Letter: Ability to compromise is a must for elected officials

Talk about it

After yet another day of watching Republicans try to distort their candidate’s real position on any number of issues, I had the opportunity to reflect on the result of “extremists” who are elected to serve a constituency. Initially, let’s remember that in very few cases have these individuals received even 50 percent of the vote, so there must be at least nearly as many people who disagree with their positions.

I recently heard, by chance, another issue which is still a “fallout” from our illustrious Minnesota legislature’s shutdown some 15 months ago. Now it seems that we will need to pay a few million dollars more in overtime to workers in order to insure that a bridge is completed on time. Now, who learned a lesson from all this? Mostly, I would hope, an entire statewide constituency.

In the end it is very difficult for me to rationalize sending anyone to any elected office who will simply not be willing to compromise. Even more annoying are those who admit that their main objective is to make sure someone else is never re-elected. This is politics at its lowest and least productive.

Tags: opinion, letters, politics, legislature