I haven't linked to a Bill Maher clip in a long time because (a) I haven't watched him that much and (b), I haven't liked a lot of what I've seen there. But I caught this from the other night and I think it's spot-on. It's about Henry Waxman, who was the Congressperson for my district from 1975 until 2015.
He was (and I suppose still is) a Democrat and he won re-election handily each time he ran with, usually, token opposition if any. Even when he did have a serious opponent, he got a pretty nice chunk of the Republican vote. One time, I voted for his opponent, not because I wanted to see Waxman defeated — I knew he wouldn't be — but because that opponent had run a mature, respectful campaign only about genuine issues. When he lost, he was gracious and wished Waxman only the best. I wish we still had elections like that.
As Maher notes, Waxman was never flashy. He never grandstanded, he never demagogued, he never raised rabble and when he made one of his rare appearances on TV, he talked policy, not polemics. I ran into him several times at the now-extinct Souplantation and he was never too busy to talk seriously with a constituent. (I've also met his successor in the job, Ted Lieu. Same deal.)
I see people today of both parties who seem to think the best public servants are those who say the nastiest things about the other party. I hope I never vote for anyone on that basis. I like elected officials who get things done…