Who's represented by 'representative government?'

Ten days ago, I sent this email to my three elected representatives:

“From all indications, Steve Bannon is the brains behind Donald Trump and is serving as the de facto president of the United States. There is also substantial evidence that he is a Leninist, an anti-Semite and a white supremacist. I implore you and your colleagues to use whatever means possible to remove this dangerous man from a position of power in the U.S. government. Thank you.”

To date I have received the following responses:

Rep. David McKinley (R-WV, 1^st District) sent me an email letter explaining how cabinet members are appointed. It included this paragraph:

Every President, regardless of party, should be given the chance to select a cabinet of his or her choosing. While the House of Representative does not play a direct role in the confirmation process and I do not have the opportunity to vote on cabinet appointees, thank you for expressing your concerns. I will be happy to pass them along to my colleagues in the Senate.

Please excuse my arrogance, Mr. McKinley, but even I know that Steve Bannon is a special assistant and chief strategist to the president and is not a cabinet appointee, so nothing in your response addresses my email in any way, shape or form. Thanks for nothing. Now please go away.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) emailed a copy of his newsletter. It did not address my comment or anything else that I might care about.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) did not respond until yesterday, when she emailed her “Big 3” list of accomplishments for the week. Needless to say, none of them involved booting Steve Bannon out of the West Wing.  

So, I’m not stupid. I’m neither shocked nor surprised that none of my elected representatives could be bothered to respond to my inquiry in any meaningful way. As a former newspaper reporter, I have experience covering legislative bodies and I know how politics works.

I am concerned, however, that none of these three supposed public servants appears to be the least bit bothered by the Fascist leanings of our newly elected administration and especially Mr. Bannon. I rarely if ever agree with any of them on any issue and I wouldn’t vote for them on a bet, but I apparently gave them too much credit by believing that at least one of them might be interested in the future of America.

It’s also troubling that the whole concept of representative government seems to have been abandoned by those who depend on us for our votes. If I can’t contact them with a question, problem or suggestion and expect some kind of appropriate reply – even if it came from one of their staff people – then they surely do not represent me, and if they don’t represent me then I guess nobody does.

If I’m not going to be represented by my government, then maybe I should stop paying taxes to it. Better yet, maybe I should round up a few of my friends and go dump some tea into the Monongahela River, all the while shouting, “No taxation without representation.” 

That’s about all I’ve got, at least until the next election when I can vote against any of the three of these sycophants whose name appears on my ballot. If my calls and letters are going to be ignored, that’s the only weapon I have left.