Putting People First!

Now this is refreshing to see.

I knew when I ran for Congress that fighting would be part of the job description. I came here to fight for what I believe in, to fight to be heard and to fight for the interests of the people I serve. The problem is, so did everyone else.

And with competing priorities, beliefs, constituencies and approaches, there's no way we can all agree. Fighting, or more accurately "debate," is a natural and beneficial part of the legislative process.

The trick is knowing where to draw the line between productive debate and destructive debate. Quite simply, productive debate produces something positive, whether agreement or simply mutual understanding. Destructive debate sets out to destroy the character of the fighters. Fighting for ideas and policies can all too easily morph into personal attacks against those who disagree with us.

At the other extreme, we can sometimes be quick to label as mudslinging any effective argument that makes our position look bad, regardless of whether the attack was actually personal. During my campaign, I was very aggressive in talking about my opponents' records, positions and public statements. I believe these things are fair game.

But I did not and will not tolerate the politics of personal destruction from either side. Once you find yourself calling someone a name, questioning their character or insulting their friends and loved ones, you're over the line.

Now one of the things I do have to add is that disagreeing on a policy matter is NOT a personal attack. I don't think that gay marriage is healthy for society to take as a policy stand. That does not mean I "hate" gay people. I have some people in my life who are very dear who happen to be gay. We disagree on the policy without being enemies. It's not hard! I have very dear friends who voted for President Obama and we are still friends. It is a matter of putting PEOPLE (your friends and neighbors and co-workers) over ideology.