I was and still am a big backer of former Democratic Rep. Steve Kagan, so much so that I personally think the guy should run for governor. Level headed and fair, he has a confident grasp of the issues without a pure ideological approach like Scott Walker.
Currently, Republican Representative Reid Ribble has that same delivery. I don't agreed with him on many issues, but I've never heard him like this. Check out this on air appearance on public radio KUHF in Houston. Here's the hosts question, before Ribble unloaded:
MICHEL MARTIN: You know, it's curious that the public expresses such dissatisfaction with the workings of Congress, and yet they keep reelecting you all.
REID RIBBLE: That speaks to gerrymandering of districts. I mean, you talk about the political dysfunction, if you're coming from a district that's 80 percent Republican or 80 percent Democrat, your big problem is whether you're going to be primaried or not. The very nature pushes you to the perimeter of the political spectrum, just by virtue of the people you're giving voice to. I think the American people have a misperception of elections. We're at a place now in this country where voters are not picking their representatives anymore. Representatives, through the gerrymandering process and redistricting, are picking their voters.
On debating and defending their ideas instead of ramming the Republican agenda down everyone's throat:
MARTIN: Each of you are operating in an environment where you feel that people are critical of you for compromising. Presumably those are people in your own caucus, right, or people on your own side, voters, who would be critical of you? So what are you prepared to say to those people in support of this initiative?
RIBBLE: Yeah, the thing that I've asked when I've been challenged about my work at No Labels by folks, well-intentioned folks that want to see good things happen in government from their political ideology, in this case from the right, I asked them this question, what is it that you so lack confidence in what you believe in that you're fearful to have me take what you believe into the arena of debate and ideas and present it and try to convince people, or persuade people, that we have the right idea here. Because that's really what they're saying. If they say to me, just take the Republican agenda and either cram it down their throats or just talk to other Republicans, what have I really accomplished? We should not be fearful of what we believe in. We should be, with a certain level of boldness and confidence, go out and proclaim what we believe and then let it carry its own weight.
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