Common Sense, Togetherness & Camaraderie

I happened to catch former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin on TV last night, he is currently as they say, ‘on the circuit’ promoting his new book “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense.” I made sure to listen because I have always thought what a huge mistake the Democrat Party made regarding him. He was a man respected by many Americans and his centrist positions would have made him a tough candidate to beat, and I think a good President. So, I watched his interview. He said something that hit home for me, and I found it disturbing. I quote:
“Bret, we are not in Washington that often. You know that come in Monday night at 5:30. They are gone Thursday at 2:00. Very seldom do they ever interact. There is only one bipartisan lunch during the year and Johnny Isaacson lunch. Other than that, they eat separately. They do whatever they do separately. They go home and they do their thing. You have to start working together. It's easy to say no to someone you don't know. It's hard to say no to your friend.”
When I joined the Army in 1961 all of the large military installation had ‘clubs’ There was the EM Club (EM for Enlisted Members), the NCO Club (some places also had Sr. NCO Club) & the Officers Club. A lot of the installations also had a club where everybody intermingled like the ‘Rod & Gun Club’ at Fort Belvoir. You knew each other and I can promise you a lot of deals about use of troops, or equipment were made at the clubs. Membership in the Officers Club & Sr NCO Clubs was not an option dues came right out of your paycheck. Then unfortunately about the time I was retiring we have a bunch of ‘temperance thinking’ flag officers who decided that the club system was just promoting drinking and therefore a detriment to the services. A great deal of the togetherness and camaraderie went by the wayside as a result of those decisions.
Senator Manchin’s statement made me realize that the people we send to the Hill to represent us don’t even bother to try to represent us. “Prove Me Wrong”