Outside the Comfort Zone

Arlen Specter knows his re-election is by no means guaranteed. Instead, he is outside of the comfort zone of invincibility incumbents typically find themselves in. Rather, Specter is on thin ice. First he knew it would be tough to get the nod from GOP voters in the primary, so he switched teams (again) to the Dems. But now he will face an opponent in that ring as well.

All of this vulnerability has forced Specter to be a bit more humble than many of his drastically arrogant colleagues. Thus, Specter continues with his town hall meetings, in spite of the spirited opposition with which he is met at these meetings. In the televised meeting Tuesday morning, he took the heat for an hour or more, and he at least pretended to be listening.

Conclusion: The system works: When politicians are challenged both internally (someone running against them for the position) and externally (by citizens' voices) we hold their feet to the fire and force them to realize they could get ousted. That's when they actually begin to pay attention to the people. It’s just a beginning, but it’s a step in the right direction. If we keep doing our part, we can effect change. We simply must do our part. When we step out of our comfort zone (pay attention, stand up, speak out, run for election) it will force them out of theirs and help them realize they work for us.