Pork and Representative Democracy

We had a little protest outside of the office today. A group called The Americans for Prosperity Foundation were taking Senator Robert Byrd to task (outside of the court house that bears his name) for funneling millions of dollars of pork to West Virginia over the years. They aren't wrong, of course. Bob does us good, which is why you can't swing a dead cat around this state without hitting something that has Bob's name on it. Assuming such spending is actually "pork," what can be done about it?

Well, we certainly won't vote Bob out of office. As one of his spokespersons said, "Senator Byrd gets results for West Virginia." Which is why we've sent him back to DC so many times. And why shouldn't we? The way our government is set up, our Senators and Congressmen are sent to DC to represent us - the people of the state of West Virginia. They get reelected by delivering results for us. Why should we complain? If someone went to DC and turned down the gravy train on behalf of his district or state, he'd be out on his ass quicker than you could say "Tom DeLay." The fact is, representative democracy gives the voters no incentive to "vote the bums out" because of pork. We decry pork spending when it happens in other places, but when it comes to home delivery, we keep our hands out.

Until the system gives West Virginia voters some motivation to avoid our porky benefits, there's no reason for Bob to leave office. As long as he has a pulse.