by Mark Bearing

Created on: August 28, 2009   Last Updated: August 29, 2009

Many believe that this is a simple issue. If a person is to hold their representative responsible for their voting records in congress, they make sure not to vote for them in the next election round if they aren't voting with that person's own beliefs. The idea here is that eventually, whoever decides to run for congress knows beforehand, that if they do not comply with the wishes of their people, then they lose their job. Plain and simple, that is the way it is! Well it shouldn't work that way.

If I have a problem with my politicians voting records, then I want this problem fixed now. That is the mindset of the typical disgruntled American. Many people refuse to support somebody who doesn't support them. In the past the nation has seen voting records become an issue and nothing happen to change anything.

Senator John Kerry almost became president with the nickname of 'flip-flopper'. The runner up in this past years presidential election John McCain, has been known for more than twenty years to be a maverick that votes of his own accord. Yet he remains in his Arizona senator seat to this day. So it seems fair to say that a simple threat of losing office being the best way to hold politicians responsible is not exactly accurate.

The correct solution is actually something that current President Obama mentioned in his speeches. Transparency. For politicians to become responsible for their voting, they need to know that all of their constituents know what is going on. Now voting records are not hidden from the public.

A simple search engine can find you a good answer to "voting records in congress". But what average citizen comes home from their long day at work and turns on the news to hear about a new law that was passed and then immediately runs to a computer to find out how their representative voted? Not many that's for sure.

However, if the news is reporting the new law being passed and even cares to say that it passed 101-99 or 352-83 or what have you , why not just go ahead on the local news and put up a screen for five seconds while saying "and this is how your representatives voted"? This seems pretty fair, and pretty democratic. It is easy and it keeps the system honest.

With something as simple as seven words and a five second image on the TV screen as the solution to the problem, it really makes a person wonder why this isn't already in place. Well the answer is simple, the companies that are out there lobbying for votes, also have influence over the media. And when a politician votes based off a lobbyists wishes and not those of their own constituents, they aren't going to want everyone to see how they voted.

It really does seem disappointing to know that the people you are trusting with your beliefs and wishes for a country that you love, doesn't believe in you enough to show some honesty. But if full disclosure could be made mainstream and easy, responsibility of politicians would soon follow.

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