General Discussion

Representatives doing what they are told to do by people they fear is how representative democracy works. Fear doesn’t have to mean threats or intimidation. In a democracy it usually means the fear of being replaced—which is supposed to be the whole point.

The debate here is between those who think it is our job to act as representatives of the politicians, to promote their careers, and those who think the politicians should represent us and promote our interests.

Those in the first camp think that when we get Democrats elected, our interests will be better served than if we had not gotten Democrats elected, and that is certainly true. Those on the second camp think that once Democrats are safely in office and so long as they know we are "in the bag" for them, they become complacent and risk averse.That is also certainly true.