A government of the people

A government of the people

Why have members of the House and Senate ceased representing the will of their constituents?

The Empirical Observer for American Thinker

Last week, I flew out on a business trip. Traffic to the airport was lighter than expected and I walked into the terminal and headed to the security gate check in.

Coming down the short escalator and there it was, like so many times before. Your visual field fills with an incredible number of people, short, tall, darker, lighter, couples, families, solo travelers all dressed in comfy clothes and carrying roller boards, baby equipment, gym bags, elderly grandparents, people in wheelchairs and anything else you could think of.

They’re all slowly shuffling towards the brilliantly lit x-ray machines and body scanners area. But before any of them can enter, every one of the hundreds of people I’m on line with must prove who they are to a government agent by providing a photo ID that matches the name on their ticket.

It didn’t matter if they were in the general line or could afford to pay for a “cut the line” service like TSA PreCheck Touchless ID or CLEAR which stores personal information and your photo. The net result is everyone must be checked and cleared by a TSA agent before being allowed into the x-ray and body scanner area. Simple rules. Provide proof of your identity or you don’t fly.

While on the security line, I spoke with a young mother with 2 young daughters. All 3 had their own passports because the family had traveled to Ireland the year before. I spoke with people who had recently upgraded their driver’s license to a REAL ID. At this one metropolitan airport, inside this one terminal, on this one security line, everybody had a photo ID.

And that got this Observer thinking.

Over 2 million people fly out of U.S. airports every day. During holidays, the numbers frequently spike to almost 3 million daily passenger screenings.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act that we’re hearing so much about requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration and a photo ID at the time of voting. The SAVE America Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2026.

The proposed act is very simple. Provide in-person proof of citizenship at the time you’re registering to vote and a government photo ID at the time you’re casting your ballot.  The very same type of photo ID 80 million passengers provide every month at U.S. airports.

If we believe political polls are accurate, some 84% of Democrats and Republicans polled are in favor of passing the SAVE ACT. This is not one sided polling. 70%+ Democrats and 90%+ Republicans support passage.

If Congress and the Senate truly represent the will of their constituents, how is a bill with a combined 84% approval rating not being voted on and passed right away? Why isn't Senate Majority Leader John Thune, backed by a +90% approval rating from Republicans, bringing this to a vote in the Senate where his party holds the majority?

Why are Democrats locking arms to prevent this from passing? In today’s MSM broadcasts, very few hosts challenge politicians with follow up questions. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader has referred to the SAVE ACT today as Jim Crow laws. Why doesn’t somebody ask Chuck to describe specifically how the SAVE ACT is a Jim Crow law or why Democrats are polling at >70% in favor?  Why are they fighting so hard not to pass into law?

I’ve listened to some bizarre reasons why passing the SAVE America ACT is a bad thing for “our democracy.” Passage would be harmful to the elderly who live out in the hills, off the grid, with no access to the internet, or to married women who have divorced and now have a huge unsolvable problem trying to change their names back, or the difficulty involved in securing a replacement birth certificate. MSM hosts routinely imply whole sectors of people are not capable of figuring out how to obtain a photo ID when we see the complete opposite in airports.

Our constitutional republic was built on a premise that congresspeople were voted into office by their district constituents because that was the candidate who best represented their voice in the national government. Senators originally were chosen by their state legislature to represent the interests of their state in the Senate. (That changed in 1913 when senators began running for office).

Should a congressperson or senator fail to meet the expectations of their constituents, voters can replace them in the next election.

Of course that implies fair and fraud-free ballot casting.

Why would any congressperson or senator today vote “no” on a requirement to provide proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to cast a vote in an election?

Perhaps they’ve had a taste of the perks of the office and do not want to risk being voted out.

Something’s not right when a government of the people, by the people, and for the people allows their elected representatives to act with impunity and ignore the will and wishes of the people.

Image: Public domain.