Friday, July 24, 2009

Get it right.

I just received an e-mail from my state Republican Party. They made some errors, that unfortunately are very common these days. The folks that do this show, despite their paper education, they uninformed and uneducated. Dangerous for those in the political venue.
OK, here is what I'm talking about, titles for elected persons.
Lets start with the U.S. Congress. For the confused among you, the CONGRESS is composed of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. A Senator is a 'Senator', a member of the House is a 'Representative'. BOTH are 'congressmen'. Generally, however, that is reserved when referring to the collective. e.g. the whole bunch.
Another frequent error is to call one "Arkansas' Senator". Nope, never. They are UNITED STATES Senators from Arkansas, or whatever state elected them. They were elected to represent all of America.
The House Members are UNITED STATES Representatives from a particular district in their home state. Again, they were elected to represent all the citizens of the United States.
The situation is similar at state level. However, at state level it is not generally the practice to call the combined House and Senate a congress. Usually the combined bodies are referred to as the Legislature.
And, a member of a state house is a 'representative', never a congressman. A member of the senate is a Senator.
Just like at the federal level, they are elected to represent, and serve, the entire state but were elected from a particular district.
I will admit, though, that, in practice, all usually focus their voting decisions and other actions on the wants of the people who elected them. They are, in the final wash, home folks who are expected to serve the needs of those who elected them.

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