coates. During the Clinton administration, I agreed with the proposition that character is important. I try to vote for people of good character, even if I do not agree with them on every issue.

I sincerely hope you will consider each of President-elect Trump’s nominees on their own merits. Character and competency matter to me, and I think most of your constituents would agree. Recently a Republican Senator from Wisconsin said, “I don’t particularly like being the human resource department of administration.” With all due respect to this Senator, it is an Article II requirement that members of the US Senate provide “Advice and Consent” concerning cabinet appointments, obligating Senators to carefully examine, not to automatically approve, the president’s choices. The citizens of this country deserve due diligence, not blind obedience to the President, no matter which party he heads.

It seems to me presidential appointments ought to be made with an eye to how well the nominee will serve all of us, not just those who voted for the winning party. I trust you will uphold the integrity of your country and withhold support from those who are clearly unqualified, either by incompetence or questionable character. I believe there are always alternatives – qualified persons of good character who could serve this country with honor.

It also seems to me that all of us ought to be concerned about our legacy. Organizational studies have taught us that when personal loyalty takes precedence, the organization is likely to fail. Further, as tempting as it may be to use appointments to demonstrate contempt for the other side, appointments are also opportunities to rise above partisanship and confirm nominees who will act in the best interests of all people, including future generations.

Thank You for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Mark Murray

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Published by mmwordsmith

Who Am I? Why am I here? Why are any of us here? These are first-class essential questions. The kind of questions many people laughed about when Admiral James Bond Stockdale posed them in a vice-presidential debate in 1992. Who wants a politician to wax philosophical when he could act like he knows all the answers? Apparently, people like me. The need to question and reflect seems to be part of my personality - an inextricable part. I believe I need to take these kinds of questions seriously, but while doing so, try not to take my answers or myself too seriously. My guess is as good as anyone else’s, after all. Maybe the lesson, if there is one, is to struggle with questions like these, to stretch my capacity for understanding, to challenge my ability to tolerate divergent views, to look at life creatively, to remain unafraid to cling to old ideas when they are good and move on to new ideas when they are constructive. The great moral philosopher, Red Skelton, once said he believed we are put on earth “to create and not to destroy.” I sincerely hope my stories and musings will somehow help others grapple with their own questions and follow their best impulses towards creating a better world.

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