"Hoping" legislators will do the right thing

For the most, we expect legislators to legislate our will.
If there is a cause which has overwhelming public support,
we expect legislators to write and pass legislation that reflects
the will of the people.

Yet that connection is tenuous. We cannot count on the legislature to legislate the will of the people. Every year we find ourselves in the position of "hoping" that legislators will legislate our will.

Take for example; webcasting. I think it is fair to say that nearly every New Mexican who is aware of the issue, supports it. I seriously doubt the existence of very many voters who want their representative to vote against webcasting.

And here we are at the end of the session and we have squat for webcasting; cameras too distant to show legislators faces, and no archive to search should we not be prepared to record the streams ourselves.

Some will tout the current situation as a huge success, many steps forward in the effort to make our government open and transparent to us.

It is not.

We have been betrayed by those who we had "hoped" would open our government up for us.

Perhaps there will be justice in the next election; perhaps we can deny an office to any and every politician who did not stand on the record this session, demanding robust webcasting and an archive.

It is not enough to "not vote against it". It is not enough to have not opposed it. It is not enough to claim to be in support and then say and do nothing.

They picked a side when they refuse to pick a side.
And next November we will hold them accountable for their lack of character and courage.