A very wise person once told me that a representative’s main job in the first two to four years in office is to get the district offices running “perfectly.” People visit their congressman’s offices more often than most might think. Need help with a Green Card? Visit your representative. Want something changed in the district? Go to your representative. Need an emergency passport, go to the processing center and your representative’s office. A call from a representative or senator can get straight through red tape to the person who can do something about it.
It is critical because even people who didn’t vote for you will at least think well of you as someone who works for his/her constituents and is at least “competent,” and if you have not done well, even people who voted for you will be angry and think you’re incompetent. “You cannot imagine how important district services are, even though it goes on behind the scenes…” I was told. If a person takes two to four years to find the person to run the offices “perfectly,” he or she will never have to give it another thought. They will run themselves and be invaluable.
Herewith, we have a lesson as to why Maddie Cawthorn didn’t even make it through his first primary. It seems Cawthorn came to Washington to troll Democrats, wreak havoc, be a more juvenile Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert, and wallow in MAGA adoration. He did not come to help people with a crisis needing federal intervention. Indeed, he didn’t even keep a list of “cases” he was working on for constituents, lists which are – by tradition – handed off to a successor on December 23rd.
Given that Maddie “ghosted” his successor, Chuck Edwards, by handing him nothing, Cawthorn either didn’t do the projects that the office promised to work on or did them so haphazardly there was no “to do” list to hand off. Herewith, from the AP, Maddie Cawthorn in a nutshell:
New U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina says the office of his predecessor, Madison Cawthorn, left Edwards’ staff unaware of pending constituent requests and government casework before Cawthorn formally left the seat.
In a news release on Monday, Edwards asked anyone with outstanding or unfinished casework to contact his office because it lacks such information. According to Edwards, Cawthorn’s office didn’t transfer official constituent casework — standard practice for a seat transition — by a Dec. 23 deadline.
“Repeated attempts to reach Congressman Cawthorn and his staff were made over the past month, but no response or action was provided,” the news release said.
As always, Cawthorn will not even acknowledge that anything is or was wrong or – blame someone else for work that it was his job to oversee.
****
[email protected], @JasonMiciak, SUBSTACK (FREE): HAKEEM JEFFRIES: POWERFUL, PASSIONATE, PRESIDENTIAL
Remember, incompetence is a feature, not a bug.
Provides further ‘proof’ that ‘gubmint’ doesn’t work for you.
I’ve seen comments from people who lived in his district that he had no district offices. Or none that were staffed and working.
I can’t say I’m the least bit surprised. I suspect people, pals of his got paid to “work” in his district offices but were never expected to even show up, much less do anything. Except collect the paycheck. Like some star college athlete in the old days when some booster would give them a “job” that didn’t require anything other than glad handing at post-game booster events. I’m from Illinois for example, and legendary Bears middle linebacker Dick Butkus played at Illinois. And had such a job – “Director of Stadium Security.” His “job” was to check periodically to make sure no one stole Memorial Stadium! (Kinda hard to steal a major college football stadium)
Hell, it’s not just pals who got unearned paychecks. Cawthorne himself saw his job as a Congress Critter the same way Butkis did at Illinois. Put on the show for the fans on game day, and collect the bennies.
That’s what you get when you elect a MAGA troll.
Does anyone think that “Empty” Green or Bobo the clown are doing any better?