| When politicians start introducing "resolutions" that have nothing to do with politics, or are really marginal/tangential, it's an irritating waste of time and sometimes you can laugh at it. E.g., French fries now being called "freedom fries" in the House cafeteria.
Censuring (not "censoring") a political colleague for a statement he or she made, is grayer territory, but still defensible in certain cases.
But to jump on an American citizen for speaking her mind, and to use your political position to do it, is a terrible, terrible thing to do. If this representative got ticked off about the Dixie Chicks, there is nothing stopping her from writing a letter to the editor or using any of the other thousand forms of expression that ordinary Americans use. You have heard of "the press", haven't you, Ms. Representative? That thing that arrives rolled up on your doorstep every morning, in which some people do actually attempt to reason about the positions they're trying to get other people to adopt?
Politicians should not use their job as a platform to push their views on anything besides politics. |
