[VeniVidiVici]

"I did what I thought was right. I will not compromise on principle. I will not pander."

Too bad you were elected to represent the people in your district and not yourself, bonehead.

[cripplecreek]

That's exactly why I want candidates to tell me what they believe and not what they think I want to hear. If I agree I'll vote for them.

[JohnnyZ]

Too bad you were elected to represent the people in your district and not yourself, bonehead.

Representatives should vote the way they believe is right, not betray their convictions because of popular sentiment.

Schwarz just has the wrong convictions.

[msnimje]

Too bad you were elected to represent the people in your district and not yourself, bonehead.

I would not want to live in a district with a waffling representative. If I vote for him he gets to serve his term but If I do not like the way he governs he does not get my vote next time.

That is how a Representative Republic works.

[RonF]

Too bad you were elected to represent the people in your district and not yourself, bonehead.

Well, that's the Jacksonian vs. Jeffersonian democracy debate. One is that the representative is to represent what he thinks is what the people in his/her district believe. The other is to state clearly what you believe and vote that way, and then let the chips fall as they may during elections. There are going to be times in Washington when you have to deal with an issue that it's not clear what your constituiency thinks.

Personally, I prefer that my rep tells me what he or she thinks honestly, and then I'll vote for who I think represents me best. Then when an unanticipated issue comes up, I figure I've got the best hope that they'll vote based on an honest assessment and according to their principles.