It's not an "it;" it's a "they"

With the discussions revolving around debt ceiling negotiations, I've noticed one common theme that is far-reaching. And it's not only wrong, but disastrous to our political process.

People are talking about "the government" as an entity; ABC News even has a segment daily called "Tell Washington."

The rub is that Washington is not Borg; it's not an all-unified entity that can be approached as if it were a collective. That has been highlighted by the week's events.

Instead of people's complaining about "Washington," something I trace back to campaigning politicians who want to be portrayed as "outsiders," they need to focus on the individual people they sent there.

It's easy for me to see this: the people "representing" me in Washington couldn't be more different. Living in Austin, Texas, as I do, I have wildly different people in Congress. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn are center-right and far-right, respectively, and treat my e-mails with disdain. They are diametrically opposite of how I think and what I want from my leaders.

My representative in Congress is Lloyd Doggett, one of the most salt-of-the-earth people I've ever had the pleasure to vote for. He's smart, experienced, and understands the plights of everyday people he represents.

And of course, the president is Barack Obama. I voted for Obama, but under a bit of duress; I was an early and faithful Clinton supporter, working on her campaign and being saddened when she conceded at the nominating convention.

In my eyes, Obama's great failure has been the lack of a spine. He is all too eager to compromise, but he's a horrible negotiator. He gives the store away just for the sake of being able to say he compromised. And sometimes politics is a contact sport where a spine of steel is required (c.f. Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich) to ultimately do what's best and what you were elected to do. Leadership is not always rainbows and puppies, but for Obama, they always seem to be within reach.

Back to my original point -- When people talk about "Washington," they have to remember that they are speaking about different people. Tom DeMint and Bernie Sanders could not be more different; neither could Sheila Jackson-Lee and Ted Poe. You can't "tell Washington" anything and expect a different response than you could ask your family what they wanted for Christmas and expect one answer.

People need to get involved in the electoral process. I don't even mean the voting part here; I mean knowing who speaks for you in D.C. Who is your rep? How has he or she voted? What about your senators?

Until then, the people in D.C. can hide anonymously behind the "Washington" label that Americans are all too happy to use. And unfortunately, the good guys get lumped in with the bad.