Hate Congress? Sick of reading descriptions of our U.S. governing body accompanied by words like “stalemate,” “dysfunction” and “broken”? Well, then you should consider running for office. That might sound counterintuitive, but your country needs you.
Unfortunately, the recent shutdown and standoff over raising the debt ceiling is having the opposite effect. Since Republican U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young – Florida’s longest serving member of Congress – recently announced his retirement, state Sen. Jack Latvala took himself out of the running despite his position as an assumed frontrunner.
“Who wants to be in a job that is rated less favorably than a cockroach?” the Republican asked on his Facebook page last week. Other well-known Florida politicians have also passed on seeking the seat.
Latvala was referring to a recent survey conducted by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, which found that Congress is less popular than a variety of horrible things, such as zombies, hemorrhoids and jury duty. However, Congress is still more popular than pop singer Miley Cyrus, according to the poll, and also the dance she made famous, “twerking.”
Apparently, working at the U.S. Capitol is less admired than it once was. In Montana, a number of Democrats have passed on running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated in 2014 by Sen. Max Baucus. Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer declined, calling Washington, D.C. a bad place to live and “most of the people you talk to are frauds.” Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau passed, so did Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen and political veteran Stephanie Schriock. The party finally got its “high-profile” candidate with Montana Lt. Gov. John Walsh, who was a political unknown until last year.
On the Republican side, former Gov. Marc Racicot has declined to compete for Senate, instead endorsing our lone Congressman Steve Daines, who many assume will run for the seat, clearing the field of lesser-known GOP candidates who would then run for the House in a statewide race that would be as wide open as any in recent memory.
Montana’s political landscape is such that the D.C. publication Roll Call recently ran a story titled: “For Ambitious Montana Politicians, the Time is Now” and referenced the “incredible opportunities for Big Sky Country pols with congressional aspirations.”
But at about the same time, veteran Kalispell state legislator and former lieutenant governor candidate Jon Sonju withdrew his bid for the U.S. House seat. His GOP colleague, Scott Reichner, a three-term lawmaker from Bigfork, has also decided against seeking congressional office.
If you ever wanted to change Washington, or thought you could do better than the current members in Congress (the same body that is less popular than toenail fungus, according to Public Policy Polling), this may be your opportunity.
No experience in politics? It may not matter next year. So many politicians have passed on Montana’s 2014 U.S. Senate and House races that, besides Daines, the majority of residents will be unfamiliar with any potential candidates.
Perhaps more than ever before, the country needs options. And like Roll Call reported, “There’s no time like the present to try to come to Congress from Montana. This kind of political opportunity hasn’t occurred in the state for almost four decades.”
Although, fair warning, you will be seeking a job that is among the least popular in the country while working under the same roof with men and women who struggle to complete their most essential task (passing a budget), all while making yourself subject to relentless attacks that are often just vague versions of the truth.
Nonetheless, you will be paid handsomely, receive a nice benefit package and lots of vacation. Time to start campaigning.