Ron Arnold: Congress outside the Beltway

The rapid ka-ching at the gas pump, the dreaded mortgage payment, and the price of food are drowning out all the debates in Congress. When C-SPAN shows us elected officials squabbling over the federal budget, our eyes glaze over and we switch to “World’s Dumbest Criminals.” Don’t our lawmakers ever leave the Beltway and talk to real people? Well, yes they do. According to the House of Representatives calendar, the 435 members are “back in the district” that elected them about one-third of the time.

That’s not time off — staff remains on the job — and much “district time” is spent listening to constituents of all political persuasions, often in one-on-one talks about whatever is on their minds.